He might be the head honcho of the country, but President Barack Obama is far from the highest paid person in the country. With an annual salary of $400,000 U.S., the head of state also lives rent-free at the White House and enjoys full access to a private jet. Not bad, but you might be surprised at the jobs that pay vastly larger salaries than America's commander-in-chief earns.
The CEO of General Motors
Despite the life preserver the Federal government threw to GM (NYSE:GM) after the flailing company filed for bankruptcy in 2009, the executive team earns far more than the president. According to documents filed to the SEC, CEO and GM Chairman Dan Akerson's annual cash base salary is $1.7 million U.S.
But that's not all: Akerson also has a $5.3-million U.S. stock plan and an additional $2 million U.S. in restricted stock, bringing the executive's income to a tidy $9 million U.S. Not bad for a company that appears to be only just making a comeback. In November, General Motors raised more $20 billion U.S. in an initial public offering that put it back on the New York Stock Exchange. More recently, the Chevrolet Volt (which is owned by GM) became the first electric car to be named the 2011 North American Car of the Year.
The Director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory
Lab director Michael R. Anastasio just squeaks past the president's salary, making approximately $467,000 U.S. annually, according to University of California documents (the school is part of Los Alamos National Security LLC and pays $17,700 U.S. of Anastasio's earnings). The lab, which launched in 1943 as the Manhattan Project and was contracted by the government to design the atomic bomb, now spends about $2.2 billion U.S. in operating costs, still with a focus on nuclear deterrent.
After five years with the famously secret bomb lab, Anastasio announced that he will be saying "goodbye" to his $743 U.S./month auto allowance and "hello" to retirement in June. "Every day as Lab director has afforded me the opportunity to encounter brilliant science and dedicated people committed to the great responsibilities the country has entrusted to us," he said in a statement.
The Coach of the Air Force Falcons
Troy Calhoun, the football coach for the Air Force Academy's Falcons, is reportedly the highest-paid member of the athletic department at the school in Colorado Springs with a salary of $725,000 U.S. Despite rumours that the 45-year old school alumnus would leave to coach for the Denver Broncos (where he got his NFL coaching start), it was announced in January 2009 that he had signed a five-year contract with the academy, with rumors of his return to Denver still swirling late in 2010.
Former President Bill Clinton
Obama may not be raking in the coin now, but his hard work will likely pay off in the long run --if he wants it to. It's no secret that when it comes to book deals, public appearances and lectures, people are willing to pay big bucks when it comes to former heads of state. Hillary Clinton might make a mere $199,700 U.S. in her role as Secretary of State, but former President Bill Clinton is really bringing home the bacon. In her Public Financial Disclosure Report released in 2009, Clinton revealed that the couple had deposited between $1 and $5 million U.S. into a CITI bank account and that her husband's 2004 book "My Life" had brought in between $100,000 and $1 million in 2008 alone.
Former President George W. Bush
George W. Bush's book, Decision Points, which was released this past year, blew Clinton's sales numbers away when it sold out of its original print-run of 1.5 million copies when it was released in November. It was rumoured that the controversial former president was paid $7 million U.S. to write the autobiography.
The Bottom Line
If you want to make the top bucks, a government job may not be the answer. Even the highest paid government workers don't come close to the president's $400,000 U.S. salary. Vice-president of the United States Joe Biden makes much less, with a salary of $230,700 U.S. However, it's clear that retirement from the Oval Office has higher earning potential than the presidential post.
Related Stories
