The Salary Scale
Brian Gongol


All figures are in current dollars, except where noted

Annual Pay Individual Job Sector Starting Ending Details Source Updated
$43,200,000 Les Moonves CEO, CBS management 2009 2009 $3.5 million salary, $15 million bonus, $7.6 million stock, $14.3 million stock options, $2.4 million for tax payments "CBS CEO Les Moonves gets $43.2 million for 2009", Business Insider 2010-04-19
$32,000,000 David Letterman Television host entertainment/media 2009 2012 "Letterman Reaches a Deal With CBS to Extend 'Late Show'", New York Times 2009-06-09
$29,200,000 Randall Stephenson CEO, AT&T management 2009 2009 "Dallas-area execs' overall compensation fell in 2009", Dallas Morning News 2010-06-13
$27,200,000 Rex Tillerson CEO, Exxon Mobil management 2009 2009 "Dallas-area execs' overall compensation fell in 2009", Dallas Morning News 2010-06-13
$23,000,000 Joe Mauer Catcher, Minnesota Twins sports 2011 2018 $184 million contract for 8 years "Twins sign Mauer to eight-year, $184 million deal", Minneapolis Star-Tribune 2010-03-21
$18,350,000 Bud Selig Commissioner, Major League Baseball sports 2006 2007 $17.47 million base compensation; $461,540 in benefits; $422,590 in expenses "Selig's pay climbs past $18 million", Sports Business Journal 2009-02-02
$18,300,000 Andrew Liveris CEO, Dow Chemical management 2009 2009 "Dow Chemical CEO pay up 16 pct for 2009", Reuters 2010-03-31
$17,900,000 Alan Mulally CEO, Ford Motor Company management 2009 2009 "Ford CEO 2009 compensation $17.9 mln; up 6 pct", Reuters 2010-03-22
$15,000,000 Katie Couric Anchor, CBS Evening News entertainment/media 2006 2011 "Katie Couric may leave CBS News, report says", Reuters 2008-04-10
$10,000,000 Glenn Beck Host, The Glenn Beck Program (radio) entertainment/media 2007 2012 Five-year contract for $50 million "CNN Headline News' Glenn Beck is now Fox's new top story", New York Daily News 2008-10-16
$6,500,000 Tom Brady Quarterback, New England Patriots sports 2010 2010 $3.5 million base salary, plus $3 million roster bonus "Brady now among the NFL's highest-paid players", ESPN.com 2005-05-08
$5,600,000 Jeff Immelt CEO, General Electric management 2009 2009 $5.6 million in salary; declined bonus for 2009 "GE's CEO Jeff Immelt declines bonus for 2nd year", AP 2010-03-05
$3,020,000 Kirk Ferentz Head football coach, University of Iowa sports 2009 2016 "Iowa's Ferentz signs 7-year deal", ESPN.com 2009-07-20
$1,112,000 Bill Leaver President and CEO, Iowa Health System health care $751,000 base salary plus bonus and benefits "Executive compensation", Iowa Health System 2008-03-00
$400,000 Barack Obama President of the United States government 2001 "Salaries of Federal officials: A fact sheet", Congressional Research Service 2005-01-11
$320,000 Benjamin Allen President, University of Northern Iowa education 2008 2009 "State Salaries 2009", DesMoinesRegister.com 2009-00-00
$206,500 Arnold Schwarzenegger Governor of California government Schwarzenegger doesn't accept the salary to which he is statutorily entitled; the salary is the highest for any governor in the United States "Govs' salaries range from $1 to $206,500", Stateline.org 2007-05-15
$191,300 Timothy Geithner US Secretary of the Treasury government "FAQs: Treasury Department", USTreas.gov 2009-04-06
$186,044 (median salary) Primary-care physicians, United States health care 2008 2008 "Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition: Physicians and Surgeons", Bureau of Labor Statistics 2009-12-17
$175,000 Warren Buffett CEO, Berkshire Hathaway management 2008 2008 $100,000 base salary, plus $75,000 in director's fees "Warren Buffett's salary stays at $100,000 in 2008", Associated Press 2009-03-13
$130,000 Chet Culver Governor of Iowa government 2009 2010 "Governor Culver cuts his own salary by ten percent", press release, State of Iowa 2009-10-14
$74,600 (median salary) Civil engineers, United States engineering 2008 2008 "Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition: Engineers", Bureau of Labor Statistics 2009-12-17
$70,000 John Baldacci Governor of Maine government Lowest salary for a governor in the United States "Govs' salaries range from $1 to $206,500", Stateline.org 2007-05-15
$43,130 (median salary) Teachers, Iowa education 2006 2007 "Iowa teacher salaries finally edging up in the rankings", Iowa State Education Association 2007-12-12