The Rich Get Richer: PARADE's 25th Annual 'What People Earn' Salary Survey Finds Celebs, CEOs, Athletes and ... a Dog ... are Raking in the Dough

NEW YORK, April 10 /PRNewswire/ -- This Sunday, PARADE takes a peek into America's pocketbooks with its 25th annual "What People Earn" salary report.

    SOME HIGHLIGHTS:
    * The 18 celebrities featured this year made 100 TIMES more than the 112
      regular folks who participated.
    * The top-earning celeb is Oprah, at $260 million. But hedge-fund manager
      John Paulson makes even the mighty Oprah look like a pauper. He brought
      in $3.5 BILLION last year.
    * One of the "top dogs" this year is Leona Helmsley's beloved Maltese,
      Trouble, who made $12 million, thanks to the trust Helmsley left for the
      pup.
    * Sports and trivial pursuits pay off: From Tiger Woods ($115 million) to
      a rodeo steer wrestler from Wisconsin ($178,000), folks who make their
      careers in sports and leisure activities can be well compensated. A
      billiards player from Tennessee racked up $650,000 last year, and a
      Texas bowler made $313,000.


    HIGHLIGHTS FROM PARADE'S POLL ON JOBS AND THE ECONOMY:
    * 93% of us believe that the economy should be the top concern of
      Presidential candidates.
    * The cost of fuel is the biggest financial concern of Americans (39%),
      followed by saving for retirement (16%) and the cost of health insurance
      (14%).
    * A third of us are concerned about losing our jobs (34%).
    * Three-quarters of us have had to make financial sacrifices, including
      vacations, dining out, home improvements, going to movies.
    * Americans believe that teachers most deserve a pay raise (41%), followed
      by military personnel (32%).

The salaries of some interesting occupations featured in this year's report may surprise you: an apprentice meat cutter from Flagstaff, Ariz., took home $30,800; a 41-year-old celeb impersonator from Las Vegas earned $45,000; a psychic from Albuquerque brought in $38,000; a competitive eater from New York City earned $25,000; and Titus the Titan, a pro-lacrosse mascot from East Rockaway, N.Y., earned $3,000. The lowest recorded salary in this year's roundup belongs to Edward Perry, a 26-year-old Peace Corps volunteer from Los Angeles, who made $2,900.

Visit http://www.parade.com for more on "What People Earn," including a chance to win $50,000!