In the spirit of transparency, the Obama Administration posted on its White House blog a detailed list of who makes what at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
According to the WhiteHouse.gov blog, every administration since 1995 has been required to "deliver a report to Congress listing the title and salary of every White House Office employee." In January, in one of his first acts as president, Obama announced that he was freezing the salaries of employees who made more than $100,000 a year, saying, "Families are tightening their belts, and so should Washington."
It may be a government job, but a gig in the White House isn't so bad: The highest earners take home $172,200, while at the low end, staff assistants get $36,000. The big winner, however, is David Marcozzi, the Director of Public Health Policy, who earns $192,934 a year.
The $172,200 Club: This exclusive club includes Obama's top aides, such as Senior Advisers David Axelrod and Valerie Jarrett, Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, press secretary Robert Gibbs and Jon "Favs" Favreau, Obama's head speechwriter.
Other notable salaries:
— $102,000 Reggie Love, the president's personal aide and "body man," who was named the Hottest White House Employee according to a Huffington Post poll, barely edging out "Favs."
— $113,000 Desiree Rogers, who is on every D.C. socialite's speed-dial, was tapped to be the White House social secretary, charged with coordinating every social event held by the White House. The stylish Chicagoan pals around with Anna Wintour and was the subject of an extensive Vogue magazine feature.
— $84,000 Catherine Lelyveld, press secretary to First Lady Michelle Obama, hails from the Windy City as well, and served as Mrs. Obama's communication director during the presidential campaign.
— $36,000 That's how much Darienne Page, the White House receptionist, or "ROTUS" takes home annually. In a recent New York Times profile, Obama introduced Page as "the receptionist of the entire United States." Before serving in the Obama White House, Page served as an Army sergeant in Iraq under George W. Bush.
Joe Biden takes in $227,300 as the vice president of the United States, while Obama earns $400,000 a year, far less than the $2.6 million he earned in 2008 as a presidential candidate and author.
Read More »»
