Celebrity Salaries: What Is Oprah Winfrey’s Annual Salary vs. Joe the Plumber’s?

Have you ever considered the reality that many famous people make more in a year than most of the world’s population makes in a lifetime? I thought about this recently when looking at the Forbes Celebrity Top 100 list for 2008. At the top of list, solidly in the lead, sits a proud and powerful Oprah Winfrey. Oprah Winfrey makes $275 million annually and her earnings are likely only going up from there.

I was trying to put her incredible salary into perspective so I decided to bring in America’s “everyman,” Joe the Plumber. During our 2008 presidential election season, Joe the Plumber represented, for many, the American middle class. According to an NPR article, Joe wanted to have his own plumbing business and was worried that Obama’s tax plan would push him into a higher, more costly tax-bracket. He hoped to earn $250,000 a year. So, what does a hard working plumber like Joe make in a lifetime?

How Rich is Larry King? Salary Secrets of the Stars

When Kathy Griffin appeared on Larry King Live last June she asked Mr. King, “What’s your annual salary?” He responded, “I can’t tell you that.” She went on to badger him with questions about whether or not he gets paid per show or bimonthly. Larry dodged her bullets but she got his attention when she said, “I can look it up online.” King was shocked.

 

Her comment made me curious at the time. I had heard that Larry King makes the big bucks but I’d never checked on exactly how much. Today, I decided to take a look and see if Ms. Griffin was right about finding Larry King’s salary online.