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 |