Obama White House Aides Salaries: At Least 21 Make $172,200

Times may be hard for many Americans, but at least 21 of President Obama’s aides at the White House make the maximum salary of $172,200.

Pssst. Want to know who inside the White House can afford a nice vacation or expensive bottle of wine this Fourth of July?

Well, just check the list.

The White House on Friday released its annual list of salaries for its 454 employees, and at least 21 of President Barack Obama’s top advisers are earning the maximum of $172,200 per year.

To put that number in perspective, it’s more than three times the median household income in America, which stood at $49,777 at the end of 2009, according to the Census Bureau.New Chief of Staff Bill Daley was among the top earners, though for him the salary was a bit of a pay cut. A former manager at JP Morgan Chase, Daley had earned a total of $8.7 million in compensation in 2010, his last year in the private sector, according to his recently filed ethics disclosure form.

Jay Carney, the reporter-turned presidential pitchman, also earned the top salary as White House press secretary. The Obamas’ close friend and adviser Valerie Jarrett, the president’s counterterrorism adviser John O. Brennan, his national security adviser Tom Donilon, his top lawyer Kathryn Ruemmler, and his chief political strategist David Plouffe also made the list.

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John Solomon

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