Dr. Anthony Fauci, who started off as the leading member of former President Donald Trump’s COVID-19 task force and later fell out of Trump’s good graces is reportedly doing quite well for himself, especially given the fact that he’s a government employee.
According to Newsmax, Fauci even out earns a president’s salary, raking in a staggering $417,608 in 2019, working in his position as an expert at the National Institutes of Health, where he’s been a director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases division since 1984. A president’s salary is set at $400,000.
Fauci’s earnings literally make him the highest-paid government employee out of over 4 million government employees in the United States.
Doing some quick math, Fauci will rake in about $2.5 million between 2019 and 2024 — and that’s not counting the high probability that he’ll have secured at least a raise or two since 2019. And that’s also assuming President Joe Biden keeps him around for the duration, which given how friendly they seem to be, is a strong possibility.
Between 2010-2019, Fauci pulled in $3.6 million in salary and was given a considerable raise by former President Barack Obama, from $335,000 to what he makes now.
Comparing Fauci’s salary to others is interesting, as it clearly shows quite the gap between him and literally everyone else at the top echelons of U.S. government.
For instance, Dr. Deborah Birx, another prominent player on the COVID-19 task force under Trump, made a salary of $305,972 in 2019. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made $223,500 and Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts pulled in $270,700.
Even former Vice President Pence, who was the leader of the COVID-19 task force, paled in comparison to Fauci’s salary, having only made $235,100.
By no means are we criticizing Fauci for how much he makes — it’s the American dream, of course. But many on social media took a different view, questioning exactly why Fauci would be paid such an extravagant salary compared to other positions like the presidency and the Speaker of the House.
Remind me again other than telling folks to wash their hands, stay away from other folks and stay home, what has this charlatan done ??
— Geoffrey Damon (@GeoffreyDamon) January 25, 2021
Hasn’t missed a paycheck.
Loves the attention.
He’s in no rush for this to end.
His bad advice has ruined millions of livelihoods with no evidence it saven one life.
— Name cannot be blank 🙂 (@pleasethink2020) January 25, 2021
There were several similar comments, but unfortunately, they were so profanity-heavy that we couldn’t insert them into the article. In other words, there are quite a few folks who don’t think Fauci is earning his keep, especially given some of the controversies surrounding his approach — especially in the early stage of the outbreak — to the COVID-19 pandemic.
At least now we know why Dr. Fauci is always smiling, even in the face of extreme criticism.
