Lots of thinking goes on in Washington, and people in fields ranging from academia and government to politics and journalism get paid to do it. Some people transform their thinking into advocacy for charities and causes of all kinds. Purveyors of the arts and culture sometimes also do well, but theirs are still chiefly labors of love. Compensation listed here is from available IRS filings for 2007 to 2009.
THINK TANKS
Edwin J. Feulner Jr.,Heritage Foundation, $947,999.
Richard N. Haass, Council on Foreign Relations, $796,337.
Walter Isaacson, Aspen Institute, $705,711.
Jessica Tuchman Mathews, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, $542,155.
N. Strobe Talbott, Brookings Institution, $459,344.
Eugene B. Meyer, Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies, $450,000.
John J. Hamre, Center for Strategic and International Studies, $414,327.
Robert Reischauer, Urban Institute, $346,286.
John Podesta, Center for American Progress, $244,904.
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