Capital Countdown: Very Big Money

Few Washington jobs outside of finance, real estate, or a top legal partnership are more remunerative than heading a trade group. According to National Journal’s annual study of association heads, more than 50 have compensation packages of over $1.2 million. Here are some top earners from 2006, the last year for which tax data are available.

Best-Paid Association Executive

C. Manly Molpus, Grocery Manufacturers Association: $4,690,155

Best-Paid Think-Tank Executive

Richard Cavanagh, Conference Board: $1,407,126

Best-Paid Labor-Union Head

Eugene Upshaw, NFL Players’ Association: $3,318,993

Best-Paid Public-Interest-Group Executive

Bill Novelli, AARP: $2,042,159

This article is from the May 2008 issue of The Washingtonian. For more articles from the issue, click here.

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Garrett M. Graff