Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
Former Goldman Sachs COO Gary Cohn took a steep pay cut to join President Donald Trump’s administration.
Cohn, who earned a combined salary and bonus of $ 7.3 million at Goldman Sachs in 2016, is now making $ 30,000 a year as Trump’s director of the National Economic Council — a 99.6% decrease.
The new salary figure is based on an annual report to Congress released Friday detailing compensation of White House staff.
Other high-ranking officials make considerably more. Steve Bannon, a chief strategist to Trump, makes $ 179,700, as does senior counselor Kellyanne Conway.
It’s unclear why Cohn’s salary is lower than nearly every other employee listed on the White House payroll, and lower than that of a typical administrative assistant in the US. (They earn a median of about $ 34,050, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.)
The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The two previous directors of the National Economic Council, Jeffrey Zients and Eugene Sperling, each earned $ 172,200 in Barack Obama’s administration.
But, before you run off to start a GoFundMe for Cohn, bear in mind that before leaving Goldman Sachs, he received an exit package worth at least $ 100 million.
Cohn, who spent 26 years at the investment bank, also averaged $ 20 million a year in salary, bonus, and stock awards in his last three years at the firm.
