Presidents And Athletes

                The total, cumulative salary earned by all the American presidents to ever serve the nation over the past 227 years (through Obama’s departure on January 20^th, 2017) is $22.6 million, unadjusted for inflation. The (NBA’s) Cleveland Cavalier’s Lebron James will make $23.2 million this coming basketball season. Kevin Durant will pull in $26,540,100 next season playing hoops for the Golden State Warriors.

                But they’re tall.

                All the presidents spanning the 84 years from George Washington (leader of the American Revolution) through U.S. Grant (led the Union troops to victory, and helped heal the nation as president after the Civil War) earned a total of $2,100,000. This includes Thomas Jefferson, who conducted the Louisiana Purchase- which gave the U.S. the land which would eventually become 13 states- for a sum of roughly $15,000,000, or the equivalent of about $240 million in today’s money.

                Kevin Durant stands to make as much as $244 million over the next six seasons.

                Abraham Lincoln- you might have heard of him- made $25,000 a year during his tenure as President of the United States of America. Perhaps you also remember the Emancipation Proclamation he signed freeing the slaves. Yet it is not particularly uncommon to hear black athletes making many millions of dollars a year today talk of being slaves. Incredible.