Bristol Palin's $262,500: Is she overpaid?

She pulled in a quarter of a million as a teen-abstinence spokesperson for a charity that donated only a fraction of Bristol's salary to needy causes

Bristol Palin is interviewed during a Candie's Foundation event last year.
(Image credit: Corbis)

Teen pregnancy pays... at least if you're Bristol Palin. According to tax documents, the unwed mother and eldest daughter of Sarah Palin raked in more than $262,500 last year working to promote teen abstinence for The Candie's Foundation. Meanwhile, the same foundation distributed only $35,000 in grants to health and counseling clinics for pregnant teens. Is Bristol's big payday bigger than it should have been?

Yes, this is outrageous opportunism: It seems Bristol has "learned a great deal from her mother," namely "how to milk her celebrity status for all it's worth," says E.D. Kain in Forbes. By my calculations, for every dollar that Bristol's promotional efforts funnelled into deserving causes, she earned $7.50 for herself. I know the non-profit industry has its issues, but I'm surprised to see some "so blatantly abuse their position at a supposed charity."

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