"My only regret is that Mitt Romney wasn't able to lower my tax rate."
Looks like former Sen. Jim DeMint was a pretty good hire for the Heritage Foundation, at least if the thing that matters most is
how much money he's capable of dragging in the door:
The Heritage Foundation’s annual revenue grew by 31 percent during former Sen. Jim DeMint’s (R-S.C.) first year as the conservative think tank’s president.
That dramatic increase was fueled by a $25.9 million contribution from an unnamed donor, according to a copy of Heritage’s 990 tax form covering fiscal 2013 obtained by The Hill.
And—assuming once again that money is the only thing that matters—it looks like DeMint made a good move ditching the Senate, where he was earning a "paltry" $174,000 per year:
DeMint received $614,000 in compensation in 2013 from Heritage, including his $380,000 base salary and a $200,000 bonus, according to the tax document.
Keep in mind that DeMint didn't work a full year, so on an annualized basis he would have made well over $800,000. Moreover, he has good things to look forward to, because his predecessor Ed Feulner made $3.5 million, $2.5 million of which came from a deferred compensation plan. And they weren't the only ones receiving fat paychecks:
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell’s (Ky.) wife, Elaine Chao, who served as secretary of Labor under former President George W. Bush, received $267,000 as a distinguished fellow at Heritage.
Moral of the story: It doesn't just pay to be a conservative in DC, it pays well—very, very well.