While one would assume being a beach lifeguard had certain perks, like working on your tan and showing off for admiring beachgoers, you might not think it could make you rich.
Yes, in just another way Baywatch veered from reality, Los Angeles County lifesavers are reeling in serious dough, as well as the occasional stray swimmer.
Financial auditors at OpenTheBooks.com say Daniel Douglas, lifeguard captain for Los Angeles County, earned $510,283 in salary and overtime last year — an increase from $442,712 in 2020.
Douglas out-earned 1,000 of his peers — though the second-highest paid lifeguard in L.A. County, Fernando Boiteux, was no slouch, earning $463,517.
The auditors found that nearly 100 L.A. lifeguards earned at least $200,000 a year, including benefits; 20 made between $300,000 and $510,283.
While salaries for beach lifeguards increased based on seniority, overtime is where these lifesavers make a killing: 37 lifeguards earned between $50,000 and $247,000 in overtime alone in 2020.
The experts also say that between 2016 and 2021, the top three highest-earning lifeguards made between $505,579 and $980,007 in overtime. Douglas made close to a million bucks just from overtime in that period.
And, the site’s experts say, those lifeguards who stay on the job 30 years — and why wouldn’t they — can retire at 55 with 79% of their salaries.