[sonnyblarney]

Clergy pay income tax.

Also, even if they didn't - they are not making a lot of money.

On average, it's peanuts.

This notion of 'rich minister' is not 'a thing' - it's exceedingly less common than in any other line of business.

[hackerpacker]

It can be a very rich club, and its members are all expenses paid tax free, with a lower tax bracket for 10s of thousands of disposable income.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wealthiest_organizatio...

LDS net worth 67 billion, vatican, 30 billion etc. etc.

Obviously there are extremes on the other end, but for those with 45k disposable income, who can make investments and own land, no "vow of poverty" should be assumed either.

the bureau of labor statistics lists the mean salary for clergy as $50k, with a range of $25k to $80k as well.

https://www.bls.gov/oes/2017/may/oes212011.htm

[sonnyblarney]

The LDS and Catholic Church asset values aren't really helpful, the clergy don't have a piece of that. There are a small number of admins, surely, who get to live in some nice buildings, but that's about it.

Again, $45K is not 'tax free'.

A 25-80K salary range is fairly meagre for the United States.

You're making my point for me: this is not a career for those who're aspiring to make a ton of money.