Researcher finds beauty pays off

Not all of us got where we are because of our looks.

But as we have long suspected, beautiful people have the edge in almost everything.

A researcher concludes that attractive people enjoy many advantages while those who are less attractive often face discrimination.

Daniel S. Hamermesh has published his findings in a new book called "Beauty Pays: Why Attractive People Are More Successful"

Among Hamermesh's depressing findings:

Beautiful people earn $230,000 more in a lifetime than workers with below-average looks. He said that figure is an estimate based on an average salary of $20 an hour in 2010.

The earnings disparity is greater when broken down by gender. Beautiful women earn 4 percent more and handsome men earn 3 percent more than their average-looking counterparts.

Beauty pays off, researcher finds | The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Scranton PA - News