Candie's: Bristol Worth Every Penny

Those of you who thought paying Bristol Palin $262,500 to promote sexual abstinence might've been a wee bit excessive can just stuff it, says Candie's Foundation founder Neil Cole, calling the payout "an amazing investment." "Bristol's the gift that keeps on giving," Cole says; indeed, a Candie's survey shows that Palin's message resonated nearly twice as much as a non-celebrity PSA.

Palin pulled down the paycheck for 15 to 20 days of work (roughly $1,640 an hour, for those keeping score at home) in 2009; she netted an additional $70,000 for what the AP calls "a less amount of work last year." As to criticism that Candie's gave only $35,000 to groups that provide services to at-risk teens, Cole shrugs: "That's not what we do for a living," Cole says. "What we do for a living is create awareness." Click for more on whether Bristol is overpaid. (More Bristol Palin stories.)