Many of the Supreme Court justices earn thousands of dollars from teaching gigs at universities, although there is a cap on this outside pay of around $30,000, The New York Times reported.
In 2024, Justice Neil Gorsuch was paid $30,379 for a two-week course in Portugal through George Mason University, per his financial disclosure report. Financial disclosures for the 2025 year, released on June 29, 2026, show he reported $30,380 in 2025 teaching income from the university.
Associate justices Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh each reported earning $33,285 from the University of Notre Dame Law School in 2025, Reuters reported, while Thomas reported earning $18,000 from Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law in 2025.
But the most lucrative thing for a justice to do is write a book, and there is no cap to what they can earn here.
In her financial disclosures for 2025, Jackson reported a $1.18 million book advance from Penguin Random House, which published her 2024 memoir, “Lovely One.” (In 2024, she separately reported almost $2.07 million in book advance income from Penguin, Reuters reported.)
In the most recent disclosures, Barrett also reported $849,071 in book royalties from a literary agency, Javelin Group, which handled the royalties for her 2025 book, “Listening to the Law.”
Meanwhile, Gorsuch reported $300,361 in book royalties.
