The first applicant, an engineer, was asked how much he wanted to be paid for going.
“A million dollars”, he answered, “because I want to donate it to M.I.T.”
The next applicant, a doctor, was asked the same question. He asked for $2 million.
“I want to give a million to my family”, he explained, “and leave the other million for the advancement of medical research.”
The last applicant was a lawyer.
When asked how much money he wanted, he whispered in the interviewer’s ear: “Three million dollars.”
“Why so much more than the others?”, asked the interviewer.
The lawyer replied: “If you give me $3 million, I’ll give you $1 million, I’ll keep $1 million, and we’ll send the engineer to Mars.”