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By Caroline Kepnes
Caroline Kepnes
Caroline Kepnes

The buildup was worth it, but the builder may not be. Nearly 19 million tuned in to the Jan. 6 debut of Fox's Joe Millionaire, in which 20 single gals vie for a ''tall, dark, handsome'' guy they think has inherited $50 million. As the net reminds us, though, himbo (and ex-underwear model) Evan Marriott, 28 (above), earns a mere $19,000 a year as an L.A. construction worker. That's odd, since the U.S. Department of Labor says the average California construction worker earns $42,000 a year. Real hard hats scoff at Marriott's meager take: ''It's just not possible,'' says Massachusetts laborer John Sackett, 29. ''I guess he could be really bad with his hands, but you'd have to be really bad.'' (Fox swears by the 19 G's.)


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Posted Jan 17, 2003 | Published in issue #691 Jan 17, 2003 | Order Article Reprints