We’ve all seen those poor window washers on the street corner begging to wipe down your car for a few cents. But how much are they really getting out of us?

Too much apparently. Take Charles Ferningham for example, who’s been washing windows for eight years and makes over a quarter of a million dollars annually tax-free. “I suppose I live comfortably,” he says standing next to his Mercedes Benz.

If you do the math, $1.68 per car for 33 light-cycles an hour, multiples to $1153.16 daily. Of course, he throws in the occasional head twitch and mumbles of self-pity like “Oh thanks mate, I’ve been eating bits of my left ear I’m so hungry”.

According to Ferningham, dressing like a bum and putting on a show is just another selling technique. “I’m just as honest as any other worker,” he says.