He Earns $33 an Hour as a Costco Cashier. Now He’s a Millionaire.
- Long-tenured workers like cashier Tony Barzar are reliable, experienced and able to speed shoppers through a checkout line. Costco is willing to pay to keep them around.
By Sarah Nassauer
July 8, 2026 7:00 pm ET
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TUCSON, Ariz.—Costco cashier Tony Barzar unloaded his lunch in the breakroom, clocked in and headed for the checkout, just as he has for much of the past four decades.
That day, like most days, 60-year-old Barzar was assigned to the self-checkout area, a cluster of six registers. At 9:02 a.m., the first shoppers were ready to ring themselves up.
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Not glamorous, not “big bucks”, but slow and steady wins the race.
A certainly no reason for ¾ of a million in student loan debt.
Maybe the zoomers need to adjust their expectations?
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Reinke Faces Life 