Income inequality at Obama Foundation, as brass thrives and rank and file seeks union

FIRST ON FOX: The beleaguered Obama Foundation has an income inequality problem: While half of its employees earn six-figure salaries, led by CEO Valerie Jarrett at $771,000, dozens at the other end of the scale are fighting for union representation.

The workplace disparity comes to light just as Fox News Digital reported that the long-delayed Obama Presidential Center’s price tag hit $1 billion — nearly triple the original estimate for the Chicago facility. The Obama Foundation, former President Barack Obama’s private nonprofit, reported 172 employees receiving more than $100,000 in salary in its 2025 tax filing — roughly half its 342 reported employees.

Jarrett, one of former President Barack Obama’s closest advisors and a former senior White House official, has led the Obama Foundation since 2021, overseeing the final years of construction of the Presidential Center on Chicago’s South Side.

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Her total pay rose by around $15,500 from 2024 and she is one of at least four of the nonprofit’s 10 highest-paid executives with previous ties to the Obama White House or campaign.

“The Foundation pays our employees rates that are competitive with the market,” Emily Bittner, the Obama Foundation’s vice president of communications, told Fox News Digital. “We have more than 500 employees worldwide, roughly 300 of whom are based at the Center.”

The current workforce of more than 500 is substantially larger than the 342 employees reported in the Obama Foundation’s 2025 tax filing, which covers the year ending nearly six months before the Presidential Center opened in June. The nonprofit did not provide an updated payroll breakdown.

The Obama Foundation saw its annual payroll and benefits bill come in at $50.4 million in 2025, soaring from $18.5 million in 2018. The nonprofit brought in approximately $159 million in revenue last year, of which nearly $151 million consisted of contributions and grants.

The spending surge came as the Obama Foundation expanded its leadership and civic programs at home and abroad while racing to finish the beleaguered Presidential Center. The sprawling 19.3-acre campus sits on publicly owned parkland in Chicago’s Jackson Park.

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Expert view

Brian Mittendorf, an accounting professor at Ohio State University who specializes in nonprofit finances, said the proportion of Obama Foundation employees earning more than $100,000 stood out compared with a typical nonprofit, but noted that the organization relies heavily on specialized staff.

“That’s clearly higher percentage than your average nonprofit,” Mittendorf told Fox News Digital. “But here we’re dealing with a nonprofit that’s probably very expertise heavy. It’s very heavy on like the think tank side. And as you look at a think tank, it would look very differently than say a local food bank.”

Mittendorf said the Obama Foundation’s employees likely possess specialized skills that could command substantial pay elsewhere.

“So it does reflect that a lot of their employees are ones that they would consider having an outside opportunity that would justify them getting paid at that level,” he said. “Like I said, it is atypical for a standard nonprofit, but probably not that unusual for a nonprofit of its type.”

The Obama Foundation also reported a higher proportion of employees receiving more than $100,000 than five other presidential nonprofits examined by Fox News Digital.

Roughly half its reported workforce exceeded that threshold in 2025, compared with 37% at the George W. Bush Presidential Center, 29% at the Carter Center, 23% at the Clinton Foundation, 13% at the Reagan Foundation and 10% at the George & Barbara Bush Foundation, according to their respective 2024 tax filings, the most recent available for the review.

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Executive pay

Jarrett’s salary rose from approximately $581,000 when she took over as CEO in 2021 to $740,000 in 2022, remaining at that level through 2024 before climbing to nearly $755,000 in 2025.

For comparison, Fox News Digital reviewed the latest available tax filings from five other major presidential foundations, all of which reported lower CEO salaries than Jarrett’s $771,000 in 2025.

The Reagan Foundation paid its CEO approximately $735,000 and the Carter Center $531,000 for fiscal years ending in 2025, while the George W. Bush Presidential Center paid its top officer $661,000, the George & Barbara Bush Foundation $426,600 and the Clinton Foundation $425,000 for 2024.

Beyond Jarrett, several former Obama administration officials continued to collect hefty six-figure paychecks at the Obama Foundation.

Christina Tchen, former chief of staff to first lady Michelle Obama, received approximately $431,000 in salary in 2025, while Michael Strautmanis, a former Obama campaign and White House aide, collected approximately $404,000. Laura Lucas Magnuson, a former White House communications official, received approximately $396,000.

Other top earners included Robbin Cohen, who received approximately $666,000. Cohen previously led Pritzker Realty Group, founded by billionaire Democratic donor and former Obama commerce secretary Penny Pritzker, a cousin of Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.

Former Cook County chief financial officer Ammar Rizki received approximately $400,000.

The Obama Foundation defended its executive salary practices.

“The Board of Directors uses comparability data and a compensation consultant to review and approve the compensation of the CEO, officers and key employees on an annual basis,” Bittner told Fox News Digital.

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The nonprofit also pointed to higher pay for top executives at other major charitable institutions, including approximately $2 million for the Getty Trust’s president and CEO, $1.7 million for the Rockefeller Foundation’s president and $1.5 million for the Mellon Foundation’s president, citing figures from their recent tax filings.

The Getty Trust, however, operates on a vastly different financial scale, with a multibillion-dollar endowment compared with the Obama Foundation’s approximately $14.2 million in reported endowment funds at the end of 2025.

Asked whether Jarrett’s pay was excessive, Mittendorf said the answer was subjective, particularly given the Obama Foundation’s size and financial resources.

“This is not an unusual amount that to see for a highest paid employee for a director or a CEO,” he said, noting the nonprofit’s net assets exceeded $1 billion.

Mittendorf acknowledged, however, that substantial executive pay at charitable organizations can attract criticism.

“So I think you see criticism from time to time of executive directors that get paid at this level, not that they could not get paid similar amounts in the private sector, but that there is a belief that in the nonprofit sector, the pay should not just reflect what you would get in the public sector, but something more modest,” he said.

“It’s quite common, though, for an organization of this size.”

Illinois Republican Party Chairman Bob Grogan, a longtime critic of the Obama Foundation’s use of public parkland for the private organization, accused the nonprofit of enriching Obama’s inner circle at taxpayers’ expense.

“The Obama Center is another far-left political operation that acts as a non-profit while using taxpayer dollars to make Barack Obama’s inner circle rich,” Grogan told Fox News Digital.

The Obama Foundation maintains that construction of the Presidential Center was privately funded and that its operating costs are covered by revenues and private donations. Public funds have also supported infrastructure improvements surrounding the campus.

Workers push to unionize

The hefty executive paychecks come as rank-and-file Obama Foundation employees push to unionize, alleging rolled-back benefits and mounting workloads. Workers also claim deteriorating conditions have driven experienced colleagues to leave, taking valuable institutional knowledge with them and piling more work onto those who remain.

The employees, organized under Obama Workers United with AFSCME Council 31, include visitor services and cleaning staff, museum and technology workers, and employees involved in the nonprofit’s educational and global programs.

“Amidst increasing workloads we have seen our benefits rolled back and support from leadership to be minimal,” the workers wrote in a public letter.

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The workers also urged Obama Foundation leadership to respect their right to organize and refrain from spending money on anti-union lawyers, messaging or meetings.

The Obama Foundation said it supports employees’ right to organize.

“We are deeply committed to the fundamental right of workers to organize and make their voices heard,” the nonprofit said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “As members of our staff explore union representation, we approach this process with immense gratitude for their contributions, deep respect for unions, and a sincere commitment to working collaboratively with our partners in labor.”