Obama Foundation CEO Valerie Jarrett earns $740,000 as executive payroll doubles

As construction of the long-delayed $850 million Obama Presidential Center nears completion, federal tax filings show the Obama Foundation paying CEO Valerie Jarrett $740,000 in 2024, while some former Obama White House officials are collecting six-figure salaries as foundation executives.

The Obama Foundation, which will operate the center on 19.3 acres of public Chicago parkland, paid its CEO more than any other major presidential foundation. Salaries and benefits increased from $18.5 million in 2018 to $43.7 million in 2024 as staff expanded to 337 employees and annual revenue reached approximately $210 million.

Jarrett, one of the Obama family’s closest advisers, took over as CEO in 2021 and is among six of the foundation’s 10 highest-paid executives who previously held senior roles in the Obama administration or campaign, according to the foundation’s tax filings from 2018 to 2024.

“Illinois Democrats are literally living their best lives; they’re making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to help design the ugliest building in Chicago,” Illinois GOP Chair Kathy Salvi told Fox News. “Their jaw-dropping paychecks prove that Illinois’ culture of corruption is alive and that Barack Obama’s top allies are getting it, too.”

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Jarrett’s compensation exceeds the recently reported salary of leaders at many other presidential foundations. The George W. Bush Presidential Center reported CEO compensation of about $661,000 in 2024, while the Carter Center and Reagan Foundation reported pay in the $500,000 range. The Clinton Foundation’s most recent records show the CEO’s compensation was less than $500,000.

Jarrett’s salary accounts for less than 1% of the Obama Foundation’s total spending in 2024, filings show. By comparison, CEO salaries at the George W. Bush Presidential Center represent a larger share of total spending, while the Carter and Clinton foundations reported lower proportional pay.

Other top earners at the Obama Foundation included former administration staffers like David Simas, Obama’s former White House political director, who earned up to $626,000 a year while leading the Obama Foundation from 2017 to 2020.

Adewale Adeyemo, a top Obama administration official who later became Biden’s Deputy Treasury Secretary, earned about $540,000 during his tenure as the foundation’s first president.

Two other former Obama aides — former White House public affairs official Anne Filipic and Michelle Obama’s former chief of staff Christina Tchen — each earned about $400,000 a year in senior foundation roles, while another former campaign and White House aide, Michael Strautmanis, earned more than $300,000 a year.

Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett (C) listens as U.S. President Barack Obama meets with business leaders to discuss the need for common-sense immigration reform in Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington on June 24, 2013. (Reuters)

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The compensation figures take on added significance as the foundation prepares to open and operate the presidential center under a $10, 99-year use agreement on public parkland in Chicago, which the foundation calls its “permanent home.”

The campus will include a museum, a sports center and a public library branch. It would not function as a traditional presidential library, overseen by the National Archival Records Administration, marking a departure from the federally operated model used by modern presidential libraries. The Obama Foundation, whose programs are directly tied to the former president’s legacy, also operates leadership and community programs in the United States and abroad.

Nonprofit management experts say political ties among top executives can increase scrutiny, but executive salaries should be evaluated relative to similar organizations.

“Anytime you’re dealing with a nonprofit organization that is politically affiliated in some way, there’s always a high risk that nepotism will show up,” said CEO Laurie Styron. CharityWatch, an independent aid watchdog group. “If a large number of highly paid executives have ties to the former president’s administration, the public deserves serious transparency about how these hiring and compensation decisions are made.”

Styron added that high salaries are not inherently problematic and should be evaluated against market comparables and organizational complexity.

Exterior view of the Obama Presidential Center tower under construction in Chicago. (Fox 32 Chicago)

Foundation defends salary, cites large nonprofits

The Obama Foundation said executive salaries reflect market rates for large national nonprofits and are reviewed annually by the board of directors using external comparability data and compensation consultants.

“Executive salaries are based on competitive market rates for the same level of roles at similar institutions across the country,” the foundation said in a statement to Fox News Digital. he said. “In general, salaries at all levels across the trust are discounted compared to salaries in the private sector.”

The foundation noted compensation levels at major charities, with leaders at the Rockefeller and Mellon foundations earning more than $1.4 million in 2023, and the Ford and MacArthur foundations each reporting roughly $1.29 million in CEO compensation, according to public filings.

These organizations operate with billions of dollars in donations that generate enough interest each year to cover operating costs. The Ford Foundation reports assets of approximately $16 billion, while the Mellon and MacArthur foundations each report assets exceeding $8 billion.

Former President Barack Obama walks with David Simas, vice president and director of the Office of Political Strategy and Outreach, outside the Oval Office at the White House on May 18, 2016 in Washington, D.C. Simas earned up to $626,000 annually while leading the Obama Foundation from 2017 to 2020. (Michael Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images)

The Obama Foundation reported total assets of more than $1.1 billion at the end of 2024; but most of these reflect construction-related assets and limited funds tied to the presidential office rather than traditional investment endowments.

The Obama Foundation has pledged to create a $470 million endowment, but public records show about $1 million has been deposited to date, according to a Fox News Digital investigation.

Under Jarrett’s leadership, the foundation reported total revenues of approximately $210 million in 2024; the vast majority of which (about $195 million) came from contributions and donations. It reported about $311 million in 2023 and about $309 million in 2022; This reflects a fundraising surge largely tied to the construction of the presidential center.

Executive salaries soared after the foundation reached a 99-year agreement with the city to operate the campus in Chicago’s historic Jackson Park, raising hundreds of millions of dollars.

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Illinois Governor JB Pritzker (L) joins former U.S. President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama at the groundbreaking ceremony at the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park on September 28, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

The center is scheduled to open in June and will add 150 full-time jobs to the foundation. The Obama Foundation says it will bring economic investment and opportunity to the surrounding South Side community.

In a video this week promoting the Center’s upcoming opening, Obama described the campus as a symbol of optimism and forward-looking change.

“This is not a monument to the past,” Obama said. A place to live for people who refuse to accept the status quo. If you feel that way, this is your invitation to join us.”