Obama Foundation's Six-Figure Payroll: Half Its Staff Earn Over 00,000 as Workers Organize

Obama Foundation's Six-Figure Payroll: Half Its Staff Earn Over $100,000 as Workers Organize

172 of 342 Staffers Earned More Than $100,000

Fox News first reported the numbers from the foundation's 2025 tax filing: of the 342 employees the nonprofit reported, 172 earned more than $100,000 — roughly half the workforce. At the top, CEO Valerie Jarrett, one of Barack Obama's closest advisers, received $771,000 in total compensation in 2025, about $15,500 more than in 2024, with base salary near $755,000. Jarrett has led the foundation since 2021 and oversaw the final years of construction at the Presidential Center on Chicago's South Side.

Four of the Ten Best-Paid Came From the White House

Jarrett is not an outlier in the filing, which also lists Robbin Cohen at roughly $666,000, Christina Tchen, former chief of staff to Michelle Obama, at about $431,000, Michael Strautmanis at about $404,000 and Laura Lucas Magnuson at about $396,000. At least four of the ten highest-paid executives previously worked in Obama's White House or campaigns.

The Foundation Says Pay Is Benchmarked to Market

Emily Bittner, the foundation's vice president of communications, told Fox News Digital that the board uses comparability data and an outside compensation consultant each year to review and approve pay for the CEO, officers and key employees, and that staff are paid rates competitive with the market. The foundation has more than 500 employees worldwide, about 300 of them based at the Center, she said. On the union drive, a spokesperson said the organization is deeply committed to the fundamental right of workers to organize and make their voices heard.

Highest Share Among Six Presidential Nonprofits

Fox compared the foundation with five other presidential nonprofits using their most recent 2024 filings. Roughly half of the Obama Foundation's reported workforce earned above $100,000, versus 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. CEO pay ran higher too: about $735,000 at the Reagan Foundation and $531,000 at the Carter Center in fiscal years ending in 2025.

Payroll Reached $50.4 Million

The foundation's payroll and benefits bill hit $50.4 million in 2025, up from $18.5 million in 2018 and $43.7 million in 2024. Revenue came to about $159 million last year, nearly $151 million of it contributions and grants, though donations slipped from $195 million in 2024. Fox quoted a nonprofit expert who said such pay is not unusual for an organization whose net assets exceed $1 billion. The same week brought another figure: the Presidential Center's construction cost is now projected at about $1 billion, nearly triple the original estimate, and the campus opened on June 19, 2026, five years behind schedule. Illinois Republican Party chairman Bob Grogan accused the foundation of enriching Obama's inner circle with taxpayers' money.

No Raises This Winter, Reduced PTO, Frozen Promotions

The union drive went public on October 7, when 68 employees signed an open letter announcing Obama Workers United, affiliated with AFSCME Council 31. The group aims to represent more than 250 workers at the Chicago campus, the foundation's Washington, D.C. offices and remote positions nationwide. Amidst increasing workloads we have seen our benefits rolled back and support from leadership to be minimal, the letter said. Organizers say staff were told there would be no winter raises while health care costs rise, paid time off was cut, promotions were suspended and turnover has grown.

They Quote Obama's Own 2016 Words

The open letter quotes Obama's 2016 message to working Americans: If I were looking for a good job that lets me build some security for my family, I'd join a union. If I saw a problem in my workplace, I'd organize my coworkers to do something about it. Luke Gilday, a Washington-based foundation employee on the organizing committee, said workers do not even have a seat at the table on benefits, pay and insurance.

Who Is Affected

The immediate stakes involve the more than 250 workers in visitor services, custodial, technology and education roles, along with the taxpayers who helped fund the campus and the donors who paid for it. AFSCME Council 31 executive director Roberta Lynch said the employees are the heart of the Obama Foundation and that a union would ensure the foundation is every bit as good a place to work as the Center is to visit. The campaign follows a wave of museum organizing: since 2021, nearly 3,000 workers at the Art Institute, the Field Museum and other Chicago institutions have formed unions, and AFSCME's Cultural Workers United now represents more than 50,000 cultural workers nationally, about 2,500 of them in Illinois.

What Happens Next

Per the Chicago Tribune, if a majority of the proposed bargaining unit signs authorization cards, the workers can ask the foundation for voluntary recognition; with support from at least 30%, they can petition the National Labor Relations Board for an election. AFSCME said it expects no resistance from the foundation. Gilday said there is no timeline yet for a contract and that the focus is on building momentum.