Valerie Jarrett earned $740K as Obama insiders filled top roles during $850M presidential center build

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

The Obama Foundation — which will operate the 19.3-acre center on publicly owned Chicago parkland — paid its CEO more than any other major presidential foundation. Salaries and benefits soared from $18.5 million in 2018 to $43.7 million in 2024, as staffing expanded to 337 employees and annual revenue reached nearly $210 million.

Jarrett, one of the Obamas’ closest advisors, 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 a review of the foundation's tax filings from 2018 to 2024.

"Illinois Democrats are truly living their best lives — making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to help design the ugliest building in Chicago," Illinois GOP Chairman Kathy Salvi told Fox News. "Their jaw-dropping salaries prove that Illinois’ culture of corruption is alive and well as Barack Obama’s top allies rake in the cash."

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Jarrett’s compensation exceeds the most recently reported pay of leaders at several other presidential foundations. The George W. Bush Presidential Center reported CEO compensation of roughly $661,000 in 2024, while the Carter Center and the Reagan Foundation reported pay in the $500,000 range. The Clinton Foundation’s most recent filings show CEO compensation below $500,000.

Filings show that Jarrett’s pay accounted for less than 1% of the Obama Foundation’s total expenses in 2024. By comparison, CEO compensation at the George W. Bush Presidential Center represented a larger share of total expenses, while the Carter and Clinton foundations reported lower proportional pay.

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

Adewale Adeyemo, a senior Obama administration official and later Biden’s deputy Treasury secretary, earned roughly $540,000 during his tenure as the foundation's first president.

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

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The compensation figures take on added relevance as the foundation prepares to open and operate the presidential center under a $10, 99-year-use agreement on publicly owned Chicago parkland, in what the foundation is calling its "permanent home."

The campus will include a museum, an athletic center and a public library branch. It will not function as a traditional presidential library overseen by the National Archives Records Administration, marking a departure from the federally operated model used by modern presidential libraries. The Obama Foundation, whose programming is tied directly to the former president’s legacy, also runs leadership and community programs in the U.S. and abroad.

Nonprofit governance experts say executive compensation should be evaluated against comparable organizations, though political ties among top leadership can heighten scrutiny.

"Any time you are dealing with a nonprofit that is politically connected in some way, there is always a heightened risk of nepotism creeping in," said Laurie Styron, CEO of CharityWatch, an independent charity watchdog group. "If multiple highly paid executives have ties to the former president’s administration, the public deserves significant transparency about how those hiring and compensation decisions were made."

Styron added that high salaries are not inherently problematic and should be assessed based on market comparables and organizational complexity.

Foundation defends pay, cites large nonprofits

The Obama Foundation said executive compensation reflects market rates for large national nonprofits and is reviewed annually by its board, which uses external comparability data and compensation consultants.

"Executive salaries are based on competitive market rates for roles of the same level in similar institutions nationwide," the foundation said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "Overall, salaries throughout the foundation, across all levels, are discounted relative to those in the private sector."

The foundation pointed to compensation levels at major philanthropic institutions, where leaders at the Rockefeller and Mellon foundations earned more than $1.4 million in 2023, and the Ford and MacArthur foundations each reported CEO compensation of roughly $1.29 million, according to public filings.

Those organizations operate with multibillion-dollar endowments, money that earns enough interest each year to cover operating costs. The Ford Foundation reports assets of roughly $16 billion, while the Mellon and MacArthur foundations each report assets exceeding $8 billion.

The Obama Foundation reported more than $1.1 billion in total assets at the end of 2024, though much of that reflects construction-related assets and restricted funds tied to the presidential center rather than a traditional invested endowment.

The Obama Foundation pledged to establish a $470 million endowment, though public filings show approximately $1 million deposited to date, according to a Fox News Digital investigation.

Under Jarrett’s leadership, the foundation reported roughly $210 million in total revenue in 2024, the vast majority — about $195 million — from contributions and grants. It reported approximately $311 million in 2023 and about $309 million in 2022, reflecting a fundraising surge tied largely to the construction of the presidential center.

Executive pay expanded after the foundation locked in the 99-year agreement with the city to operate the campus in Chicago’s historic Jackson Park and raised hundreds of millions of dollars.

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

In a video released 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. "It's a living destination for people who refuse to accept the status quo. If you feel that way, this is your invitation to join us."