The Obama Foundation is under a fresh spotlight for a glaring gap between the people at the top and the workers trying to organize below. Valerie Jarrett’s pay has climbed to $771,000, roughly half the reported workforce earned six figures, and employees are now pushing for union representation after complaining about heavier workloads and trimmed-back support. At the same time, the foundation is dealing with huge costs tied to the Obama Presidential Center and a payroll that has grown fast as the organization expanded.
The numbers alone tell a story that is hard to ignore. In its 2025 tax filing, the foundation reported 172 employees making more than $100,000 out of 342 listed workers, a share that looks unusually high for a nonprofit. The organization said it had more than 500 employees worldwide by the time the center opened, with about 300 based there, and its payroll and benefits bill reached $50.4 million last year, up sharply from $18.5 million in 2018.
Jarrett has been leading the foundation since 2021, guiding the final stretch of the Presidential Center project on Chicago’s South Side. Her pay moved upward over time, starting around $581,000 when she stepped in, then rising to $740,000 and eventually to nearly $755,000 before landing at $771,000 in the latest filing. She is one of several former Obama White House and campaign figures holding top jobs with big salaries, which has only added to the scrutiny.
The foundation says the pay reflects the market and the kind of talent it needs. Emily Bittner, the group’s vice president of communications, said, “The foundation pays our employees rates that are competitive with the market,” and added, “We have more than 500 employees worldwide, roughly 300 of whom are based at the center.”
Still, the salary picture is unusual when stacked against other presidential nonprofits. The latest available filings reviewed by Fox News Digital showed lower CEO pay at the Reagan Foundation, Carter Center, George W. Bush Presidential Center, George & Barbara Bush Foundation and Clinton Foundation. The Obama Foundation also had a higher share of six-figure earners than those groups, which makes its staffing model stand out even more.
Brian Mittendorf, an accounting professor at Ohio State University who studies nonprofit finances, said the foundation’s pay structure is higher than what most people expect from a charity, but he also pointed out that the organization is not operating like a local food bank. “That’s clearly a higher percentage than your average nonprofit,” he said. “But here we’re dealing with a nonprofit that’s probably very expertise heavy.”
That broader explanation does not remove the tension around the money. The foundation brought in about $159 million in revenue last year, with nearly $151 million coming from contributions and grants, while the long-delayed Presidential Center pushed toward a price tag of roughly $1 billion, far above the original estimate. The campus sits on publicly owned parkland in Chicago’s Jackson Park, which has fueled years of debate all by itself.
Several of the top-paid leaders have deep Obama ties. Christina Tchen, Michael Strautmanis and Laura Lucas Magnuson all took home large six-figure salaries in 2025, while Robbin Cohen and Ammar Rizki also ranked among the foundation’s biggest earners. The nonprofit says its board uses comparable pay data and a compensation consultant to review executive salaries each year.
Even with that defense, the optics are rough when the workers on the ground are sounding alarms. Members of Obama Workers United, affiliated with AFSCME Council 31, say they have faced increased workloads, weaker benefits and too little backing from leadership, and they want the right to organize without interference. Their public letter made the frustration plain, saying, “Amidst increasing workloads we have seen our benefits rolled back and support from leadership to be minimal,” while also urging the foundation to stay away from anti-union tactics.
The nonprofit says it respects that effort. “We are deeply committed to the fundamental right of workers to organize and make their voices heard,” the foundation said, adding that it wants to work constructively with labor partners as the process unfolds.
That leaves the foundation in a tricky spot, with a glossy global brand, a costly public-facing campus and a workforce that is no longer hiding its dissatisfaction. The paychecks at the top may be locked in by market logic and consultant reports, but the pressure from employees is coming from a different place entirely, and it is not fading quietly.
