The Obama Foundation is looking for 100 unpaid volunteers to work alongside the former president’s highly paid cronies at the $850 million Obama Presidential Center in Chicago when it opens in June.
Officials are pitching the no-paycheck gigs as rooted in former President Barack Obama’s legacy of civic engagement.
The recruitment campaign comes after Fox News Digital reported that the organization’s CEO, former top Obama aide Valerie Jarrett, was paid $740,000 in 2024.
Foundation officials told Fox News Digital the volunteers will complement about 300 full- and part-time employees at the long-delayed center, which the organization is promoting as a $3.1 billion economic catalyst for the Windy City’s South Side.
The new program will have 75 to 100 volunteers, known as “ambassadors,” greet and direct visitors around the campus and share information about exhibits at the 22-story museum tower, athletic center and Chicago Public Library branch, among other amenities.
It is expected to expand in the future.
The foundation describes the volunteer program as a key component of its mission, saying volunteers represent its values both onsite and in the community.
It is unclear what the salary range for those paid workers will be.
However, the foundation’s most recent tax filings provide insight into compensation at the organization’s senior levels.
Federal filings viewed by Fox News Digital show Jarrett made $740,000 in 2024, 2023 and 2022, while several former Obama White House officials have collected six-figure salaries as foundation executives.
Total salaries and benefits at the foundation climbed 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, according to the filings. --->READ MORE HERE
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| Fox 32; Steven Ferdman/Getty |
Longtime Obama confidante's salary exceeds leaders at Bush, Carter, Reagan and Clinton foundations
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."
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. --->READ MORE HERE
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