They work for nonprofits, but their paychecks top $1 million a year.
A trio of CEOs from New York-based nonprofits are on an elite list of 11 charity chiefs who command a staggering seven-figure salary for their efforts, according to a new study by Charity Navigator.
Metropolitan Museum of Art head Thomas Campbell, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai chief Kenneth Davis and former Rockefeller University boss Paul Nurse topped the million-dollar mark — and the Met’s Campbell was the second-highest paid nonprofit CEO in the country, figures compiled by the watchdog group said.
Campbell took home nearly $1.5 million — $655,932 in base pay and $840,800 in “other” compensation, according to the 2013 “Charity CEO Compensation Study,” which analyzed the 2011 IRS returns of 3,929 mid- to large-size US-based charities that rely on public support.
The married father of two was the highest paid exec in the “arts, culture and humanities” category, where the US median pay came in at $159,650. Icahn School of Medicine CEO Davis pulled in $1.3 million, while Rockefeller’s Nurse was paid $1.1 million.
Charity Navigator noted that the education non-profit sector — where the US median pay was $170,178 — generally pays better than other charity categories. (Rockefeller University’s new CEO, Marc Tessler-Levigne, took over for Nurse and makes $1.3 million, according to the nonprofit’s 2012 tax returns.)
Meanwhile, the study showed another New York-based nonprofit chief, Dr. Richard Haass of the Council on Foreign Relations, pulled in nearly $900,000, including a $362,748 base salary, plus $225,000 in bonuses and incentives and $303,206 in “other” compensation.
Haass was the highest-paid CEO in Charity Navigator’s “international” charitable mission category, where US median pay was $120,000 for the period.
Charity Navigator noted that the country’s highest-paid CEOs oversee multi-million dollar operations, with the largest nonprofits having expenses of more than $13.5 million. But it termed some of the salaries “excessive” and “outrageously high.”
UPDATE: The $1.5 million salary figure reported by Charity Navigator for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s CEO was incorrect. The figure (which included $840,000 of a required pension payout) was actually that of the organization’s president, Emily Rafferty. Met CEO Thomas Campbell did not hit the $1 million mark; he is paid $839,765. Charity Navigator has revised its study to reflect the change.