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Valerie Jarrett earned $740K as Obama insiders filled top roles during $850M presidential center build
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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.»
OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CENTER DEPOSITS JUST $1M INTO $470M RESERVE FUND AIMED TO PROTECT TAXPAYERS
Obama Foundation CEO Valerie Jarrett, left, and the Obama Presidential Center under construction in Chicago’s Jackson Park, right. The Foundation reported nearly $210 million in total revenue in 2024, according to federal filings. (Fox 32; Steven Ferdman/Getty)
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.
Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett (C) listens to U.S. President Barack Obama as he meets business leaders to discuss the need for commonsense immigration reform in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, June 24, 2013. (Reuters)
BUREAUCRATS HIDE TRUE PRICE OF OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CENTER AS TAXPAYERS HIT WITH INFRASTRUCTURE BILL
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.
Exterior view of the Obama Presidential Center tower under construction in Chicago. (Fox 32 Chicago)
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 multi-billion-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.
Former President Barack Obama walks with David Simas, then-assistant to the president and director of the Office of Political Strategy and Outreach, outside the Oval Office at the White House on May 18, 2016, in Washington, D.C. Simas earned up to $626,000 annually while leading the Obama Foundation from 2017 through 2020. (Michael Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images)
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.
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Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker (L) joins former U.S. President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama in a ceremonial groundbreaking at the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park on Sept. 28, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. ( Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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.»
politics,barack obama,charity,democratic party,chicago,illinois,the clintons
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A suspected retaliatory drone attack by pro-Iranian militias struck a major U.S. diplomatic facility in Baghdad on Tuesday, according to The Washington Post.
The newspaper said the strike hit the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center, and no injuries were immediately reported.
Six drones were launched toward the compound, five of which were shot down.
The Post, citing a security official and a State Department alert, reported one drone struck near a guard tower and people at the facility were instructed to «duck and cover.»
GULF STATES INTERCEPT HUNDREDS OF IRANIAN MISSILES AND DRONES, ISSUE JOINT CONDEMNATION WITH US
U.S. Ambassador to Iraq James Jeffrey stands with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Martin Dempsey, Gen. James Mattis, Gen. Lloyd Austin III and Sgt. Maj. Joseph Allen following a ceremony retiring the ceremonial flag at the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center on Dec. 15, 2011. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)
«Accountability is ongoing,» the alert said.
Iraq’s ministry of defense condemned the drone and missile attacks targeting the Martyr Muhammad Alaa Air Base and the Martyr Ali Fallah Air Base in a post on X but did not mention the hit on the U.S. facility or Iran directly.
«In response to these sinful aggressions, the Ministry wishes to clarify and confirm the following facts: These air bases are fully sovereign and Iraqi, subject entirely to the authority of the state and the law, and there is no representation of any foreign forces in them under any designation,» the government account wrote.
The security official told The Washington Post the attack was likely conducted by militias affiliated with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a loose umbrella group of Iran-aligned Shiite armed factions that have claimed responsibility for attacks on U.S. forces in the region.
US EMBASSY STRUCK BY DRONES IN SAUDI ARABIA AS AMERICANS INSTRUCTED TO SHELTER IN PLACE
A billboard featuring a photo of Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader who was killed in U.S. and Israeli airstrikes, is seen along a street in Baghdad on March 9, 2026. (Murtadha Al-Sudani/Anadolu via Getty Images)
At the start of Operation Epic Fury, the State Department had urged Americans to depart immediately from more than a dozen countries across the Middle East, warning of «serious safety risks» as the Iran war intensified.
Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Mora Namdar said on March 2 that U.S. citizens should leave Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
The department said Americans who need help arranging departure via commercial means can contact the State Department 24/7 at +1-202-501-4444 from abroad or +1-888-407-4747 from the U.S. and Canada.
IRAN PROXIES WAGE WAR ON ISRAEL, THREATEN US INTERESTS AS IRAQ SLAMMED FOR NOT DISARMING THEM
Protesters walk through tear gas during clashes with Iraqi security forces near a bridge leading to the Green Zone in Baghdad on March 1, 2026. (Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP/ via Getty Images)
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Officials warned conditions in the region remain volatile, and security situations could change quickly as fighting tied to the conflict continues.
At least nine U.S. missions, including Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan, Qatar and Israel, issued repeated shelter-in-place directives or advisories at the outset of Iran’s retaliatory attacks against U.S. forces and Israel.
iraq,war with iran,middle east,state department
INTERNACIONAL
Texas conservatives tout record-breaking school choice signups after long battle with teachers unions
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After a decades-long battle with Democrats, teacher unions, and even a few Republicans, Texas conservatives are celebrating the successful launch of what is likely to become the largest school-choice program in the country.
The Lone Star State’s school choice program, called the Texas Education Freedom Accounts, saw record-setting registrations in its first days. Within one hour of the program opening, it had already garnered 8,000 registrations. By the end of the day, it had notched 42,000 signups and three days in, it was sitting at around 62,000 signups. The program is expected to hit 100,000 by its March 17 deadline.
To Texas Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock, chief administrator of the program, the program’s early success represents a win for what he called «educational freedom.»
«We figure in the State of Texas, we lead the nation in economic freedom, we might as well lead the nation in educational freedom,» he said in an interview with Fox News Digital.
SAN FRANCISCO SCHOOLS ON VERGE OF CLOSING OVER POSSIBLE TEACHERS STRIKE
The Lone Star State’s school choice program, called the Texas Education Freedom Accounts, saw record-setting registrations in its first days. (Bryn Lennon – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images; Getty Images)
School choice was a major legislative priority for Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who signed the measure establishing the program into law last May. Under the program, families will receive $10,000 per year to help pay for their child’s private school tuition or costs for home-schooling and virtual learning programs. Children with disabilities can qualify for as much as $30,000 per year.
Though showing early signs of success, getting a school choice program to pass in a state the size of Texas was not easy. As a parent himself, Hancock said he has been an advocate for school choice for the last three decades.
«We got close at times in the state of Texas, where we thought the votes were there, and then we wouldn’t get there. And frankly, a couple of years ago, before Gov. Abbott got involved, I myself was like, ‘OK, I don’t know that we’re ever going to get there,’» he admitted.
While proponents believe the measure gives parents more options by allowing them to take their children out of poor-performing public schools in favor of alternative public or private school choices, others argue it pulls financial resources from Texas’ public school students and subsidizes the private education of wealthy families.
The program saw fierce opposition from the state’s leading teachers unions, including the Texas American Federation of Teachers (Texas AFT) and the Texas State Teachers Association (TSTA).
Ahead of the program launching, Texas AFT issued a statement calling it a «growing billion-dollar boondoggle.»
TRUMP DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ROLLS OUT LATEST STEP TO EXPAND SCHOOL CHOICE NATIONWIDE
Gov. Greg Abbott laughs during a bill signing in the State Capitol on April 23, 2025, in Austin, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
TSTA argued that Texas could not adequately fund both its public schools and the school choice program, saying, «Our underfunded public schools need all the tax dollars that lawmakers spend on K-12 education.»
In a statement shared with Fox News Digital, TSTA President Ovidia Molina vowed to «continue working to kill this expensive and discriminatory program.»
She knocked the state for «most» of the religious schools approved to participate in the program being Christian, which she said, «restrict admission or give preference to children of their own faith.» She also said that «some of these schools refuse admission to LGBTQ students.»
«These schools will use public tax dollars to discriminate against children whose families pay these tax dollars. Public schools do not discriminate. They accept every student who lives in their district, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender identity, religion, family income or whatever, and only public schools should receive our tax revenue,» said Molina.
Hancock, however, pushed back on the idea that the program pits public and private schools against each other. He said Texas, which operates on a constitutionally required balanced budget, was able to fund the school choice program «at the same time that we had record investment in public education and $4 billion in teacher pay, which was a record investment in going directly to paying for our teachers there within the public setting.»
MAJOR CITY SCHOOL DISTRICTS LOSING STUDENTS AS PARENTS SEEK BETTER OPTIONS
School choice was a major legislative priority for Gov. Greg Abbott, who signed the measure establishing the program into law last May. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
«We want to be number one, not only in this program, but in education as a whole, both our public schools, our charter schools, and home schools, and private schools,» he explained. «We’re willing to give that investment, and we have our eyes set on it.»
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He framed the opposition to the program as attempts to maintain the status quo and eliminate competition in education.
«It’s the standard pushback, and the reality is no change, no competition, we want the system as is, we don’t want any changes to be involved in it,» he said. «Look, I’m a businessman, and I would love it if in the business I’m in that I had limited or no competition, that I have government protections, that had government funding me, that lived within all those protections. I mean, let’s face it, who wouldn’t want those protections? But that’s not good for… the students, the children.»
«What’s the best for children is competition,» he went on.
Further, he believes the huge number of signups indicates how badly needed the program is.
«I think by opening this up and then the enormous turnout we had, the record turnout we hit, that what it shows is we’re meeting the customers’ needs and the customers are Texans.»
Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion contributed to this report.
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Una mujer policía murió de un disparo en la cabeza en Brasil y su marido dijo que se suicidó: investigan si la mató
La muerte de una mujer policía de 32 años, Gisele Alves Santana, a mediados de febrero en San Pablo, Brasil, desató una ola de sospechas y contradicciones que ponen en jaque la versión inicial de que se trató de un suicidio y ahora investigan un femicidio.
El caso involucra a su esposo, el teniente coronel de la Policía Militar Geraldo Leite Rosa Neto, de 53 años, quien estaba en el departamento cuando ocurrió el disparo fatal y ahora es considerado sospechoso.
Leé también: Impactante video: una joven de 26 años cayó por la ventana de un colectivo en Brasil y murió
La decisión se tomó después de que un nuevo informe de autopsia, realizado tras la exhumación del cuerpo de la víctima a pedido de su familia.
Las pericias revelaron lesiones en el rostro y el cuello de la víctima causadas por presiones de los dedos y marcas de uñas.
Según los peritos, hay indicios de que Gisele se desmayó antes de recibir el disparo en la cabeza y de que no se defendió. Gisele Alves Santana tenía 32 años. (Foto: gentileza g1).
El horario de la muerte y las dudas sobre la versión del esposo
Una vecina declaró que escuchó un fuerte ruido a las 7:28 de la mañana del 18 de febrero, media hora antes de que el esposo llamara por primera vez a las urgencias.
En esa llamada, realizada a las 7:57, Neto afirmó: “Mi esposa es policía. Se mató con un tiro en la cabeza. Manden una ambulancia y un patrullero, por favor”.
Minutos después, a las 8:05, volvió a comunicarse, esta vez con los bomberos, y dijo que la mujer aún respiraba. Las autoridades llegaron al lugar a las 8:13.
La posición de la pistola y la escena del crimen
Según el diario Metrópoles, uno de los bomberos que atendió la emergencia declaró que “no era una típica escena de suicidio”.
El cuerpo de la mujer estaba entre el sofá y el mueble de la televisión. Según dijo, el arma estaba “bien encajada” en la mano de la víctima, de una manera que nunca había visto en casos similares.
Por lo inusual de la escena, decidió tomar fotografías. Además, notó que la sangre ya estaba coagulada cuando llegaron y que no había casquillo de bala en el lugar. Un bombero notó que la escena era sospechosa y decidió tomar fotos. (Foto: gentileza g1).
Contradicciones y la actitud fría del esposo
Geraldo afirmó que su esposa tuvo una “reacción negativa” después de que él le pidiera el divorcio y que la mujer agarró un arma y se mató.
El teniente coronel declaró que se estaba duchando cuando escuchó el disparo, pero los primeros bomberos que ingresaron al departamento aseguraron que él estaba completamente seco y que no había rastros de agua en el piso.
Un sargento con 15 años de experiencia afirmó que encontró a Neto en bermuda, sin camisa y seco. Otro oficial de la PM que llegó al lugar también señaló que ni el esposo ni la víctima parecían haberse bañado antes del disparo. Geraldo Leite Rosa Neto dijo que Gisele se suicidó cuando le pidió el divorcio. (Foto: gentileza Metrópoles).
Los rescatistas también se sorprendieron por la falta de desesperación del teniente coronel: no lo vieron llorar ni parecía alterado.
Otro bombero señaló que Neto hablaba con calma por teléfono, cuestionaba el accionar de los bomberos y exigía que la víctima fuera trasladada rápidamente al hospital.
Además, no tenía manchas de sangre en el cuerpo ni en la ropa, lo que indicaría que no intentó asistir a su esposa tras el disparo. La madre de Gisele dijo que su yerno era «abusivo» y controlador con su hija. (Foto: gentileza Metrópoles).
El testimonio de la madre de Gisele refutó la versión de su yerno. Marinalva Vieira afirmó que la pareja tenía una “relación turbulenta” y que el teniente coronel era “abusivo y violento”.
También dijo que el hombre no dejaba que su hija usara lápiz labial ni tacones altos y que controlaba sus conversaciones en las redes sociales.
La madre afirmó además que, una semana antes del incidente, su hija había pedido, en una llamada telefónica, que sus padres la fueran a buscar porque “no soportaba la presión” y quería separarse.
Llamada a un juez y movimientos sospechosos
Entre los contactos que hizo Neto esa mañana, uno llamó la atención de la familia de la víctima: llamó al juez Marco Antônio Pinheiro Machado Cogan, del Tribunal de Justicia de San Pablo.
El magistrado llegó al edificio a las 9:07 y subió al departamento con el teniente coronel. Según el abogado de la familia, José Miguel da Silva Junior, el juez fue la primera persona contactada tras el disparo y deberá explicar su presencia en el lugar.
Leé también: Pese a la advertencia de Trump, Irán atacó barcos comerciales en el estrecho de Ormuz y crece la tensión en Medio Oriente
Las cámaras de seguridad registraron que el juez salió al pasillo a las 9:18 y que Neto apareció con otra ropa a las 9:29.
El caso, que comenzó como un supuesto suicidio, sigue bajo investigación y medios locales apuntan a la pronta detención de Neto.
Brasil tuvo un récord de femicidios en 2025 con 4 muertes por día
En 2025, una década después de aprobarse la Ley del Femicidio, Brasil alcanzó la cifra récord de 1518 víctimas, es decir, cuatro mujeres por día, según informó la agencia de noticias Agencia Brasil.
El año anterior, en 2024, el país ya había establecido un récord con 1458 víctimas, según datos oficiales del Ministerio de Justicia y Seguridad Pública.
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