Major Earners in the Cultural World

The next time someone tosses the phrase "we're a non profit" in your face like it is either an excuse for having a crappy business plan which doesn't include actually paying you for the work you do, or as some sort of elitist one-uppance, here's some food for thought. I just came across this 2010 article from the New York times listing some of the highest earners among "cultural" non profits.

Institution                                                                      Name                                                                                Compensation

                                                                                                                                                                         (calendar year 2008

                                                                                                                                                                       unless otherwise noted)

Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation                       Thomas Krens                                                     $2,741,96

Metropolitan Opera                                                        Peter Gelb, general manager                           $1,345,000 (F.Y. 2010)

Museum of Modern Art                                                  Glenn Lowry, director                                         $1,320,000 (F.Y. 2009)

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts                       Reynold Levy, president                                    $1,181,030 

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts      Michael M. Kaiser, president                             $1,131,000 (F.Y. 2009) 

Smithsonian Institution                                                 G. Wayne Clough, secretary                               $525,700 (F.Y. 2010)

New York City Opera                                                    George Steel, general manager                        $360,000

The Website guidestar.org has financial reports available for nonprofits around the country. Some basic information is free, but you can get the IRS form 990 if you are willing to pay for the reports. The form requires listing the highest paid officers and employees.