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[Spam] The Obama Foundation Is Even More Corrupt Than You Thought

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The scandal-plagued Obama Presidential Center in Chicago already stirred
up plenty of controversy. Now the money trail surrounding it raises even
more uncomfortable questions about how former President Barack Obama’s
inner circle is cashing in while taxpayers get screwed over. 

New federal tax filings reveal the staggering salaries flowing through
the Obama Foundation as construction of the $850 million Obama
Presidential Center in Jackson Park nears completion. The foundation
will operate the massive 19.3-acre campus, which sits on publicly owned
Chicago parkland. The project includes a museum, an athletic center, and
a public library branch. It will not operate as a traditional
presidential library overseen by the National Archives. 

The land it sits on is a big part of the scheme. The Obama Foundation
secured a 99-year agreement with the city, under which the foundation
pays just $10 per year to use the plot. That deal alone costs Chicago
tens of millions of dollars in potential value while handing over prime
public property to a private nonprofit run by a former president. 

With such a sweet deal in place, the foundation has been able to pay its
officers inflated salaries, the most eye-popping of which is paid to
Valerie Jarrett, one of Obama’s closest political confidantes. Jarrett
“earned” $740,000 in 2024 as CEO of the Obama Foundation. That salary
easily outpaces the compensation paid to leaders at several other
presidential foundations. 

And she’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Six of the foundation’s 10 highest-paid executives previously held
senior roles in the Obama administration or campaign. David Simas,
Obama’s former White House political director, earned up to $626,000
annually while leading the foundation from 2017 through 2020. Adewale
Adeyemo, another senior Obama official who later became deputy Treasury
secretary under Joe Biden, earned about $540,000 as the foundation’s
first president. 


The list keeps going. Anne Filipic, a former White House public
engagement official, earned roughly $400,000 annually. Christina Tchen,
former chief of staff to Michelle Obama, also pulled in roughly $400,000
a year. Michael Strautmanis, another Obama campaign and White House
aide, earned more than $300,000 annually. 

Compensation across the organization has ballooned. Salaries and
benefits climbed from $18.5 million in 2018 to $43.7 million in 2024.
Staffing expanded to 337 employees. 

Illinois Republicans smell the stench of classic Chicago corruption.

"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 said. Though, to be fair, it
might be the ugliest building in the country. "Their jaw-dropping
salaries prove that Illinois’ culture of corruption is alive and well as
Barack Obama’s top allies rake in the cash.” 

Despite the red flags that raise eyebrows among Republicans and charity
watchdogs, the Obama Foundation insists its pay structure follows
industry standards. In a statement to Fox News Digital, the organization
claimed, "Executive salaries are based on competitive market rates for
roles of the same level in similar institutions nationwide." 

Yeah, and if you like your health plan, you can keep it, too.

The foundation also argued that its salaries actually trail those in the
private sector. According to the report, 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.” 

However, here’s what the foundation left out:

Those organizations operate with multibillion-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. 

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. 

Obama spent eight years in the White House under a cloud of multiple
scandals and rampant corruption. The media and his allies largely gave
him a pass, and so it’s hardly surprising that corruption has carried
over to the Obama Foundation. If the Obama Presidential Center is
supposed to preserve his legacy, it’s doing exactly that — including the
corruption. 

The Obama Foundation doesn’t just reflect Obama’s legacy of corruption —
it exposes how his inner circle still cashes in while taxpayers eat the
losses. 

https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2026/03/11/the-obama-foundation-is-even
-more-corrupt-than-you-thought-n4950512 

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[Spam] The Obama Foundation Is Even More Corrupt Than You Thought Latasha Life <stupid@nignogs.org> - 2026-03-17 04:46 +0100

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