American Museum of Natural History CEO salary and executive pay
American Museum of Natural History paid its CEO, Sean M Decatur, $1,502,408 for the fiscal year ending June 2025. That is up $434,340 (40.7%) from the fiscal year ending June 2024. Total revenue on that return was $246,764,235, up 4.1% from $237,074,999 for the fiscal year ending June 2024. American Museum of Natural History ranks 4th of 11 arts and culture nonprofits on this site by CEO pay. American Museum of Natural History has 4 Form 990 returns on record, for fiscal years ending 2022 to 2025.
Last updated from IRS e-file data. EIN 13-6162659, New York, NY.
CEO, fiscal year ending June 2025
$1,502,408
Highest-paid person, fiscal year ending June 2025
$1,796,115Lisa GugenheimDIR. OF THE MUS. (END 6/30/24)
- Total revenue
- $246,764,235
- CEO pay vs. peers
- Higher than 63%
Source: Form 990, fiscal year ending June 2025, IRS object ID 202641179349300744.View the filing
Peers: the 207 other organizations on this site with revenue of $50 million to $500 million. Ranked 77th of 208 by top pay as a share of revenue. Pay is 0.61% of revenue, our calculation from the same return. Revenue is Part I, line 12; peers are compared on their latest full-year returns.
Highest-paid people on the latest return
On the latest return, 10 people were paid more than $500,000, 2 of them more than $1 million.
| Name and title | Total |
|---|---|
| Lisa GugenheimDIR. OF THE MUS. (END 6/30/24) | $1,796,115 |
| Sean M Decatur CEO PRESIDENT & EX OFFICIO TRUSTEE | $1,502,408 |
| Michael NovacekCURATOR (FMR SR VP & PROVOST) | $860,854 |
| Ward C WheelerCURATOR | $647,700 |
| Anne CantySR VP COMMUNICATIONS,MARKETING | $619,778 |
Also paid on the latest return: Cheryl Hayashi (SR VP & PROVOST), $573,493; Daniel Stoddard (ACTING SR VP CFO & CIO), $567,221; John Flynn (DEAN OF GRAD SCHOOL & CURATOR), $561,012; Juan Montes (CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER), $553,327; Richard A Madonna (SR VP & CFO-(END 3/3/25)), $542,107; Amy Sonnenborn (SR VP CHIEF ADV OFFICER), $486,684; Rhea Gordon (SR VP GEN COUNSEL & SECRETARY), $469,106; Mariet Morgan (VP EDUCATION), $454,939; Daniel Slippen (SR VP GOV REL & COMM ENGT), $454,702; Lauri Halderman (SR VP FOR EXHIB (End 10/7/24)), $448,516; Kala Harinarayanan (SR VP & CHIEF PEOPLE OFFICER), $415,844; Jennifer OBUS (ASSISTANT SEC. (ST. 12/4/24)), $233,552; Jacqueline Powers (ASSISTANT SEC. (End 6/4/24)), $191,387; Carol Tang (SR VP LEARNING (ST. 11/6/24)), $150,670.
Also listed in Part VII of the latest return, with no pay reported: Georgina Bloomberg (Trustee), Scott L Bok (Chairman), Lois Chiles (TRUSTEE), Andrew Crawford (Trustee(Start 10/9/24)), Christopher C Davis (VICE CHAIRMAN), Cheryl C Effron (TRUSTEE(End 12/4/24)), Tina Fey (TRUSTEE), Joseph H Gleberman (TRUSTEE), Ben Gottesman (Trustee), Peggy Hamburg (TRUSTEE(End 12/4/24)), William R Hearst III (TRUSTEE), Marlene Hess (TRUSTEE(End 12/4/24)), Richard E Jaffe (TRUSTEE), Amabel James (TRUSTEE), Christopher Kellen (TRUSTEE), Katheryn P Kempner (TRUSTEE), John King Jr (VICE CHAIRMAN), Shawn Levy (Trustee), John T Lykouretzos (TRUSTEE), Linda R Macaulay (VICE CHARIMAN), Roger Juan Maldonado (trustee), Theodore A Mathas (vice chairman), Raymond J McGuire (TREASURER), Keith Meister (TRUSTEE), Lorne Michaels (TRUSTEE), and 26 more.
CEO pay by year
Each row is the CEO on that year's return, or the highest-paid person where no one has a chief executive title.
| Fiscal year ending | Name and title | Total | Revenue | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2025 | Sean M Decatur CEO PRESIDENT & EX OFFICIO TRUSTEE | $1,502,408 | $246,764,235 | Filing |
| Jun 2024 | Sean M Decatur CEO PRESIDENT | $1,068,068 | $237,074,999 | Filing |
| Jun 2023 | Ellen V FutterPRESIDENT-END 03/15/23 (highest-paid; no CEO title listed) | $1,369,590 | $228,656,406 | Filing |
| Jun 2022 | Ellen V Futter CEO PRESIDENT & EX OFFICIO TRUSTEE | $11,925,437 | $228,285,796 | Filing |
How this pay was reported
The parts of each total, as reported on the return for the fiscal year ending June 2025.
Source: Form 990, fiscal year ending June 2025, IRS object ID 202641179349300744.View the filing
| Part VII | Schedule J | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name and title | From org | Other | Base | Bonus | Other | Deferred | Nontaxable | Total |
| Lisa GugenheimDIR. OF THE MUS. (END 6/30/24) | $1,738,936 | $57,179 | $418,100 | $0 | $1,320,836 | $40,636 | $16,543 | $1,796,115 |
| Sean M DecaturPRESIDENT & EX OFFICIO TRUSTEE | $1,216,070 | $286,338 | $925,769 | $50,301 | $240,000 | $258,558 | $27,780 | $1,502,408 |
| Michael NovacekCURATOR (FMR SR VP & PROVOST) | $789,415 | $71,439 | $452,479 | $0 | $336,936 | $60,904 | $10,535 | $860,854 |
| Ward C WheelerCURATOR | $536,173 | $111,527 | $397,187 | $0 | $138,986 | $83,167 | $28,360 | $647,700 |
| Anne CantySR VP COMMUNICATIONS,MARKETING | $460,769 | $159,009 | $460,769 | $0 | $0 | $130,649 | $28,360 | $619,778 |
These figures come from American Museum of Natural History's Form 990 returns, as the IRS publishes them. The methodology page explains how they're chosen. To report an error, email corrections@ceopaycheck.com.
How American Museum of Natural History compares
Ranked 4th of 11 arts and culture nonprofits by CEO pay.
- Previous in this ranking: 3rd, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, $1,774,224
- Next in this ranking: 5th, Boston Symphony Orchestra, $1,371,354
Closest in revenue among organizations in the same revenue band:
MERS Goodwill$591,461 (CEO), fiscal year ending Dec 2024
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston$1,774,224 (highest-paid), fiscal year ending Jun 2025
Los Angeles County Museum of Art$2,056,119 (CEO), fiscal year ending Jun 2025
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts$2,293,217 (CEO), fiscal year ending Jun 2025
American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science$993,732 (CEO), fiscal year ending Sep 2025
Common questions
Sean M Decatur (PRESIDENT & EX OFFICIO TRUSTEE) was paid $1,502,408 for the fiscal year ending June 2025: $1,216,070 from American Museum of Natural History and $286,338 in other compensation (Part VII columns D and F).
The highest-paid person on the latest return was Lisa Gugenheim (DIR. OF THE MUS. (END 6/30/24)), at $1,796,115. That is $293,707 more than the CEO, Sean M Decatur.
American Museum of Natural History paid its CEO, Sean M Decatur, $1,502,408 for the fiscal year ending June 2025. That is up $434,340 (40.7%) from the fiscal year ending June 2024. The earliest return on record is for the fiscal year ending June 2022, when the CEO was Ellen V Futter, paid $11,925,437. By fiscal year end: June 2022, $11,925,437 (Ellen V Futter); June 2023, $1,369,590; June 2024, $1,068,068 (Sean M Decatur); June 2025, $1,502,408.
American Museum of Natural History's return for the fiscal year ending June 2025 reports total expenses of $278,576,256 and total revenue of $246,764,235 (Part I, lines 18 and 12), so expenses exceeded revenue by $31,812,021. Expenses were $258,168,058 for the fiscal year ending June 2024, so they rose 7.9%. The CEO's pay of $1,502,408 equals 0.54% of expenses, our calculation.
From the 4 Form 990 returns American Museum of Natural History filed with the IRS for fiscal years ending 2022 to 2025. The latest full-year return was filed on April 27, 2026. Schedule J of the fiscal year ending June 2025 return breaks down pay for all 5 people in the pay breakdown above.