St. Jude Children's Research Hospital CEO salary and executive pay
St. Jude paid its CEO, JAMES R DOWNING, $1,713,883 for the fiscal year ending June 2025. That is down $720,307 (29.6%) from the fiscal year ending June 2024. St. Jude ranks 138th of 148 hospital systems on this site by CEO pay. St. Jude has 4 Form 990 returns on record, for fiscal years ending 2022 to 2025. Also known as St. Jude.
See also: ALSAC (St. Jude fundraising), which files its own return; James Downing, the hospital's president and CEO, is listed on both.
Last updated from IRS e-file data. EIN 62-0646012, Memphis, TN.
CEO, fiscal year ending June 2025
$1,713,883
- Total revenue
- $2,208,853,162
- CEO pay vs. peers
- Higher than 24%
Source: Form 990, fiscal year ending June 2025, IRS object ID 202601339349308855.View the filing
Peers: the 120 other hospital systems on this site. Ranked 92nd of 121 by top pay as a share of revenue. Pay is 0.08% of revenue, our calculation from the same return. Revenue is Part I, line 12; peers are compared on their latest full-year returns.
This is the hospital itself. ALSAC, which raises money for St. Jude, files a separate return with its own CEO.
Highest-paid people on the latest return
On the latest return, 14 people were paid more than $500,000, 9 of them more than $1 million.
| Name and title | Total |
|---|---|
| JAMES R DOWNING CEO PRESIDENT/CEO | $1,713,883 |
| RICHARD C SHADYAC JREX-OFFICIO DIRECTOR (THRU 3/25) | $1,564,611 |
| JOSEPH P TAYLOREVP/SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR | $1,558,314 |
| CHARLES M ROBERTSEVP/DIRECTOR CANCER CENTER | $1,265,943 |
| THOMAS E MERCHANTCHAIR | $1,222,235 |
CEO pay by year
Each row is the CEO on that year's return.
| Fiscal year ending | Name and title | Total | Revenue | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2025 | JAMES R DOWNING CEO PRESIDENT/CEO | $1,713,883 | $2,208,853,162 | Filing |
| Jun 2024 | JAMES R DOWNING CEO PRESIDENT/CEO | $2,434,190 | $2,009,853,917 | Filing |
| Jun 2023 | JAMES R DOWNING CEO PRESIDENT/CEO | $1,851,107 | $1,707,244,071 | Filing |
| Jun 2022 | JAMES R DOWNING CEO PRESIDENT/CEO | $1,546,372 | $1,385,684,376 | 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 202601339349308855.View the filing
| Part VII | Schedule J | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name and title | From org | Related | Other | Base | Bonus | Other | Deferred | Nontaxable | Total |
| JAMES R DOWNINGPRESIDENT/CEO | $1,647,264 | $0 | $66,619 | $1,581,245 | $50,250 | $15,769 | $37,950 | $28,669 | $1,713,883 |
| Schedule J, from related orgs | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |||
| RICHARD C SHADYAC JR*EX-OFFICIO DIRECTOR (THRU 3/25) | $0 | $1,393,252 | $171,359 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Schedule J, from related orgs | $1,286,179 | $0 | $107,073 | $145,310 | $26,049 | $1,564,611 | |||
| JOSEPH P TAYLOREVP/SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR | $1,400,509 | $0 | $157,805 | $1,029,352 | $250 | $370,907 | $135,489 | $22,316 | $1,558,314 |
| Schedule J, from related orgs | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |||
| CHARLES M ROBERTSEVP/DIRECTOR CANCER CENTER | $1,133,977 | $0 | $131,966 | $1,032,874 | $75,250 | $25,853 | $108,632 | $23,334 | $1,265,943 |
| Schedule J, from related orgs | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |||
| THOMAS E MERCHANTCHAIR | $1,143,949 | $0 | $78,286 | $996,721 | $250 | $146,978 | $37,950 | $40,336 | $1,222,235 |
| Schedule J, from related orgs | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |||
These figures come from St. Jude'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 St. Jude compares
Ranked 138th of 148 hospital systems by CEO pay.
Closest in revenue among the hospital systems on this site:
Sharp HealthCare$2,750,617 (CEO), fiscal year ending Sep 2025
HealthPartners (Park Nicollet)$3,838,003 (CEO), fiscal year ending Dec 2024
St. Elizabeth Healthcare$1,709,972 (CEO), fiscal year ending Dec 2024
Northeast Georgia Health System$2,489,525 (CEO), fiscal year ending Sep 2025
RWJBarnabas Health$8,864,611 (CEO), fiscal year ending Dec 2024
Common questions
JAMES R DOWNING (PRESIDENT/CEO) was paid $1,713,883 for the fiscal year ending June 2025: $1,647,264 from St. Jude and $66,619 in other compensation (Part VII columns D and F). St. Jude ranks 138th of 148 hospital systems on this site by CEO pay.
The CEO, JAMES R DOWNING, was the highest-paid person on the latest return, at $1,713,883. Next was RICHARD C SHADYAC JR (EX-OFFICIO DIRECTOR (THRU 3/25)), at $1,564,611. On the latest return, 14 people were paid more than $500,000, 9 of them more than $1 million.
This is the hospital itself. ALSAC, which raises money for St. Jude, files a separate return with its own CEO.
St. Jude paid its CEO, JAMES R DOWNING, $1,713,883 for the fiscal year ending June 2025. That is down $720,307 (29.6%) from the fiscal year ending June 2024. The earliest return on record is for the fiscal year ending June 2022, when the CEO was JAMES R DOWNING, paid $1,546,372. By fiscal year end: June 2022, $1,546,372 (JAMES R DOWNING); June 2023, $1,851,107; June 2024, $2,434,190; June 2025, $1,713,883.
From the 4 Form 990 returns St. Jude Children's Research Hospital filed with the IRS for fiscal years ending 2022 to 2025. Schedule J of the fiscal year ending June 2025 return breaks down pay for all 5 people in the pay breakdown above. The methodology page explains how they're chosen.