CEO pay at US museums and arts nonprofits, ranked
This list ranks 11 museums and arts and culture nonprofits by what they paid their CEO, using each one's latest full-year IRS Form 990. Every row links to the return it comes from. This is a partial list: 38 of the 50 arts and culture nonprofits that meet the definition do not have pages on this site yet.
Last updated from IRS e-file data.
What counts as an arts and culture nonprofit here
Museums, performing arts centers, orchestras, public media and other arts and culture nonprofits. Each must report at least $100 million in total revenue (Part I, line 12) on its latest full-year return. 50 organizations meet the definition: 11 are ranked here, and 38 do not have pages on this site yet.
Each row is the return that reports the chief executive's pay, and the revenue shown is that return's own. Affiliates that list the same executive as the ranked return are left out so one person's pay is not listed twice.
The best-known national charities are ranked on the major nonprofits list, not here. One more that meets the definition, Military Aviation Museum Foundation, isn't ranked because its latest return reports no pay for anyone listed.
The ranking
The chief executive on each organization's latest full-year return, or the highest-paid person where no title marks one. Each row is a different return, so each links to its own filing.
The percentile compares each row's pay / revenue with organizations of similar revenue across this site, not only this list, because the site has fewer than 20 arts and culture nonprofits. Rows in different revenue bands are compared with different groups, so similar shares can show different percentiles.
| Rank | Organization and CEO | Total pay | Year ending | Revenue | Pay / revenue | Share percentile | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Lincoln Center for the Performing ArtsHenry TimmsCEO PRESIDENT AND CEO THRU 8/1/24See note 1. | $2,293,217 | Jun 2025 | $234,975,826 | 0.98% | 85% | Filing |
| 2 |  Los Angeles County Museum of ArtMichael GovanCEO CEO AND WALLIS ANNENBERG DIRECTOR | $2,056,119 | Jun 2025 | $235,355,221 | 0.87% | 82% | Filing |
| 3 |  Museum of Fine Arts, HoustonGary TinterowDIRECTOR (highest-paid; no CEO title on this return) | $1,774,224 | Jun 2025 | $255,296,660 | 0.69% | 71% | Filing |
| 4 |  American Museum of Natural HistorySean M DecaturCEO PRESIDENT & EX OFFICIO TRUSTEE | $1,502,408 | Jun 2025 | $246,764,235 | 0.61% | 63% | Filing |
| 5 |  Boston Symphony OrchestraChad SmithCEO President & Chief Executive Officer | $1,371,354 | Aug 2025 | $155,422,276 | 0.88% | 82% | Filing |
| 6 |  Museum of Fine Arts, BostonMatthew TeitelbaumANN & GRAHAM GUND DIRECTOR (highest-paid; no CEO title on this return) | $1,192,383 | Jun 2025 | $186,630,042 | 0.64% | 64% | Filing |
| 7 |  Art Institute of ChicagoJames RondeauPRESIDENT, MUSEUM (highest-paid; no CEO title on this return) | $1,163,144 | Jun 2025 | $464,393,130 | 0.25% | 25% | Filing |
| 8 |  Sesame WorkshopSherrie Rollins WestinCEO PRESIDENT & CEO | $1,136,265 | Jun 2025 | $180,674,492 | 0.63% | 63% | Filing |
| 9 |  Huntington LibraryKaren LawrenceCEO PRESIDENT | $1,102,364 | Jun 2025 | $160,592,538 | 0.69% | 69% | Filing |
| 10 |  Smithsonian InstitutionLonnie G Bunch IIISECRETARY OF THE SMITHSONIAN (highest-paid; no CEO title on this return) | $1,038,055 | Sep 2025 | $1,911,142,906 | 0.05% | 9% | Filing |
| 11 |  Whitney Museum of American ArtScott RothkopfALICE PRATT BROWN DIRECTOR (highest-paid; no CEO title on this return) | $999,235 | Jun 2025 | $191,356,000 | 0.52% | 58% | Filing |
- 1.More than one person held the top job during the year this return covers. The row shows Henry Timms ("PRESIDENT AND CEO THRU 8/1/24"); the return also lists Mariko Silver ("PRESIDENT AND CEO AS OF 9/16/24"), $408,069.
More rankings: Highest-paid nonprofit CEOs, CEO pay at major US nonprofits, CEO pay at nonprofit hospital systems, University president pay, all 17 rankings, or search every organization.
About the data
Every figure comes from a Form 990 e-file return the organization submitted to the IRS, which the IRS publishes as open data. Each row uses one return and links to it. We don't estimate, round or combine years; column F is the organization's own estimate of other compensation.
- Which return
- The most recent return that covers a full year. Short-year returns, filed when an organization changes its fiscal year, cover only a few months and are not used as the latest year. Where a return was amended, the amended version is used.
- What “total” means
- Part VII columns D, E and F added together: reportable pay from the organization, reportable pay from related organizations, and estimated other compensation. We add them up; each organization's page shows the three amounts separately.
- Timing
- Returns are due up to 10½ months after the fiscal year ends and appear in IRS data anywhere from about 4 to 18 months after the year ends, so the latest year here is often a year or more old.
- Who counts as CEO
- The person whose filed title names them chief executive (CEO, chief executive officer or executive director), or, where no one has one of those titles, a plain "President" or head of school. At a university it is the president or chancellor. If no one has any of these titles, we show the highest-paid person and say so. Totals and percentages labeled as calculated are our arithmetic on figures from one filing.
The full rules are on the methodology page. To report an error or ask for a review, email corrections@ceopaycheck.com.
Common questions
Of the 11 ranked so far, the top total is $2,293,217 for Henry Timms, president and CEO of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, on its return for the fiscal year ending June 2025. Next is Michael Govan of Los Angeles County Museum of Art at $2,056,119. Totals are Part VII columns D, E and F added together, so they include pay from related organizations and the organization's estimate of other compensation, such as retirement contributions. This is a partial list: 38 more that meet the definition do not have pages on this site yet.
Across these 11 the median is $1,192,383 (our calculation). 10 reported $1,000,000 or more for their CEO or top-paid person, and all 11 reported $500,000 or more. The median share is 0.64% of the ranked return's revenue, our calculation from the same return.
The list covers organizations whose latest full-year Form 990 reports at least $100 million in total revenue, one row per organization. Affiliates that list the same executive as another return are left out so one person's pay is not counted twice. The best-known national charities are on the major nonprofits ranking instead. 38 more that meet the definition do not have pages on this site yet.
We use the person whose filed title names them chief executive (CEO, chief executive or executive director) or, where nobody has one of those titles, a plain "President" or head of school. On 5 of the 11 returns no title fits that rule, so the row shows the highest-paid person and says so. That person may still run the organization under another title, such as director; the title shown is the one filed.