CEO pay at US disease charities and medical research groups, ranked
This list ranks 11 disease charities and medical research groups 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 52 disease charities and medical research groups that meet the definition do not have pages on this site yet.
Last updated from IRS e-file data.
What counts as a disease charity here
Charities for a disease or condition and medical research organizations. Each must report at least $100 million in total revenue (Part I, line 12) on its latest full-year return. 52 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. Three more that meet the definition, World Federation of Hemophilia USA, Sightsavers International and Against Malaria Foundation, aren't ranked because their latest returns report 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 disease charities and medical research groups. 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 |  Stowers Resource Management (Stowers Institute support organization)Richard W BrownCEO DIR/PRESIDENT/CEO DECEASED 3/27/25 | $3,206,337 | Jun 2025 | $198,300,289 | 1.62% | 97% | Filing |
| 2 |  Jackson LaboratoryLon Cardon PHD FMEDSCICEO PRESIDENT & CEO | $2,746,750 | Dec 2024 | $652,542,607 | 0.42% | 93% | Filing |
| 3 |  Scripps ResearchPeter G SchultzCEO PRESIDENT/CEO | $1,859,240 | Sep 2025 | $698,624,318 | 0.27% | 81% | Filing |
| 4 |  Howard Hughes Medical InstituteErin K O'Shea PhDCEO PRESIDENT | $1,721,384 | Aug 2025 | $2,004,784,057 | 0.09% | 21% | Filing |
| 5 |  American Association for Cancer ResearchDr Margaret FotiCEO CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER | $1,705,978 | Dec 2025 | $129,520,731 | 1.32% | 93% | Filing |
| 6 |  Michael J. Fox FoundationDeborah W BrooksCEO CO-FOUNDER & CEO | $1,593,750 | Dec 2025 | $708,298,921 | 0.23% | 73% | Filing |
| 7 |  Sanford Burnham PrebysDavid BrennerCEO CEO & PRESIDENT | $1,345,526 | Jun 2025 | $114,401,821 | 1.18% | 90% | Filing |
| 8 |  American Diabetes AssociationCharles D HendersonCEO Chief Executive Officer | $1,287,811 | Dec 2024 | $152,241,578 | 0.85% | 79% | Filing |
| 9 |  Cystic Fibrosis FoundationMichael P Boyle MDCEO PRESIDENT & CEO | $1,275,151 | Dec 2024 | $355,798,320 | 0.36% | 45% | Filing |
| 10 |  Broad InstituteTodd GolubInstitute Director (highest-paid; no CEO title on this return) | $982,376 | Jun 2025 | $846,134,426 | 0.12% | 34% | Filing |
| 11 |  Blood Cancer UnitedE Anders KolbCEO PRESIDENT & CEO | $930,517 | Jun 2025 | $358,698,504 | 0.26% | 26% | Filing |
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 $3,206,337 for Richard W Brown, president and CEO of Stowers Resource Management (Stowers Institute support organization), on its return for the fiscal year ending June 2025. Next is Lon Cardon PHD FMEDSCI of Jackson Laboratory at $2,746,750. 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 $1,593,750 (our calculation). 9 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 0.36% 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 1 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.