CEO pay at major US nonprofits, ranked
This list ranks 45 of the best-known US nonprofits by what they paid their CEO, using each one's latest full-year IRS Form 990. It includes national charities, hospital systems, universities and associations. Every row links to the return it comes from.
Last updated from IRS e-file data.
The Salvation Army isn't on the list because it doesn't file a Form 990. Why there is no figure.
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 a group from across this site: its own sector where the site has at least 20 of them (here, hospital systems and universities), otherwise organizations of similar revenue. Rows in different groups can show different percentiles for similar shares.
| Rank | Organization and CEO | Total pay | Year ending | Revenue | Pay / revenue | Share percentile | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Kaiser Permanente (Health Plan)Gregory AdamsCEO Chairman & CEOSee note 1. | $12,976,050 | Dec 2024 | $82,490,440,881 | 0.02% | 0% | Filing |
| 2 |  Sutter HealthWarner ThomasCEO PRESIDENT & CEO, SH | $11,904,420 | Dec 2024 | $2,685,790,764 | 0.44% | 91% | Filing |
| 3 |  Intermountain Health (IHC Health Services)Robert W AllenFORMER OFFICER (highest-paid; no CEO title on this return)See note 2. | $9,715,356 | Dec 2024 | $10,650,854,026 | 0.09% | 22% | Filing |
| 4 |  Cleveland ClinicTomislav Mihaljevic MDCEO DIRECTOR, PRESIDENT & CEO | $9,709,152 | Dec 2024 | $9,680,031,802 | 0.10% | 28% | Filing |
| 5 |  Blue Cross Blue Shield AssociationKim KeckCEO PRESIDENT AND CEO | $8,414,231 | Dec 2024 | $862,659,881 | 0.98% | 99% | Filing |
| 6 |  U.S. Chamber of CommerceSuzanne ClarkCEO President & CEO/Director | $8,391,682 | Dec 2024 | $225,835,416 | 3.72% | 100% | Filing |
| 7 |  OhioHealthStephen E Markovich MDCEO CEO/President/Board - OhioHlth | $6,546,210 | Jun 2025 | $5,723,845,185 | 0.11% | 38% | Filing |
| 8 |  Indiana University HealthDennis M MurphyCEO DIRECTOR/PRESIDENT & CEO | $5,720,461 | Dec 2024 | $6,079,560,656 | 0.09% | 26% | Filing |
| 9 |  Mayo ClinicGianrico Farrugia MDCEO DIRECTOR/CEO/PRESIDENT | $4,888,096 | Dec 2024 | $14,891,458,272 | 0.03% | 2% | Filing |
| 10 |  American Heart AssociationNancy BrownCEO CEO | $4,563,563 | Jun 2025 | $1,070,192,712 | 0.43% | 93% | Filing |
| 11 |  NCAACharlie BakerCEO President | $3,439,897 | Aug 2025 | $1,561,767,784 | 0.22% | 70% | Filing |
| 12 |  AARPJo Ann JenkinsCEO CEO (until 11/8/2024)See note 3. | $2,871,820 | Dec 2024 | $10,969,160,920 | 0.03% | 15% | Filing |
| 13 |  Shriners Hospitals for ChildrenRobert BernsteinCHIEF OF STAFF (highest-paid; no CEO title on this return) | $2,387,804 | Dec 2025 | $1,582,506,437 | 0.15% | 50% | Filing |
| 14 |  American Cancer SocietyKaren E Knudsen PhDCEO CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, OUTGOINGSee notes 4, 5. | $2,242,645 | Dec 2024 | $724,184,531 | 0.31% | 87% | Filing |
| 15 |  The Metropolitan Museum of ArtMax HolleinCEO Director & CEO | $1,871,720 | Jun 2025 | $907,368,037 | 0.21% | 68% | Filing |
| 16 |  St. Jude Children's Research HospitalJames R DowningCEO PRESIDENT/CEO | $1,713,883 | Jun 2025 | $2,208,853,162 | 0.08% | 18% | Filing |
| 17 |  Harvard UniversityAlan M GarberPresident President (Schedule O) | $1,642,838 | Jun 2025 | $8,323,235,933 | 0.02% | 3% | Filing |
| 18 |  PBSPaula A KergerCEO President & CEO | $1,602,897 | Jun 2025 | $696,585,777 | 0.23% | 75% | Filing |
| 19 |  National Geographic SocietyJill TiefenthalerCEO CEO | $1,571,576 | Dec 2025 | $340,516,012 | 0.46% | 55% | Filing |
| 20 |  ALSAC (St. Jude fundraising)Richard C Shadyac JrCEO CEO & EX-OFFICIO DIRECTOR (THRU 3/25)See note 6. | $1,564,611 | Jun 2025 | $3,292,450,744 | 0.05% | 6% | Filing |
| 21 |  World Wildlife FundCarter RobertsCEO PRESIDENT & CEO | $1,348,079 | Jun 2025 | $366,655,209 | 0.37% | 45% | Filing |
| 22 |  ASPCAMatt BershadkerCEO PRESIDENT & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER | $1,226,402 | Dec 2024 | $446,134,125 | 0.27% | 29% | Filing |
| 23 |  Feeding AmericaClaire Babineaux-FontenotCEO CEO | $1,214,028 | Jun 2025 | $5,001,395,215 | 0.02% | 11% | Filing |
| 24 |  Alzheimer's AssociationKatherine Joanne PikeCEO PRESIDENT/CEO | $1,174,136 | Jun 2025 | $457,244,898 | 0.26% | 26% | Filing |
| 25 |  American Red CrossClifford HoltzCEO PRESIDENT & CEO AS OF 7/1/2024 | $989,075 | Jun 2025 | $3,916,983,933 | 0.03% | 1% | Filing |
| 26 |  UNICEF USAMichael J NyenhuisCEO Director/President/CEO | $976,864 | Jun 2025 | $835,217,861 | 0.12% | 35% | Filing |
| 27 |  The Nature ConservancyJennifer MorrisCEO DIRECTOR/CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER | $936,855 | Jun 2025 | $1,746,229,436 | 0.05% | 9% | Filing |
| 28 |  United Way WorldwideAngela WilliamsCEO CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER | $929,417 | Dec 2024 | $72,397,617 | 1.28% | 93% | Filing |
| 29 |  YMCA of the USASuzanne McCormickCEO President and Chief Executive Officer | $892,142 | Dec 2024 | $198,431,455 | 0.45% | 54% | Filing |
| 30 |  Goodwill Industries InternationalSteven C PrestonCEO PRESIDENT & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER | $766,469 | Dec 2025 | $66,583,568 | 1.15% | 89% | Filing |
| 31 |  Make-A-Wish Foundation of AmericaLeslie MotterCEO PRESIDENT & CEO | $739,620 | Aug 2025 | $136,767,956 | 0.54% | 58% | Filing |
| 32 |  Big Brothers Big Sisters of AmericaArtis StevensCEO CEO | $723,520 | Jun 2025 | $69,170,417 | 1.05% | 88% | Filing |
| 33 |  Humane World for AnimalsCristobel BlockCEO President & Chief Executive Officer | $702,371 | Dec 2025 | $216,548,337 | 0.32% | 40% | Filing |
| 34 |  NPRKatherine R MaherCEO PRESIDENT & CEO | $697,251 | Sep 2025 | $354,056,068 | 0.20% | 17% | Filing |
| 35 |  Susan G. KomenPaula SchneiderCEO President and CEO | $688,812 | Mar 2025 | $103,154,379 | 0.67% | 67% | Filing |
| 36 |  World VisionEdgar SandovalCEO PRESIDENT & CEO | $647,930 | Sep 2025 | $1,423,305,144 | 0.05% | 5% | Filing |
| 37 |  Samaritan's PurseWilliam Franklin Graham IIIBD MEM/CHR/P (highest-paid; no CEO title on this return) | $624,763 | Dec 2025 | $1,615,288,885 | 0.04% | 4% | Filing |
| 38 |  Habitat for HumanityJonathan ReckfordCEO CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER | $592,703 | Jun 2025 | $370,010,910 | 0.16% | 11% | Filing |
| 39 |  Special OlympicsMary DavisCEO CEO & PRESIDENT | $570,761 | Dec 2024 | $186,403,463 | 0.31% | 36% | Filing |
| 40 |  EastersealsKendra DavenportCEO PRESIDENT & CEO | $559,769 | Dec 2025 | $47,513,200 | 1.18% | 96% | Filing |
| 41 |  Sierra ClubBenjamin JealousCEO EXECUTIVE DIRECTORSee note 7. | $524,826 | Dec 2024 | $169,031,870 | 0.31% | 38% | Filing |
| 42 |  March of DimesCynthia H RahmanCEO PRESIDENT/CEO | $488,009 | Dec 2025 | $85,191,655 | 0.57% | 60% | Filing |
| 43 |  Wounded Warrior ProjectWalter E PiattCEO CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER(AS OF 03/24) | $404,382 | Sep 2025 | $431,679,370 | 0.09% | 4% | Filing |
| 44 |  Doctors Without Borders USAAvril BenoitCEO CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER | $386,961 | Dec 2024 | $776,922,926 | 0.05% | 7% | Filing |
| 45 |  PETAIngrid NewkirkCEO PRESIDENT/SECRETARY | $41,631 | Jul 2025 | $110,179,122 | 0.04% | 0% | Filing |
- 1.Kaiser Foundation Hospitals reports the same executives and is listed on its own page.
- 2.SCL Health, now part of Intermountain, lists Intermountain executives with the same pay on its own return and is listed on its own page.
- 3.More than one person held the top job during the year this return covers. The row shows Jo Ann Jenkins ("CEO (until 11/8/2024)"); the return also lists Dr Myechia Minter-Jordan ("CEO (as of 11/11/2024)"), $413,824.
- 4.More than one person held the top job during the year this return covers. The row shows Karen E Knudsen PhD ("CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, OUTGOING"); the return also lists Wayne A I Frederick MD MBA FACS ("INTERIM CEO/BOARD DIRECTOR, FORMER"), $601,730.
- 5.American Cancer Society also filed a newer return that covers only 3 months, January 2025 to March 2025. A partial year is not comparable with a full one, so this row uses the latest full-year return.
- 6.More than one person held the top job during the year this return covers. The row shows Richard C Shadyac Jr ("CEO & EX-OFFICIO DIRECTOR (THRU 3/25)"); the return also lists Ikshit Anand ("INTERIM CEO (BEG 3/25) (COO THRU 3/25, filed with the name)"), $817,232.
- 7.Sierra Club also filed a newer return that covers only 6 months, January 2025 to June 2025. A partial year is not comparable with a full one, so this row uses the latest full-year return.
More rankings: Highest-paid nonprofit CEOs, 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 45 organizations ranked here, the top total is $12,976,050 for Gregory Adams, CEO of Kaiser Permanente (Health Plan), on its return for the fiscal year ending December 2024. This list covers only the best-known nonprofits, not every organization on the site. The highest figure on this site is $30,286,568 at NYU Langone Health, on the hospital systems ranking. See that ranking.
Across these 45 organizations the median is $1,214,028 (our calculation). 24 of them reported $1,000,000 or more for their CEO or top-paid person, and the lowest total on the list is $41,631 at PETA.
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"; at a university, the president or chancellor. On 3 of these returns no title fits that rule, so the row shows the highest-paid person instead and says so: Intermountain Health (IHC Health Services), Shriners Hospitals for Children and Samaritan's Purse.
Each row uses that organization's latest full-year return. Fiscal years end in different months, and returns reach the IRS's public data anywhere from about 4 to 18 months after the year ends, so the rows here cover years ending from December 2024 to December 2025.
For 40 of the 45, CEO pay is under 1% of revenue. The highest share on this list is 3.72% at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The percentage is our calculation: the total pay figure divided by total revenue from the same return.
No. The national organizations are listed here. Local Goodwills, United Ways, YMCAs and similar affiliates are separate nonprofits that file their own returns and pay their own CEOs.
The Salvation Army is classed by the IRS as a church and does not file a Form 990, so there is no filed pay figure to rank.