Tax Bill Targets Million-Dollar Club of Nonprofit Executives

At least 118 nonprofit chief executives earned more than $1 million in 2014 or 2015 — a figure that would trigger a 20 percent excise tax on their organizations under the Republican bill unveiled last week.

The ramifications of the bill extend well beyond CEOs. Many organizations have multiple employees earning more than $1 million a year. (A recent Wall Street Journal analysis identified 2,700 nonprofit executives who made seven figures in 2014, including investment managers, college coaches, and surgeons.)

The Chronicle analysis found at least two fundraisers who earned more than $1 million: Mark Kostegan ($1.01 million in total compensation) of the Mt. Sinai Health System and Albert Checcio ($1.06 million) of the University of Southern California.

Under the bill, nonprofits would pay the excise tax on the portion of an employee’s pay exceeding $1 million. The tax would apply only to the five highest-paid officials who make seven figures.

Hospitals Under Threat

More than half of the nonprofit institutions that paid at least $1 million to their top official in 2014 or 2015 were hospitals or medical centers, including the Cleveland Clinic, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and Mayo Clinic. Others include private universities (Johns Hopkins, Stanford, and the University of Pennsylvania, among them); national nonprofits (the American Heart Association; United Way Worldwide); and prominent cultural institutions (the Lincoln Center, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art).

Below is The Chronicle’s list of CEOs with salaries exceeding $1 million in the most recent year for which data is available. In some cases, the employees may no longer work for those organizations.

The analysis includes only nonprofits that raise $35 million or more from private sources. Compensation includes base salary, bonus, benefits, and deferred pay when it is paid out.

In a few cases, officials received pay from a related organization as well. That compensation was included in the total.

For Chronicle subscribers: See also our searchable database of CEO compensation information going back to 2012. The database is updated regularly as the IRS makes information available.