Executive Compensation at the Heritage Foundation (2023)

The Heritage Foundation (Heritage) is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization staffed by conservative “experts” who provide advice on political, economic, social, and financial problems in the United States, and published Project 2025 – “a roadmap for how to replace the rule of law with right-wing ideals,” according to the ACLU.

Based in Washington, DC, Heritage is governed by 17 voting members, of whom 16 are independent,  13 of the 17 (76%) are male while 4 of the 22 (24%) are female.

Heritage raises about $100 million annually, has historically spent less (usually about 70-80% although this was not the case in 2023) and has consequently accumulated $348 million in net assets by the end of 2023.

In 2023, Heritage raised $101 million (compared to $107 million in 2022, $106 million in 2021 and $119 million in 2020), most of which came from contributions, gifts, and grants ($98 million) and investment income ($3 million).

Expenses totaled $103 million (not including $4 million in depreciation) with the largest expenses reported to be compensation ($49 million), office-related expenses ($23 million), and other fees paid to non-employees ($17 million) which is primarily consulting and professional fundraising fees.

517 employees received $49 million in compensation which equates to an average compensation of $96,000 (compared to 499 employees who received $44 million,  or an average of $88,000 in 2022) so the organization has remained relatively stable in terms of the number of employees and the average compensation.

163 employees received more than $100,000 in compensation in 2023 (compared to 150 employees in 2022, 127 employees in 2021, and 107 in 2020) with the 19 most highly compensated employees reported to be:

• $953,920:  Kevin Roberts, President
• $653,542:  Derrick Morgan, EVP
• $536,238:  Eric Korsvall, VP, Operations
• $406,154:  Roger Severino, VP, Domestic Policy
• $387,767:  Robert Bluey,  VP, Communications
• $380,361:  Dan Mauler, General Counsel and Secretary
• $378,934:  John Backiel, VP Finance and Accounting
• $368,724:  John Malcolm, VP, Inst for Constitutional Gov’t
• $365,190:  James Carafano, VP, Davis Inst for Nat’l Security
• $362,459:  Andrew Olivastro, Chief Advancement Officer
• $361,079:  Paul Dans, Director, Project 2025
• $354,143:  Bridgett Wagner, ED, The Feulner Institue
• $339,646:  Chad Barefoot, Director, Donor Relations
• $336,589:  Mike Gonzalez, Sr Fellow
• $335,100:  Carsten Walter, Sr Fellow
• $290,094:  Steven Bradbury, Distinguished Fellow, EVP’s Office
• $251,583:  Jack Spencer, Sr Research Fellow
• $247,921:  Andrew McIndoe, VP, Development
• $219,209: Christopher Byrnes, General Counsel and Secretary

18 of the 19  (95%) most highly compensated employees are male while 1 of the 19 (5%) is female.

The 19 most highly compensated employees received $8 million in compensation. The most highly compensated employee was Kevin Roberts, the President who received $953,920 in compensation.

3 of the most highly compensated employees received $4 million in compensation from 2022-2023:

Kevin Roberts:  Total Compensation:  2022-2023:  $2 million

• 2023:  $953,920
• 2022:  $675,471

Derrick Morgan:  Total Compensation 2022-2023:  $1 million

• 2023:  $653,542
• 2022:  $330,077

Eric Korsvall:  Total Compensation 2022-2023:  $1 million

• 2023:  $536,238
• 2022:  $410,199

Heritage paid for first class or charter travel and travel for companions. To read more about this expense, please refer to the Form 990 (2022), Schedule J, Part III Supplemental Information.

59 independent contractors received more than $100,000 in compensation with the 5 highest reported to be:

• $10 million:  DPR Construction, of Redwood, CA for construction
• $ 2 million:  MDS Communications, of Mesa, AZ for fundraising consulting
• $ 1 million:  Tilt Group, of Houston, TX for event service provider
• $ 1 million:  Conrad Direct, of Creskill, NJ for mailing contact management
• $ 1 million:  Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, of National Harbor, MD for venue

To read the IRS Form 990 (2023), click here.