Executive Compensation at the Heritage Foundation (2024)

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 16 voting members, of whom 15 are independent,  although 19 are listed on the Form 990 which is due to timing differences. 15 of the 19 (79%) are male while 4 of the 25 (21%) are female.

Heritage raises about $100 million annually, has historically spent less (usually about 70-80% although this was not the case in 2023 or 2024) and has consequently accumulated $334 million in net assets by the end of 2024.

In 2024, Heritage raised $134 million (compared to $101 in 2023, $107 million in 2022, $106 million in 2021 and $119 million in 2020), most of which came from contributions, gifts, and grants .

Expenses totaled $137 million (not including $5 million in depreciation) with the largest expenses reported to be compensation ($53 million), office-related expenses ($24 million), and other fees paid to non-employees ($30 million) which is primarily consulting and professional fundraising fees.

557 employees received $53 million in compensation which equates to an average compensation of $95,000 (compared to 517 employees who received $49 million or an average of $96,000 on 2023; and 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.

157 employees received more than $100,000 in compensation in 2023 (compared to 163 in 2023, 150 employees in 2022, 127 employees in 2021, and 107 in 2020) with the 11 most highly compensated employees reported to be:

• $961,972:  Kevin Roberts, President
• $658,346:  Derrick Morgan, EVP
• $540,476:  Eric Korsvall, COO
• $460,778:  Andrew Olivastro, Chief Advancement Officer
• $434,850:  Roger Severino, VP, Domestic Policy
• $394,179:  Robert Bluey,  VP, Communications
• $296,450:  Dan Mauler, General Counsel and Secretary
• $399,573:  John Backiel, VP Finance and Accounting, and Treasurer
• $390,901:  John Malcolm, VP, Inst for Constitutional Gov’t
• $376,536:  Robert Barro, Distinguished Fellow
• $368,590:  Bridgett Wagner, ED, The Feulner Institue

10 of the 11 most highly compensated employees are male while 1 of the 11 is a female.

The 11 most highly compensated employees received $5 million in compensation. The most highly compensated employee was Kevin Roberts, the President who received $961,972 in compensation.

3 of the most highly compensated employees in 2024 received nearly $6 million in compensation from 2022-2024:

Kevin Roberts:  Total Compensation:  2022-2024:  $2.6 million

• 2024:  $961,972
• 2023:  $953,920
• 2022:  $675,471

Derrick Morgan:  Total Compensation 2022-2024:  $1.7 million

• 2024:  $658,346
• 2023:  $653,542
• 2022:  $330,077

Eric Korsvall:  Total Compensation 2022-2024:  $1.5 million

• 2024:  $540,476
• 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.

To read the IRS Form 990 (2024), click here.