Obama Foundation

Obama’s donor roster is heavily weighted with Chicago luminaries. Oprah Winfrey, the Crown family, Exelon Corp., Citadel’s Ken Griffin and mutual fund CEO John Rogers Jr. all rank in the same “more than $1 million” category as Boeing, according to the foundation.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-28/boeing-gets-obama-pep-talk-after-giving-millions-to-library-fund

The foundation was founded in 2014. After President Barack Obama left office, the foundation began fundraising in earnest, and has received sizable donations from famous people.  Donors of $1 million plus with ties to the Chicago area include Oprah Winfrey, the Crown family; Newsweb CEO Fred Eychaner; the Kenneth C. Griffin Charitable Gift Fund; the Joyce Foundation; Exelon; the John and Jacolyn Bucksbaum Family Foundation; Morningstar founder Joe Mansueto and his wife, Rika; Mesirow Financial CEO Richard Price and his wife, Linda; John Rogers and his daughter, Victoria; the Steans Family Foundation, and the Pritzker Traubert Foundation. The foundation’s website list donors by donation category, not by the specific amount of their donation. The complete list can be found on the foundation’s website.  

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/news/obama-foundation-raises-2326-million-2017

Robbin Cohen serves as executive director, one of four full-time employees on the payroll who each earn six figures in total compensation. The organization’s IRS 990 form for 2015 reveals that Cohen received $253,150 in total compensation, while operations manager Justin Rosenthal was paid $136,885, external affairs manager Jamison Citron received $144,522, and director of accounting and administration Jonabel Russette made $136,352.

Cohen previously served as president of Pritzker Realty Group, a division of PSP Capital Partners LLC, a Chicago investment firm founded by Penny Prtizker, who served as commerce secretary under Obama and is a member of Illinois’ powerful Pritzker political family.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Martin Nesbitt serves as the chairman of the foundation’s board of directors. The longtime Obama friend served as national treasurer during his two presidential campaigns. Nesbitt also co-founded the private equity firm The Vistria Group. [8]

https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/obama-foundation/