Obamas Lose Major Donors as Legal Troubles Mount
Former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are experiencing a significant decline in donor support for the Obama Presidential Center as wealthy backers withdraw their contributions.
The Chicago-based center saw a drastic drop in fundraising, according to IRS filings.
In 2022, the foundation raised over $311 million, with donations from Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, who each contributed $100 million.
However, fundraising dropped by more than 50 percent in 2023.
“He’s arrogant,” said one donor. “He didn’t help others when they were trying to fundraise, so they’re not going to look out for the Obamas now.”
“There’s no quid pro quo because it’s a one-way street.”
Concerns have also been raised over financial management at the foundation.
In 2023, more than $5 million was paid in “executive compensation,” while over $27.36 million was allocated for other wages.
According to The Daily Beast, longtime Obama confidant and the foundation’s CEO, Valerie Jarrett, received $740,000 that year.
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The fundraising woes come amid legal troubles for the Obamas, with a $40 million lawsuit filed against Thornton Tomasetti, one of the key firms involved in constructing the Obama Presidential Center, over racial discrimination allegations.
The lawsuit, brought by Robert McGee, claims that the firm unfairly targeted his company.
McGee alleges that Thornton Tomasetti altered project standards and imposed excessive inspections and paperwork, leading to financial losses.
“In a shocking and disheartening turn of events, the African American owner of a local construction company finds himself and his company on the brink of forced closure because of racial discrimination by the structural engineer of record (Thornton Tomasetti) for the construction of the Obama Presidential Center,” the lawsuit states.
The complaint further asserts:
“McGee never imagined that the Obama Foundation’s structural engineer would single out a minority-owned subcontractor for unfair criticism and falsely accuse II in One of lacking sufficient qualifications and experience to perform its work while, in the same letter, stating that the non-minority-owned contractors were sufficiently qualified,” the lawsuit states, according to the Daily Mail.
However, Thornton Tomasetti has denied the allegations, arguing that construction delays and cost overruns were due to the subcontractor’s “underperformance and inexperience.”
A memo from the firm sent in February 2024 included images of cracked concrete and exposed rebar, showing McGee’s company had submitted hundreds of requests to correct its work in the field.
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