For the first time we have more information about how much the very top donors to the Obama Presidential Foundation contributed. We know more now because there is a donor wall in the museum giving the mega-givers a nod. Through the years I’ve been covering Obama Foundation finances, this is the most comprehensive breakdown to date.
The foundation collected six donations of $50 million plus, including one anonymous contributor.
The names listed on the wall are:
Connie Ballmer. An Obama Foundation board member, Ballmer is a general partner and founding investor at Blue Meridian Partners and serves on the boards of StriveTogether and the Los Angeles Clippers Foundation. The Eleanor Roosevelt Fruit & Vegetable Garden is supported by Ballmer and her husband, Steven Ballmer, the former Microsoft CEO.
Jeff Bezos. The founder of Amazon, owner of the Washington Post and of Blue Origin, the spaceflight company, among other enterprises, donated $100 million. As part of the gift, Bezos asked that the Plaza at the Obama Presidential Center be named for the late Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., the civil rights icon who died in 2020.
Brian Chesky. The Airbnb CEO and co-founder donated $125 million. As far as is known to the public, that’s the biggest contribution to the foundation.
The Chesky gift earmarks $100 million for the Obama-Chesky Voyager scholarship for public service. Per the Obama web site: “The Voyager Scholarship Program is a two-year leadership development and scholarship program. Through a transformational combination of barrier-reducing financial aid, an immersive work-travel experience, and a robust network of leaders and mentors, the Voyager Scholarship is designed to inspire, empower, and connect the next generation of leaders and equip them with the tools and resources they need to launch their careers in public service.”
As I wrote in 2023, “The first class of Voyager Public Service Scholarship recipients launched in 2022. Voyager scholarships provide up to $50,000 to students starting their junior year in college plus a $10,000 stipend and free Airbnb housing for a summer work-travel project. The remaining $25 million of the Chesky contribution is unrestricted and can be used for Obama Center construction.”
Hutchins Family Foundation. Glenn Hutchins is the Vice chair of the Obama Foundation. Glenn Hutchins is the co-founder of Silver Lake investments, the chairman of North Island and North Island Ventures and from 2003-2025 was part of the Boston Celtics ownership group.
The Hope and Change Lobby at the center was made possible through the Hutchins Family Foundation donation.
There are 12 contributions between $25 million and $49.9 million, including one anonymous giver.
Michelle Yee & Reid Hoffman – Aphorism Foundation. Hoffman is the CEO of LinkedIn and a major Obama political donor who was an early contributor to the foundation.
Patti Bao & Tony Xu. Xu is a co-founder of DoorDash.
Lynne & Mark R. Benioff. Mark Benioff is Chair, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Salesforce. Lynne Benioff is the Time Magazine cochair. Obama appointed Lynne Benioff to the Presidio Trust board in 2015. She rejoined the Presido Board last month, tapped by President Donald Trump.
The Bob Clark Family. Clark is the founder of the Chicago based Clayco construction firm. He has been close to Obama and is a major Democratic donor. Clark has been involved in the development of the center in Jackson Park since the beginning. Clayco helped manage the project.
The Crimson Lion/Lavine Family Foundation. Jonathan Lavine served as Co-Managing Partner of Bain Capital, LP from 2016 – 2024 and chair until this year, when he became a senior advisory partner. Lavin and wife Jeannie founded the Crimson Lion Foundation. Obama appointed Lavine to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council board in December 2016.
Their foundation’s donation funded the Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel Exhibition Gallery, The People’s House on the fourth level of the museum.
Gates Foundation. The Gates Foundation was created by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.
Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation. Mellody Hobson is the Co-CEO Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Ariel Investment Trust, based in Chicago with deep connections to the city. Ariel was founded by John Rogers, whose connections to Barack and Michelle Obama and Valerie Jarrett, the foundation CEO, goes back decades. George Lucas is the Hollywood producer, writer and director.
The gift funded the John W. Rogers, Jr. Exhibition Gallery, Working for the Common Good, in the Obama Presidential Center Museum.
Sean & Alexandra Parker. Sean Parker is a member of the Obama Foundation Board. He founded Facebook with Mark Zuckerberg in 2004 and served as its first president.
Pritzker Traubert Family. The 2008 presidential campaign of then-Sen. Obama became viable because of the money raised by Chicago’s Penny Pritzker, his national finance chair. Pritzker is a business executive, civic leader and philanthropist who served as Obama’s Commerce Secretary in his second term. She co-founded the Pritzker Traubert Foundation with her husband, Dr. Bryan Traubert. She is on the Obama Foundation board. The Elie Wiesel Auditorium in the forum was funded by the Pritzker Traubert Family.
Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF). Stavros Niarchos is a Greek shipping magnate. While president, Obama, on Nov. 16, 2016, delivered a speech at the Niarchos foundation in Athens during his first trip to Greece. The gift went towards the Democracy in Action Lab in the lower level of the Forum building.
The Family of Jessie Reid Taylor. The gift from the family gift supported the Paul Farmer Special Exhibitions Gallery in the lower level of the museum.
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Selected Chicago-connected names you may recognize who gave between $10 million and $24.9 million.
Alphawood Foundation, Fred Eychaner, chair; The Boeing Company; the Crown family; John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; Michael Jordan & Family; Fay & Daniel Levin; Joe & Rika Mansueto; Northwestern Medicine; Cari & Michael Sacks; The University of Chicago and Oprah Winfrey.