Obama Foundation sees $232 million windfall in 2017
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}When tweeting about his own approval rating, Trump called his predecessor "Cheatin' Obama." (Reuters/Cathal McNaughton)
Contributions to President Barack Obama's foundation skyrocketed last year as the group hauled in more than $230 million, its most recent tax forms show.
The drastic increase in funds also coincided with hefty pay raises for its executives, with one individual pulling in more than $800,000 in total compensation.
The Barack Obama Foundation, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit that was launched in 2014 and carries a primary goal of building the Obama presidential center in Jackson Park on the South Side of Chicago, reported $231,993,748 in contributions and grants in 2017. This was an increase of more than $218 million from the $13 million in donations the foundation reported in 2016.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A majority of the foundation's money last year came from just 13 undisclosed donors. Checks of $25 million were cut by four individual donors while two donors added $24 million each in contributions. Seven more pushed between $5 million and $10 million into the nonprofit's coffers, its forms show.
While the group did not disclose its donors on its most recent tax forms, its website contains a list with broad contribution ranges of who has given to the foundation since its inception.