Leader of 9/11 Memorial & Museum stands by high salaries despite rising anger

Controversy Surrounds 9/11 Memorial & Museum Executive Salaries

This week, the president and CEO of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum made a surprising defense regarding the organization’s high executive salaries.

In an email sent to the foundation’s councillors, Elizabeth Hillman claimed, “Our executive compensation is behind that of peer institutions.” She mentioned that “recent compensation research supports organization-wide coordination.”

However, Hillman did not specify which institutions she was comparing to or reference any particular studies in the emails that were obtained. Additionally, both she and the museum did not respond to further inquiries last week.

On the inside, at least one person disclosed feelings of discontent regarding the salaries. “It leaves a sour taste in my mouth,” the source remarked. “Why are you guys making so much money from dead people?”

Just last week, it was noted that nonprofits across the board are raising salaries.

According to IRS filings, Hillman earned a total of $856,216 in 2024, while the next four highest-paid executives received $486,298, $458,652, $444,999, and $432,958, respectively.

Concerns about rising salaries have upset some families affected by 9/11.

Meanwhile, the museum reported a loss of nearly $20 million in 2024, citing “depreciation.” They charge an adult admission fee of $36 and received at least $4.5 million in taxpayer funding.

Beyond financial issues, long-standing grievances from some families about museum leadership have led to ongoing disputes regarding the placement of remains of 1,100 unidentified victims. Families feel their appeals to honor their loved ones have been ignored.

Hillman remarked that “a diverse array of victims’ families and other stakeholders argued that unidentified artifacts of the murdered people will be returned to the World Trade Center site,” but currently lie in a separate facility managed by the city’s medical examiner.

One expert, Glen Corbett, who teaches fire science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and advises families of 9/11 firefighters, pointed out that accessing the remains requires entering through the museum.

“The family has never been consulted about where their loved ones should be placed. They just did it,” he said. He added, “In our own survey of members, 94% indicated they opposed placing them in museums.”

Corbett criticized claims that executives are underpaid, especially in comparison to similar organizations, calling those assertions “pretty outrageous.”

“Do these people have no conscience at all?” he questioned in a letter to the editor, criticizing Rob Johann, a former FDNY member during 9/11.

“The 9/11 Memorial and Museum are sacred places where we honor all the innocent people we lost that day. This is a complete outrage, and those executives should be ashamed,” he said.