Key Takeaways
- • Yale Chief Investment Officer Matthew Mendelsohn received $5,384,798 in calendar 2024 compensation, up more than $940,000 from $4,443,090 in 2023, making him the highest-paid administrator at the university, according to Form 990 filings reported by the Yale Daily News.
- • Amelia Chivetta, managing director of Yale Investments, earned $4,584,829 in 2024, a jump of nearly $3 million from $1,723,114 in 2023, the largest year-over-year increase recorded among Yale's top earners.
- • Timothy Sullivan ($4,175,425) and Alexander Banker ($4,166,189) each saw compensation rise by more than $2 million between 2023 and 2024, per the filings.
- • Yale's endowment returned 11.1 percent in fiscal 2024-25, roughly in line with the Ivy League average, after a 5.7 percent return in fiscal 2023-24.
- • Yale's Committee on Compensation said it weighed officer performance, endowment returns over set periods, and pay at comparable institutions; Mendelsohn's pay is consistent with peers including Princeton, Harvard and Columbia.
Summary
Compensation for several of Yale's highest-paid administrators rose sharply between 2023 and 2024, according to the university's tax filings as reported by the Yale Daily News. Employees in the Yale Investments office were among the university's top earners, alongside former Yale President Peter Salovey.
Chief Investment Officer Matthew Mendelsohn '07 received $4,443,090 in 2023, the most of any administrator that year and nearly $2 million more than Salovey's 2023 compensation. In 2024 Mendelsohn's compensation rose to $5,384,798. Managing director Amelia Chivetta earned $4,584,829 in 2024, up from $1,723,114 in 2023, the largest jump in compensation recorded that year. Timothy Sullivan '86, who served as Yale's senior director of private equity until March 2025, received $4,175,425, and Alexander Banker, who stepped down as senior director of finance in June 2024, received $4,166,189. Both saw increases of more than $2 million from 2023, and had worked at Yale for nearly 39 years and 27 years, respectively.
Salovey's tenure as president ended June 30, 2024. His 2024 calendar-year compensation of $4,019,357, which included $1.5 million in bonus and incentive compensation, exceeded his 2023 total of $2,453,342 by more than $1.5 million. Yale School of Medicine Dean Nancy Brown '81 earned $1,256,259 in 2024. According to the filings, the president recommended the dean's compensation to the committee, which reviewed her performance and pay for similar roles.
Yale reports these figures on its Form 990, which covers fiscal 2024-25 and discloses compensation for the calendar year ending within that fiscal year. Under IRS rules, the filing covers current officers and trustees, up to 20 key employees earning over $150,000, and the five highest-paid other employees earning over $100,000. Per the notes in the filing, the Committee on Compensation, a subgroup of the Yale Corporation, voted on the CIO's pay after weighing the president's recommendation, Mendelsohn's performance, Yale endowment performance over certain periods, and compensation for similarly qualified individuals at other organizations.
The endowment returned 11.1 percent in fiscal 2024-25, around the average growth of its Ivy League peers, after a 5.7 percent return in fiscal 2023-24. Peer comparisons in the filings show Princeton University Investment Company's president earned $4,722,776 in 2024, Harvard Management Company's CIO earned $5,125,560, and Columbia's Investment Management Company CEO earned $5,382,553.
James Finkelstein, a professor emeritus of public policy at George Mason University, told the Yale Daily News that Ivy League endowment managers "are paid extremely well because their market value is really determined in the private sector," noting that comparable roles such as running a hedge fund require the "same skill set" but pay considerably more. Yale employed 12,058 staff members in 2024, according to its website.
Chief Investment Officer Matthew Mendelsohn '07 received $4,443,090 in 2023, the most of any administrator that year and nearly $2 million more than Salovey's 2023 compensation. In 2024 Mendelsohn's compensation rose to $5,384,798. Managing director Amelia Chivetta earned $4,584,829 in 2024, up from $1,723,114 in 2023, the largest jump in compensation recorded that year. Timothy Sullivan '86, who served as Yale's senior director of private equity until March 2025, received $4,175,425, and Alexander Banker, who stepped down as senior director of finance in June 2024, received $4,166,189. Both saw increases of more than $2 million from 2023, and had worked at Yale for nearly 39 years and 27 years, respectively.
Salovey's tenure as president ended June 30, 2024. His 2024 calendar-year compensation of $4,019,357, which included $1.5 million in bonus and incentive compensation, exceeded his 2023 total of $2,453,342 by more than $1.5 million. Yale School of Medicine Dean Nancy Brown '81 earned $1,256,259 in 2024. According to the filings, the president recommended the dean's compensation to the committee, which reviewed her performance and pay for similar roles.
Yale reports these figures on its Form 990, which covers fiscal 2024-25 and discloses compensation for the calendar year ending within that fiscal year. Under IRS rules, the filing covers current officers and trustees, up to 20 key employees earning over $150,000, and the five highest-paid other employees earning over $100,000. Per the notes in the filing, the Committee on Compensation, a subgroup of the Yale Corporation, voted on the CIO's pay after weighing the president's recommendation, Mendelsohn's performance, Yale endowment performance over certain periods, and compensation for similarly qualified individuals at other organizations.
The endowment returned 11.1 percent in fiscal 2024-25, around the average growth of its Ivy League peers, after a 5.7 percent return in fiscal 2023-24. Peer comparisons in the filings show Princeton University Investment Company's president earned $4,722,776 in 2024, Harvard Management Company's CIO earned $5,125,560, and Columbia's Investment Management Company CEO earned $5,382,553.
James Finkelstein, a professor emeritus of public policy at George Mason University, told the Yale Daily News that Ivy League endowment managers "are paid extremely well because their market value is really determined in the private sector," noting that comparable roles such as running a hedge fund require the "same skill set" but pay considerably more. Yale employed 12,058 staff members in 2024, according to its website.
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