The Bobster
Senior News Editor since 2004
Rev. Al Sharpton gets giant raise, and his charity spends $1M on jets, limos
Rev. Al Sharpton’s charity nearly doubled his compensation and also shelled out close to $300,000 for private jets so that he and other bigwigs could attend “important gatherings.”…
nypost.com
Rev. Al Sharpton gets giant raise, and his charity spends $1M on jets, limos
By
Melissa Klein
November 19, 2022 8:26am
Updated
Rev. Al Sharpton’s charity nearly doubled his compensation and also shelled out close to $300,000 for private jets so that he and other bigwigs could attend “important gatherings.”
The National Action Network paid Sharpton $348,174 in 2021 as its president and CEO and gave him a hefty bonus of $278,503 — plus $22,117 worth of benefits for total compensation of $648,794, its latest tax filing shows.
The preacher’s 2020 compensation came to $347,183, which did not include a bonus.
NAN also forked over nearly $1 million on private jets and limos.
00:02 01:29
It paid $291,833 to Apollo Jets, which brokers private plane flights — from Lear jets to 737s — and boasts on its website about celebrity clients like Derek Jeter and Shaquille O’Neal. NAN also spent $650,134 on Carey International, a high-end car service.
Rev. Al Sharpton was pictured flying on a private plane. TheRevAl/TwitterSharpton, 68, and other NAN senior staff, along with victims’ families got to fly on the private flights to events, funerals and “important gatherings,” according to a NAN spokeswoman.
“Some of it was me. Some of it was the chairman. Some of it was victims’ families,” Sharpton told The Post, noting the pandemic was still forcing commercial carriers to cancel flights.
He said every flight was reimbursed by a donor, but he wouldn’t name the contributors.
1 of 2
The organization hauled in $7.3 million in revenue in 2021, down from $11.1 million the previous year when George Floyd was killed, sparking nationwide protests. NAN said it raised extra money in 2020 to fund its March on Washington — which it said cost more than $1 million — and to pay for funerals.
Sharpton said his bonus was approved by the organization’s board based on his fund raising.
The Harlem-based nonprofit, which was founded by Sharpton in 1991 and bills itself as an activist social justice organization, continued to pay three of the reverend’s relatives. His daughter, Dominique, got $78,670 for membership work; his daughter, Ashley, took in $59,950 for social media duties and consulting; and his niece, Nikki, received $15,800 for special events.
Sharpton spoke about pressing issues at a National Action Network event. G.N.Miller/NY PostThe charity paid out $155,460 in victim assistance and gave a $2,400 scholarship to one person who is not named, according to its tax filing.
In 2017, Sharpton sold the rights to his life story to NAN for $531,000 with the organization intending to turn around and off-load them for a profit.
NAN contends it has made back its money and turned a profit with projects such as “Loudmouth,” a documentary on the firebrand preacher and MSNBC host. But its tax filings do not specifically show any revenue from such sales.
The Harlem-based nonprofit, which was founded by Sharpton in 1991, prides itself as an activist social justice organization. GC Images“The board has not agreed to release revenue streams for the sale of life rights,” NAN spokeswoman Rachel Noerdlinger said.
The documentary, which was first shown at film festivals last spring, will have its nationwide theatrical release on Dec. 9. But it will open on Dec. 6 at The Picture House in Bronxville, a wealthy Westchester County suburb that is nearly all white.
Noerdlinger said the screening was “at a theater that regularly airs documentaries this time of year.”
