YU’s 2021 Form 990 Released; Reveals Salary of President Berman, University Finances

Yeshiva University President Ari Berman received $805,962 in total compensation between July 2021 and August 2022, according to information obtained by The Commentator from the university’s form 990 filings for fiscal year 2021 with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Form 990 is an IRS form legally required from tax-exempt organizations, which provides financial information available to the general public. The form is filed annually on May 15 and becomes publicly available soon after.

Berman’s total compensation, made up of his base compensation of $638,226 in addition to nearly $170,000 of other benefits, increased about $114,000 from the previous fiscal year. His compensation previously decreased by $53,637 in the 2020 fiscal year, likely as part of the 20% pay cut Berman announced he was taking as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Berman resides in a 2-story home in Teaneck, New Jersey, purchased by the university for $1.8 million upfront in 2018. The house is currently valued by Zillow at over $2.1 million.

Vice President of Legal Affairs and General Counsel Andrew Lauer and Vice President of Business Affairs and Chief Financial Officer Jacob Harman remained, respectively, the second and third highest-earning university officials, with Lauer receiving total compensation of $662,230 and Harman being compensated $534,740.

Former President Richard Joel remains the ninth highest compensation of any university official, with a base salary of $228,338 and total compensation of $430,138.

For the second year in a row, YU’s total revenue exceeded total costs, with the school spending $360 million and bringing in $385 million for a net revenue of $25 million — a $7 million increase from last year.

The university’s sources of revenue included $250 million in tuition — a $30 million increase year over year — and $70 million of gifts, grants and contributions — a decrease of $10 million. Government grants rose $2 million, to a total of $10 million. 

Individual expenses included $140 million in employee salaries and benefits, and $100 million in scholarships for 3,726 students. Spending on security reached $10 million. University expenditures on repairs and maintenance decreased by over $1 million, to a total of about $2.5 million.

YU’s total assets and net assets both declined from the previous fiscal  year, with total assets slipping below the billion dollar mark to $958 million. Although total liabilities also fell $7 million, net assets fell by about $80 million to a total of $531 million. This seems to be driven in part by a decline in the value of YU’s investments in securities. The university sold $416 million worth of securities in the past year for a profit of $60 million, amounts more than doubled from 2020. The value of the total securities owned by the university declined by $93 million.

A redacted version of form 990’s schedule B, which details the names and addresses of donors of more than $5,000, was made available to The Commentator, listing the value of eight donations, the highest of which was $15 million. Donors’ names and addresses were omitted. Last year, the full schedule B was removed from the public version of the form.

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Photo Caption: Yeshiva University’s form 990 for the 2021 fiscal year was released this summer.

Photo Credit: Jonathan Levin / The Commentator