The head of the Smithsonian Institution, who called DEI “integral to excellence in museum practice,” has made millions of dollars in base salary and added benefits over the past several years, a new report details.
The title the Smithsonian gives its head is Secretary of the Smithsonian.
The Smithsonian Institution’s 990s tax forms reportedly reveal that Lonnie Bunch III made $4.4 million from 2020-2024, according to a Fox News review. In 2024, Bunch reportedly made a salary of $915,469 with $74,090 in added benefits. His current salary is not yet public, per the report.
“Other years range from $726,156 to $861,379 for his salary and up to $68,391 in added benefits,” according to the report.
The report notes that while the Smithsonian funds executive compensation through private trust revenues to comply with federal pay caps, the massive salary “could draw fresh scrutiny because federal taxpayers still fund roughly 60 percent of the institution’s overall budget.”
During his tenure, Bunch has advocated for remaking the Smithsonian in the image of DEI. In a comment to Smithsonian Magazine in 2019, Bunch said he wanted the institution to make “diversity and inclusion so central that it’s no longer talked about.”
“We call ourselves the Great Convener, but we’re really a great legitimizer. And I want the Smithsonian to legitimize important issues, whether it’s 1619 or climate change,” Bunch said, referring to the controversial 1619 Project. “We help people think about what’s important, what they should debate, what they should embrace.”
“Everybody that thought about the 1619 Project, whether they liked it or disagreed with it, saw that the Smithsonian had fingerprints on it. And that to me was a great victory,” he continued.
In his position, Bunch oversees the Smithsonian’s 21 museums, 21 libraries, the National Zoo, and various research centers and reports to the organization’s board of regents, according to the report.
Bunch also reportedly co-wrote a policy framework resource called “Excellence in DEAI,” which stands for diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion, for the American Alliance of Museums.
In the 17-page document, Bunch reportedly said that museums should “embed responsibility and accountability for implementing DEAI policies and processes into operations, job descriptions, and performance reviews at all levels of the institution, from the board of directors, c-level executives, and senior leaders to middle managers, junior staff, and volunteers.”
“DEAI is integral to excellence in museum practice. FULL STOP,” he wrote. “Amid social, political and cultural polarization and clear structural racism and other forms of oppression in the United States and around the world, DEAI must be at the center of how we understand and practice excellence in our institutions,” he continued.
Efforts by leadership to embed DEI into the Smithsonian and reframe American history have received heavy criticism from the Trump administration. The administration recently released a report titled “Saving America’s Story,” in which it warns that the organization appears to be politically motivated.
READ MORE: Rep. Brandon Gill Grills Smithsonian Director on Museum Guidance Tying Politeness to White Supremacy
Even so, Bunch has previously said he views himself as an apolitical figure.
“What the country needs are places that are nonpartisan and safe, where people can grapple with what’s going on around them,” Bunch told Smithsonian Magazine.
The Smithsonian was created by Congress in 1846 as an independent federal trust. The institution said in its 2025 management report that it relies on the federal government for roughly two-thirds of its funding, according to the report.
Bunch did not respond to the outlet’s requests for comment by time of publication.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.
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