In a world of constantly busted apps with unwieldy UX, the Wikimedia Foundation excels with Wikipedia, a simple trove of information for any question you might have.

But the greater internet is abuzz with another question, per Business Insider: Do its executives deserve their high salaries?

The numbers

This whole debate began when X user @nyaaasen posted a screenshot of Wikimedia’s 2021 IRS filings, showing that:

• Former CEO Katherine Maher earned $789.5k.
• Former COO Janeen Uzzell pulled in $503.8k.
• Other execs, including Wikimedia’s CFO and chief creative officer, earned ~$344k-$396k each.

Some of these earnings included severance for departing execs — e.g., Maher left the company in April 2021, earning $600k+ in severance.

Surprise: Tech execs make bank

But unlike other tech organizations, Wikimedia is a nonprofit. Wikipedia’s pages are composed by volunteers, and it frequently asks users for donations (occasionally with drama).

This led the OP to call Wikipedia a “massive grift,” while others were quick to point out these salaries are actually low among tech companies, especially considering how widely used Wikipedia is — Semrush ranks Wikipedia as the fifth-most-visited website in the world.

So, it’s complicated

Let’s just dial in on Maher’s 2021 salary of $789.5k.

Among CEOs of S&P 500 companies, who, in 2022, averaged annual salaries of $16.7m, it’s low. Consider these 2022 salaries:

• Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, $225.9m
• Pinterest CEO Bill Ready, $122.6m
• DraftKings CEO Jason Robins, $47.4m

Among nonprofit CEOs, whose annual salaries averaged $166.9k in 2021-22, it’s high — but not when compared to the CEOs of larger nonprofits. In 2021:

• American Red Cross CEO Gail McGovern earned $640.4k.
• Feeding America CEO Claire Babineaux-Fontenot earned $969.3k.

Ultimately, it may be better to look at how a nonprofit spends its total funds.

Charity Navigator gives Wikimedia 4/4 stars, noting its program expense ratio (program expenses divided by total expenses) of ~75%.

Charity Navigator only awards four stars to nonprofits with a program expense ratio of 70%+, while the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance recommends 65%+.

BTW: Who cares about CEOs? The average US salary is currently $59.4k.

While we draft our out-of-office messages for that glorious week between Christmas and New Year’s, just remember there’s one employee who is always hard at work: Santa.

According to HireSanta’s 2023 report, which surveyed 1.2k+ Santas-for-hire, there’s much more to the beloved icon than his beard and belly.

It turns out spreading joy is serious business:

• The majority of Santas (29.4%) reported earning $5k-$10k in 2022, followed by the 16.9% who said they earned $10k-$15k.
• More prefer hourly gigs (59.5%) to full-season work (26%), and a majority (59%) said the ideal time spent in the big red chair is 6+ hours.
• Hourly pay for most gigs fell between $100 and $200, while 30.5% of full-season gigs started at $75 per hour.

Becoming Mr. Claus is a big investment: The majority of Santas report spending between $500 and $1.5k to get into character, which often includes owning two to three Santa suits.

And 60.5% of the Christmas pros attended Santa school. Seriously.

But who’s inside the suit?

Santa is both a consummate professional and a multidimensional being:

• 67% of pro Santas are between the ages of 62 and 74.
• Many Santas are, surprisingly, from warm climates: Texas (15.1%) and California (7.5%) were the most common answers.
• 79.5% are married. (Shout out to Mrs. Claus.)
• 53.3% have an education level of college or above.

And while most Saint Nicks are retired, day jobs include everything from a funeral director to a CEO, artist, and graphic designer.

As for the nature vs. nurture debate, the survey shed some light: 51.6% of Santas had beards before they ever donned a red velvet hat.

Behold: A few conversation-worthy gems from this week’s news cycle that’ll bring any idling social gathering back to life…

• PETA named Apple its company of the year for ditching leather in favor of sustainable, cruelty-free alternatives. As for Apple, the move is part of its goal to be carbon neutral by 2030. Previous winners include alternative meat brand Beyond Meat, as well as less obvious recipients, like 2017 winner WeWork (for banning meat at events) and 2018’s Netflix (for its documentaries on animal abuse).
• The mystery of a missing $800k ring has been solved. The ring, which was feared stolen after it disappeared from its owner’s Ritz Paris hotel room, was discovered in a vacuum bag following a two-day investigation. Though the hotel claimed no foul play was involved, local prosecutors will decide whether to close the case or investigate further. Seems sus… How one could manage to leave ~$1m on the floor, we couldn’t say.
• Speaking of fishy situations… Spanish authorities seized 11 tons of cocaine — most of it found hidden between pieces of frozen tuna — and arrested 20 people on drug trafficking charges across two operations. Investigators said the responsible criminal organizations, based in the Balkans, were using a frozen seafood company as a front to smuggle drugs from South America to Spain.
• Acai: superfood or super wasteful? The superfood’s edible bits account for just 15% of the whole fruit. The leftovers, including 550k tons of acai pits annually, largely end up crowding landfills or clogging waterways in Para, Brazil — the Amazonian state responsible for 95% of global acai production. Local researchers are working to recycle the waste into various products ranging from animal feed to cosmetics, with plans to open the Amazon’s first cellulose lab in early 2024. First up: developing packaging paper from acai fibers.