In his seven years as chief executive of the Los Angeles-based J. Paul Getty Trust, Barry Munitz has led the organization through a period of trying change. But even as he has won praise for his stewardship of the world's wealthiest arts organization, his risk-taking management style and compensation and perks have alienated some of the trust's most respected staff members, the Los Angeles Times reports.

In early 2003, for example, after absorbing more than $1 billion in losses on its endowment, the Getty enacted a round of layoffs, replaced annual raises with one-time bonuses, and cut such perks as holiday parties, staff softball games, and free coffee and tea. That same year, Munitz's total compensation topped $1 million, placing him among the highest-paid foundation executives, museum directors, and university presidents in the nation. Later that year, as the Getty eliminated raises for other employees, Munitz asked for — and received — an increase that brought his 2004 pay package to more than $1.2 million. Trust officials justified his compensation by arguing that the Getty is a uniquely complex institution that places extraordinary demands on its leader. Yet, while running the Getty, Munitz has also had time to serve on more than a dozen corporate and nonprofit boards, work that earned him at least an additional $180,000 in cash or stock options in 2004.

Financial records show that Munitz has used the Getty's money and reputation to do favors for friends, once using trust letterhead to petition a state agency on behalf of a securities trader related to his wife by marriage who was convicted of fraud in the 1980s. And in 2002, the Getty reimbursed Munitz for all or part of thirteen first-class flights, five of them overseas. One trip, to Australia with his wife, cost the trust more than $29,000. "This kind of comp may be acceptable in the corporate context, but it is just not acceptable in the nonprofit [world]," said James Fishman, a professor of nonprofit law at Pace Law School in White Plains, New York. "The Getty is not paying taxes. Every taxpayer is really subsidizing the Getty. It's a stream of money flowing away from the U.S. Treasury."

A recently completed IRS audit of the Getty's 2001, 2002, and 2003 fiscal years found nothing wrong with Munitz's pay or perks, or the trust's adherence to tax regulations. In written responses to questions from the Times, Getty officials said the board explicitly authorized Munitz's pay, travel, and participation in outside activities. "The board believes Dr. Munitz has done a remarkable job leading the Getty," said the trust's board chair, John H. Biggs. "He has assembled an outstanding management team. He has instigated necessary and important change at a complex organization and positioned the Getty to accomplish extraordinary public service."