Metropolitan Museum of Art - Governance

Governance

The collections are owned by a private corporation of fellows and benefactors which totals about 950 persons. The museum is governed by a board of trustees of 41 elected members, several officials of the City of New York, and persons honored as trustees by the museum. The 2009-10 operating budget was $221 million. The museum's endowment is $2–3 billion and provides much of the income for operations while admissions account for only 15%.

The Met is reported to have the best credit rating by far of all major museums in the United States. This was last affirmed by Moody's in 2009, even after the agency assumed "a 30% reduction from investment losses and endowment spending" in the context of the late-2000s financial crisis. The museum fundraised $138 million in 2008 and boasted almost 5 million visitors. While it was noted that depressed revenues could present a financial problem in the future, Moody's cited relatively few challenges to the museum's rating.