Chauffeured Cars and Broadway Tickets: Inside the National Realtors Group

Real Estate|Chauffeured Cars and Broadway Tickets: Inside the National Realtors Group

When he became the chief executive of the National Association of Realtors seven years ago, Bob Goldberg negotiated a package of gold-plated perks.

N.A.R., the largest trade organization in the country, agreed to cover Mr. Goldberg’s membership dues for private clubs in both Chicago and Washington and a country club of his choice, including an initiation fee of up to $75,000. He would use all three clubs “primarily for business purposes,” according to the contract he negotiated with the organization.

The group would also pay for first-class airline tickets when he traveled for business and, once a month, for a round-trip first-class ticket for his wife. He was given a $1,500 monthly car allowance and $2,250 a month to cover utilities and insurance at his pied-à-terre in Chicago, where N.A.R. has its headquarters. N.A.R. even agreed to pay for a pet sitter to watch his dogs when Mr. Goldberg was away from his home outside Washington on business.

The extras came on top of his $1.2 million salary that would, according to N.A.R.’s tax returns, grow to $2.6 million in five years.

The generous compensation, a New York Times investigation found, is in line with a free-spending culture at N.A.R., which for a century has dominated the American housing industry, policing access to home listings and setting rules about commissions. It even owns the trademark to the word “Realtor.”

Interviews with current and former employees, members and elected leaders, as well as tax records and Mr. Goldberg’s 2017 employment contract, paint a portrait of a nonprofit organization where leaders have come to expect lavish spending and benefits the day they step into the job.