Gov. Kathy Hochul’s husband’s decision to leave his job at a major Buffalo-based company spurred a financial windfall for New York’s first family last year, newly released tax records show.
The governor and first gentleman unveiled their tax returns on Friday, revealing they reported an adjusted gross income of about $1.9 million on their 2023 tax returns, about $900,000 more than they had jointly reported the year before.
The bump came from a major income increase from an affiliate of the Delaware North Companies, the international concessions giant where William Hochul — a former U.S. attorney for Western New York — worked as a top corporate attorney before leaving in August.
William Hochul reported receiving nearly $1.5 million from the company last year, more than double the roughly $650,000 he received in 2022. The difference was a series of bonuses and compensation paid out when he left the firm last summer, according to the governor’s office.
The governor’s state salary is $250,000 a year. William Hochul also reported receiving about $80,000 from a Delaware North retirement plan, according to the tax returns.
Glen White, Delaware North’s director of corporate communications, said William Hochul’s increased compensation “reflects the payout of accrued benefits such as long-term incentive and retirement benefits, which is typical upon an executive’s departure from a company.” He said William Hochul additionally received short-term incentives because the company’s financial performance had improved.
The governor’s office made the first family’s tax returns available to reporters in Albany and New York City on Friday, continuing a long-standing tradition in New York. Statewide elected officials — and often, candidates for those positions — typically make their annual returns available to the media around Tax Day, which falls on April 15 this year.
The Hochuls’ latest tax forms show the governor and first gentleman made charitable donations worth $84,780 in 2023. Almost all of it was via stocks donated to various organizations.
The couple’s charitable donations included 40 shares of Microsoft, worth about $14,000 when they were donated, to the Franciscan Sisters of St. Joseph in Hamburg, according to the tax documents. Among the other stock recipients were the Erie County SPCA, Planned Parenthood, and the Buffalo City Mission.
William Hochul worked for Delaware North for nearly seven years, from 2016 through mid-August last year. The company oversees hospitality and concessions at major venues across the globe, including MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
The first gentleman’s employment occasionally attracted headlines during Kathy Hochul’s first two years as governor, as Delaware North actively lobbies Albany policymakers on various issues. The governor implemented a recusal policy for Delaware North-related matters after taking office in 2021. It was rescinded after her husband left the company.
In 2022, the governor negotiated a deal to have state and Erie County taxpayers put up $850 million toward a new stadium for the Buffalo Bills. Delaware North controlled the concessions contract for the Bills’ current stadium, leading some to question whether the Hochuls would benefit if Delaware North won the contract for the new stadium. But it didn’t end up happening: The Pegula family, which owns the Bills, awarded the new contract to Legends Hospitality, owned in part by the owners of the New York Yankees and Dallas Cowboys.
The Hochuls’ new tax returns show they paid $610,072 in federal taxes and $123,090 in state taxes last year. William Hochul started a new job with international law firm Davis Polk in January.
This story has been updated with comment from Delaware North.