Here’s Where All the Money the Met Gala Raises Actually Goes

The Met Gala is perhaps one of the most lavish and luxurious events, held once a year on the first Monday of May. It celebrates fashion, art, and of course, top celebrities, musicians, fashion designers, and the ultra-wealthy, because who else can afford a ticket (if invited) with a $100,000 price tag?

In the process, folks get to see some of the rarest and most unusual ensembles top designers, and even up-and-coming ones, put together for some of the biggest names in Hollywood and music to wear. But beyond all the extravagant fashion, it’s also a time to raise money. In case you didn’t know, the Met Gala is a charity event, and here’s where the money raised actually goes.

The money raised from the Met Gala goes toward the museum’s Costume Institute, which is tasked with housing centuries’ worth of fashion and accessories dating all the way back to the 15th century, according to the official Metropolitan Museum of Art website. The museum’s director and CEO, Max Hollein, described it to CNN’s Rachel Tashjian Wise as “one of the greatest collections of fashion, of costumes.”

And in order to store and preserve what’s already housed there, in addition to newly acquired pieces, it can become quite costly. Hollein explained that it’s “more challenging, more expensive” than what it costs to store and preserve drawings and paintings.

But that’s not all the Met Gala proceeds are used for. They also help cover additional expenses and keep the museum running.

For instance, the Costume Institute was able to undergo a renovation, reopening in May 2014 with some of the proceeds, adding the Anna Wintour Costume Center, which includes the Charles James: Beyond Fashion exhibition. It also includes the Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch Gallery and the Carl and Iris Barrel Apfel Gallery inside the center.

But those are just the expenses people see.

Behind the scenes, Met Gala proceeds also help cover expenses associated with the museum’s “state-of-the-art costume conservation laboratory,” along with a study and storage facility used to house the Costume Institute’s items and those belonging to the Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection. There’s also The Irene Lewisohn Costume Reference Library that carries a cost, which the Met considers “one of the world’s foremost fashion libraries.”

Now, the collection isn’t just there to preserve history and pieces of art. It’s also accessible to those entering the field, including graduate and doctorate students, as well as designers and scholars.

It’s essentially a piece of fashion history, and in order to keep the wheels turning and the Costume Institute open and able to preserve these artifacts, it needs funding. Wise also pointed out in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that the gala’s funds are also used to help cover the institute’s 29-person staff.

The amount varies by year, but in 2026, the Met Gala raised a whopping $42 million, according to CNN’s Rachel Tashjian Wise. That’s $11 million more than the 2025 total, which came in at $31 million.

Needless to say, the Met Gala is bringing in serious money, but it also has a lot of expenses to cover, especially considering the Costume Institute is located in New York City.