David Muir – $5 Million
David Jason Muir anchors the ABC news program "World News Tonight" and is a co-anchor of "20/20." He started his career after his college graduation. Within five years, he earned several awards as a journalist and reporter. He started working with ABC in 2003.
In 2021 he replaced George Stephanopoulos and became the TV channel's leading news anchor and presented all essential news and special events as their lead anchor. According to several 2023 reports, his annual salary is about $5 million. Muir is pretty inspiring; a few good decisions, hard work, and determination have taken his net worth to $20 million.
Laura Ingraham — $5 Million
A lawyer by education, Laura Ingraham, has been on the TV circuit for quite some time. She is famous for her FOX News Channel show "The Ingraham Angle," which aired over 1700 episodes by the end of 2022. Since then, she has done multiple other projects, including the radio show "The Laura Ingraham Show" while she is the editor-in-chief for "LifeZette."
According to the website Celebrity Net Worth, she earns around $15 million from the network, while she boasts a worth of almost $40 million. Since earning celebrity status, she also voiced the character of Dr. Zilowitz in a 2015 episode of the animated series, "The Simpsons."
Megyn Kelly — $23 Million
Megyn Kelly had a varied journey to get to where she is today. She started working at a law firm named Bickel & Brewer after graduation. However, she didn't like the long litigation hours, which is why she tried out working as a stringer at WJLA-TV.
Her most significant contract to date was the one she signed with NBC when she left Fox. Kelly's yearly income, according to the deal, was $23 million. When she left the channel after one year, the network didn't pay her for the remaining two years. Nonetheless, they eventually gave her $30 million in an out-of-court settlement.
Trevor Noah — $16 Million
After getting a big break in the South African drama series "Isidingo," Trevor Noah transitioned into comedy and gained substantial fame. One of his best works has been hosting "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central, where he earned around $5-8 million per season, according to Yahoo!
However, Noah jumped another leap forward when he signed a contract with Viacom, giving them first-look rights to his future projects. Yahoo! reported that he doubled his salary, taking the number to almost $16 million annually. Besides that, he makes a few extra dollars appearing in movies and from the royalties of his 2016 memoir, "Born a Crime."
Tucker Carlson – $10 Million
Tucker Carlson is one of the most bankable stars of Fox News. His show "Tucker Carlson Tonight" attracts a large viewership, and according to a 2020 article on CNN, the program generates almost 16% of Fox News ad revenue. MyPillow, a pillow-manufacturing company in Minnesota, gives around $37 million to the channel for this show.
Hence, it doesn't seem odd to know that Fox pays him about $10 million in annual salary. Carlson has come a long way from where he started in 1995. His first appearance on TV was when Dan Rather interviewed him on the O.J. Simpson trial.
Charles Payne — $4 Million
Charles Payne had started up as a financial analyst before he became a TV host. However, likely, he earns a lot more now with a paycheck of around $4 million with Fox Business Network. But that is only part of what Payne does, as he also has a few suitable investments in the capital market.
On TV, he can be seen hosting shows such as "Making Money with Charles Payne," and has also published a few books, including "Unstoppable Prosperity: Learn the Strategy I've Used to Beat the Market Every Year." As a savvy finance man, he sure knows how to make an extra dollar.
Deborah Norville – $4 Million
Deborah Norville used to work as an anchor and correspondent on CBS. Her next career move turned out to be best for her and the TV channel when she joined "Inside Edition." The ratings of the program hiked by 15 percent within the first week of her hosting it.
She also took up acting and made appearances in an episode of "The Game" and "The Young and the Restless." Nonetheless, her primary source of income, as per multiple sources, remains the paycheck from CBS which amounts to almost $4 million annually. Norville has also written several bestsellers, including "Thank You Power: Making the Science of Gratitude Work for You."
Shannon Sharpe — $3 Million
As almost all intelligent NFL players do, Shannon Sharpe, the former tight end for the Denver Broncos, has his hands in more than a few money-making ventures. Although he probably doesn't have a paycheck as big as he had from his football career, he reportedly earns $3 million per year from hosting TV shows.
Since his retirement, he has posed and been a columnist for the FitnessRX For Men magazine, hosted Sirius NFL Radio's program, "Opening Drive," and has a podcast named "Club Shay Shay." He is most notably known for the Fox TV hosting the show "Skip and Shannon: Undisputed" alongside Skip Bayless.
Joy Behar – $7 Million
Joy Behar has been a TV show host for almost as long as Deborah Norville, and she earns only a million less than Whoopi Goldberg, according to The Sun. Behar started hosting ABC's "The View" in 1997 and had worked on over 2000 episodes by 2023. She drew $7 million from the channel as of 2022.
She has also contributed to several TV shows and films as a writer and actor. Behar wrote content for two episodes of "Jonathan Katz in Dr. Katz, Professional," She has also done a few roles in films, like voicing 'Eunice' in the popular animated films franchise "Ice Age."
Melissa Francis — $2 Million
Melissa Francis began her career as an actress in the TV show "Little House on the Prairie." Additionally, she appeared in the famous series "St. Elsewhere" and had a lead role as Sarah in the 1986 feature "Morningstar/Eveningstar."
Francis began a career in journalism with CNBC before switching to Fox Business Network, where she also hosted "Money with Melissa Francis." She had a great run on the TV channel until she parted ways in 2020. While many websites report her salary to be $2 million, she claimed that she was paid less than her male counterparts and eventually received a settlement of $15 million in 2022.
Oprah Winfrey – $300 Million
Oprah Winfrey is one of the highest-earning TV personalities in America. But this doesn't solely owe all credit to her hosting the self-titled talk show. Instead, she runs a TV production company named Harpo Productions, Inc., and another one for movies called Harpo Films.
Besides that, she has inked various contracts and deals across the media industry, including multiple brand endorsements and sponsorships, from which a lot of her revenue comes in from. According to Marca.com, she earns around $300 million per year. Forbes reported her net worth at an astounding $2.5 billion in February 2023, giving her a self-made score of ten.
Stephen A. Smith — $12 Million
Commentating on one of the highest-earning sports in America, it is no surprise that Stephen A. Smith makes around $12 million working with ESPN on basketball-focused shows such as "NBA Countdown." He gets about $8 million from his commentator contract with the TV channel and another $4 million from his production contract.
If you're wondering why he earns that sizeable figure, Smith is known to be one of the most honest anchors in the sport and therefore draws a large viewership. According to the Sports Casting website, his shows have helped NBA earn millions of dollars, so there's no doubt he's worth his weight in gold to the network.
Chris Cuomo — $1 Million
In 2022 Chris Cuomo started a self-titled show on the Nexstar Media Group-owned channel, NewsNation. According to Chicago Business, his yearly draw from the new show was almost $1 million, which was a steep dip from the $6 million he got at CNN, hosting multiple shows.
Cuomo is most notably known for the TV programs "New Day" and "Cuomo Prime Time," while he also did the radio show "Let's Get After It" on "SiriusXM." Rewind a few more years, and he worked for ABC, where he co-anchored "20/20" and was a news anchor for "Good Morning America." The latter even won him an Emmy Award.
Dr. Phil – $80 Million
A psychologist by education at the University of North Texas, Dr. Phil McGraw has led a successful TV career after initial appearances on various talk shows. He earns about $80 million annually while his net worth stood at $65.5 million, primarily due to his TV show "Dr. Phil." He launched the medical application "Doctors on Demand" in 2015.
He's also a best-selling author, some of his bestselling books include "Life Strategies: Doing What Works," "Doing What Matters," and "Life Code: The New Rules for Winning in the Real World." McGraw also owns all his content, and the viewing rights and royalties earn him much as well.
Gayle King – $11 Million
Gayle King worked as a special correspondent on the ABC show "Good Morning America" before she joined CBS. At the new TV channel, her salary was $2 million per year before she negotiated it to $5 million in 2018. That was only the beginning for the talented host as she had it raised to $11 million by 2022.
King had all the rights and the negotiating power to do so. In her decorated career, she has interviewed the likes of Michelle Obama and Reba McIntyre. She was inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame in 2018 and received several other honors throughout her career.
Valerie Bertinelli – $3.23 Million
Two-time Golden Globe Award-winning TV personality and actress Valerie Bertinelli is best known for acting in titles such as "One Day at a Time" and "Pancho Barnes." And then there's her critically acclaimed cooking show "Valerie's Home Cooking," which she hosted and produced.
In 2022 she released a memoir titled "Enough, Already: Learning to Love the Way I Am Today," in which she mainly discussed the perils she faced in her life. Despite the rough patches in her life, she has gone on to become successful in all respects of life. According to the Capitalism.com website, her annual salary is $3.23 million.
George Stephanopoulos – $15 Million
George Stephanopoulos has a varied resume compared to many other TV show hosts. While he used to be a political advisor and then a White House communications director under the Bill Clinton administration, he gradually made his way into anchoring and hosting on TV.
Stephanopoulos joined ABC network in 2002 and made his way up the ladder. He started hosting "Good Morning America" in 2007 and has done over 2000 episodes to date. His last ten-year contract with ABC in 2011 was reportedly worth a jaw-dropping $105 million. As of December 2022, Celebrity Net Worth reported his annual earnings at $15 million.
Maria Taylor – $5 Million
The average salary of a sports reporter, according to the Sports Keeda website, is $66.9K, while Maria Taylor makes an attractive $5 million as a professional football pundit. She was an avid sports lover and even played junior volleyball nationally before she started working on TV. In 2021 she quit ESPN to join NBC Sports.
Throughout her career, Taylor has reported various sporting events, including NBA Championships, the 2020 Summer Olympics, the 2022 French Open, and the NFL games. Taylor is also a major supporter of women's empowerment. Her nonprofit organization, The Winning Edge Leadership Academy, works towards the same goal.
Greg Mathis – $5 Million
Greg Mathis is a judge on one of the longest-running court shows, "Judge Mathis." According to Reality Tit-Bit, he was initially offered to do the show in 1998, and since it became a hit with the audience, Warner Brothers continued to release more episodes.
In 2023 the show aired its 24th season, and at the time, The Richest website claimed his annual paycheck to be $5 million. That is a sizeable sum considering that he was once on trial himself. Judge Charles Kaufman gave Mathis a chance to pursue further education. Fortunately, the latter was keen to take the opportunity to turn his life around, and boy, did he!
Don Lemon – $4 Million
In his early years in media, Don Lemon worked as a journalist with local media stations in Alabama and Pennsylvania. A Brooklyn College graduate, he is now best known for hosting the TV show "This Morning" and draws a yearly salary of $4 million from one of the largest news channels in America, CNN.
Having been on the channel since 2006, he initially hosted the show "Don Lemon Tonight" for almost eight years. Besides the usual, he also served as a moderator for political town halls. Meanwhile, his book "This Is The Fire: What I Say to My Friends About Racism" is a New York Times bestseller.
Terry Bradshaw - $5 Million
Terry Bradshaw may have earned a lot more as a quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, his finances didn't take much of a dip after his retirement. The former professional football star began a career as a TV host for the sport while also making a few investments to ensure a steady cash flow.
A legend on the football field, he started cohosting "Fox NFL Sunday" after he retired as an athlete. Bradshaw has since been among the sport's leading gurus. He has also appeared in several movies, such as "The Cannonball," while he voiced a character in the animated film "Scooby-Doo and ''Guess Who?"
Shannon Bream – $3 Million
Shannon Bream is the chief legal correspondent for the Fox network. However, she was already famous for hosting the shows "Fox News @ Night" on TV and "Livin' the Bream" on Fox News Radio. Did you know that before she got busy handling supreme court decisions and political campaigns, she was a beauty pageant competitor who won the 1990 Miss Virginia title?
She was encouraged to join Fox News by the famous political commentator Brit Hume. Bream's salary from the network sums up to $3 million. However, she also earns hefty royalties for her bestselling books, including "The Women of the Bible Speak."
Steve Harvey – $45 Million
While multiple sources quote a different salary for Steve Harvey, most of them claim something around the ballpark of $45 million yearly. According to Celebrity Net Worth, 25 percent of his total income comes from hosting the reality TV show "Family Feud" and its spinoffs, while 50 percent comes from his radio work.
Hard work pays off, and Harvey is an excellent example. He has done some odd jobs, such as cleaning carpets and delivering mail, before entering showbiz as a stand-up comedian. Even Harvey might not have guessed he'd be the most respected reality TV show host for decades.
Mike Rowe – $10 Million
People who watch documentary channels might recognize the voice of this legend. Mike Rowe has narrated, written, hosted, acted in, and presented several documentaries broadcasted by National Geographic, Discovery Channel, and The Science Channel. Two of his most notable projects are "Dirty Jobs" on CNN and "Somebody's Gotta Do It."
According to the Celebrity Net Worth website, Rowe banks a sum of $10 million from his day jobs. On the side, he has also endorsed and appeared in ads for high-profile companies such as Ford, Caterpillar, Novartis, and Motorolla. Only a few fans might know this, but Rowe was briefly also an Opera singer.
Pat Sajak – $15 Million
Renowned TV personality Pat Sajak gained worldwide fame from hosting the reality TV show ''Wheel of Fortune." The program is on-air to date, with over 7,000 episodes. According to Parade, Sajak boasted an annual salary of $15 million per year in 2016, which might be even higher now.
Now a staple in many American households, he has been hosting the show Vanna White for decades. During this time, he has worked on numerous other reality shows and has appeared as a guest in many more. He was a celebrity panelist in an episode of "Wordplay" and played Kevin Hathaway in the soap opera "Days of Our Lives."
Juan Williams – $8 Million
According to a 2022 article by CA Knowledge, political analyst, and journalist Juan Williams received a paycheck of about $8 million from Fox News. He joined the TV channel in 1997 as a contributor. Nowadays, he appears on the shows "Special Report with Bret Baier" and "Fox News Sunday."
Throughout his career, he has interviewed several high-profile people, including the American presidents Ronald Regan, Barrack Obama, and George W. Bush. Williams is also an author, and six of his books have achieved bestseller status. These include "Eyes on the Prize," "Muzzled," and "What the Hell Do You Have to Lose?"
Ryan Seacrest — $60 Million
Ryan's Seacrest might not yet be as experienced as Pat Sajak or Steve Harvey, but he has made a name for himself in the reality TV and talk-show industry. His signature program "Live with Kelly and Ryan," with co-host Kelly Ripa, premiered in 2017 and arguably remains his most popular venture. As per a Forbes 2020 update, he earns somewhere around $60 million.
The annual figure includes his talk show and his hosting of the daily gabfest and "American Idol." Besides that, Seacrest is also an executive producer on "Keeping Up with the Kardashians," "The Watchful Eye," and the comedy-thriller web series "Insatiable."
Judge Judy Sheindlin — $47 Million
Although Judge Greg Mathis has the longest-running courtroom reality TV show, Judge Judy Sheindlin probably has one of the top-watched programs in that genre. Her self-titled show ran between 1996 and 2021, which made her the longest-serving TV arbitrator.
Sheindlin won a Lifetime Achievement Emmy in 2019 for her TV work, and even after her initial show ended, she resumed a spinoff program titled "Judy Justice." In 2017, CBS bought all her episodes for $100 million. According to Forbes, the TV show host earns a staggering $47 million annually, and her net worth is almost $480 million. Sheindlin created the show "Hot Bench" and remains its producer.
Chelsea Handler – $10 Million
According to a 2014 article on Business Insider, Chelsea Handler signed a deal with Netflix that would earn her about $10 million annually. Under that contract, she has done a range of different programs, including a standup comedy special as well as a few docu-comedy shows. She released one of those, "Chelsea Handler: Revolution," in 2022.
Before that, Handler had been in several other contracts. She reportedly made $8 million with E! between 2007 and 2014 doing "The Chelsea Handler Show." Around that time, the New York Post said she was one of the top-paid TV stars in America.
Vanna White – $10 Million
Vanna White is popularly known for hosting the reality TV show "Wheel of Fortune" and its spinoffs. But did you know that before getting her big break, she had already appeared as a contestant on "The Price Is Right?" However, ''Wheel of Fortune'' changed her life forever.
Co-hosting the iconic gameshow with Pat Sajak, she is reported to be earning a salary of $10 million. Following her rise to fame, she's also appeared in several movies such as "Double Dragon," and "Goddess of Love." She also released an autobiography titled "Vanna Speaks!" in 1987, which discusses her journey to success and life as a high-spirited woman.
Kathie Lee Gifford – $5 Million
The "Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee" and "Today" star Kathie Lee Gifford is a singer, songwriter, actress, and above all, a TV personality. Multiple media sources, including Closer Weekly, report that she earned $5 million from her TV career.
But that was just the tip of the iceberg, considering that Lee had put her time and money into several other ventures. Not only was she an actress in films such as "Dudley Do-Right," "The First Wives Club," and "Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!," but she is also a businesswoman and has written five New York Times bestsellers such as "It's Never Too Late" and "Party Animals."
Hoda Kotb — $8 Million
In 2017 Hoda Kotb negotiated a raise in her annual salary when she joined Savannah Guthrie to co-host "Today" on NBC. According to The Healthy Journal, the new deal earned her about $8 million annually. Before that, she used to work as a co-host on "Today's fourth-hour" alongside Kathie Lee Gifford.
Kotb began her career in 1986 as a journalist and news correspondent for CBS News. Since then, she has hosted many shows, acted in films and drama shows such as "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," and authored at least seven publications, including the best-seller "I Really Needed This Today."
Lara Spencer — $3 Million
Lara Spencer is one of those people who kept her head down and worked hard until destiny led her to what she was passionate about. Starting as a journalist and a reporter, she got the opportunity to work on "Good Morning America," which she gladly took up. Her life has only been on an upward graph ever since.
In 2022, Closer Weekly reporter her annual salary to be $3 million working as a lifestyle anchor on "Good Morning America." Besides the regular day job, she also hosts the home decor show, "Flea Market Flip," on HGTV, which follows her lifelong interest in antiques.
Amy Robach — $1 Million
Although her salary is not public knowledge, Style Caster quotes the total earnings of TV personality Amy Robach at $1 million, while the Celebrity Net Worth website quotes $3 million. Robach's career beginnings were not quite the same as compared to other popular TV hosts. Did you know that she was once a beauty queen who became the fourth runner-up in the 1995 Miss Georgia pageant?
She co-anchors the show "20/20" alongside David Muir. In the past, she has also served as the national news correspondent for NBC, among various other roles. As of 2020, she also started hosting the show "GMA3: What You Need to Know."
Sean Hannity – $45 Million
Sean Hannity is a TV and radio personality who started working first in 1989. However, he didn't get exposure to a broad audience until much later in 1996, when he began hosting "Hannity & Colmes" on Fox News. He has been on the channel for a long time and earns almost $25 million.
Hannity additionally earns another $20 million for hosting "The Sean Hannity Show" on iHeart radio. Besides a skillful voice, he also has a great business mind. The Celebrity Net Worth website reports that the TV host owns over 900 houses in seven states, many of which were purchased from foreclosures.