The Real Net Worth of Some Of Televisions Biggest Hosts
When people think of celebrities famous actors and musicians usually come to mind. However, people tend to forget just how popular and successful television hosts have the opportunity to become. It's no secret that the host of a show can either make or break the program, so it is imperative to have someone that is charismatic and makes the show works. Not only do some of these hosts make a name for themselves, but they also make a fair amount of money. Take a look to see the net worth of some of the most famous television shows out there and maybe it will make you want to consider becoming one yourself.
Steve Harvey - $100 Million
Steve Harvey ha done it all. he's been a comedian, television hist, radio personality, actor, and author. he hosts The Steve Harvey Morning Show, the Steve talk show, Family Feud, Celebrity Family Feud, Little Big Shots and its spin-off Little Big Shots: Forever Young.
In addition, he is known to host award shows such as the Miss University pageant and Showtime at the Apollo. Furthermore, he is a six-time Daytime Emmy Award winner, two-time Marconi Award winner, and 14-time NAACP Image Award Winner. All of this work has set his net worth at a cool $100 million.
Dick Clark - $200 Million
Dick Clark had one of the most successful careers in the television industry. He was an American radio and television personality, actor, and producer. However, he is best known for hosting the hit television show American bandstand from 1957 to 1987.
He also hosted the game show Pyramid and of course, Dick Clarke's New Year's Rockin Eve in order to bring in the New Year in Times Square, New York. By the time of his death in 2012, his net worth was an estimated $200 million.
Hoda Kotb - $12 Million
Hoda Kotb is an American broadcast journalist, television personality, and author. She is the main co-anchor of the NBC News' morning show Today, as well as the co-host of the entertainment-based fourth hour. She also once served as a correspondent for the television news program Dateline NBC.
Being a survivor of breast cancer, she is also known for her fundraising and awareness efforts in the fighting of the disease. Although she may not make as much as some other television personalities, she probably isn't complaining about having a net worth of $12 million.
Bob Barker - $70 Million
Since his retirement in 2007, Bob Barker has been taking it easy. We're sure he's not too concerned about being comfortable after making over $70 million in his lifetime in front of the camera.
Barker rose to prominence as the host for the hit game show CBS's The Price is Right, which he hosted from 1972 all the way up until 2007. During his time on the show, he The price is Right became the longest-running daytime game show in North American television history.
Jon Stewart - $80 Million
Jon Stewart is a comedian, writer, producer, actor, author director, and television host. He is best known for hosting the political satire news program The Daily Show from 1999 to 2015 on Comedy Central.
Although he started out as a stand up comedian, he eventually scored his own show The Jon Stewart Show on MTV as well as hosted You Wrote it, You Watch it, also on MTV. He did some minor acting roles until landing the The Daily Show in 1999 which became widely popular during his time on the show.
Stephen Colbert - $45 Million
Stephen Colbert is a comedian, writer, producer, actor, and television host. He is best known for his time hosting The Colbert Report from 2005 to 2014 on Comedy Central. On the show, he was regarded for his political satire and an all-around sense of humor.
After leaving The Colbert Report, Colbert moved on to host the CBS talk show The Late Show with Stephen Colbert beginning in September 2015. he has won nine Primetime Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards, and three Peabody Awards.
Judy Sheinlin - $47 Million
Judy Sheindlin is known by her professional title of Judge Judy. QA former Manhattan family court judge, she eventually rose to fame as a television personality, producer, and author. Since September 1996, she has won three Daytime Emmy Awards for her work on her court-based series Judge Judy, which she stars in.
She is the longest serving judge or arbitrator ina courtroom-themed programming history, granting her the title of "Court Show Queen," and being recognized in the Guinness World Record.
Oprah Winfrey - $2.9 Billion
Oprah Winfrey is by far, one of the most successful hosts on our list. Throughout her career, she has been a media executive, talk show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist. She is most well-known for hosting The Oprah Winfrey Show, the highest-rated television program of its kind.
She has earned the title of "The Queen of All Media" and is the richest African American of the 20th Century and North America's first African American multi-billionaire. She has also been ranked as one of the most influential people in the world on numerous occasions.
Bill O'Reilly - $70 Million
Bill O'Reilly is a journalist, author, and former television host. In the 1970s and 80s, he was a reporter for local news station until he was later hired to work for CBS and ABC news. In 1996, he began work for Fox News Channel and hosted his own showTheO'Reilly Factor up until 2017.
The O'Reilly Factor was the highest-rated cable news show for 16 years. He also hosted the radio show The Radio Factor and the podcast No Spin until leaving Fox in 2017.
Pat Sajak - $45 Million
Pat Sajak is a television personality, former weatherman, and talk show host. He is most popular for his work as the host on the game show Wheel of Fortune. His time on the air began as a disc jockey during the Vietnam War for American Forces Vietnam Network and slowly worked his way up in the business.
Although he spent some time with CNN and CBS, it was his position as the host on Wheel of Fortune made him into the celebrity that he is today.
Drew Carey - $165 Million
Drew Carey is an actor, sports executive, comedian, and game show host. Starting off in the United States Marine Corps, he made a name for himself in stand-up comedy. Not long after, he received his own sitcom The Drew Carey Show, and then served as the host of the United States comedy show Whose Line is it Anyway?
After appearing in television series, and a few films, he went on to host the game show The Price Is Right after Bob Barker retired from the position.
Tyra banks - $30 Million
Tyra Banks is a television personality, producer, actress, author, businesswoman, and a singer. After starting her modeling career, she began acting on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and made appearances in some film and other television shows.
From there, she began presenting the reality television show America's Next Top Model for the first twenty-two seasons. She later started her own talk show They Tyra Banks Show and eventually replaced Nick Cannon as host of America's Got Talent.
Wendy Williams - $60 Million
Over the years, Wendy Williams has proven to be more than just a talk show host. She has been the host of her hit show The Wendy Williams Show since 2008. Before her show, she was a radio DJ and earned the nickname in New York as a "shock Jockette."
Alongside with her success on television and radio, she has written a New York Times best-selling autobiography along with six other books and even started a jewelry and wig line.
Barbara Walters - $150 Million
Barbara Walters first a broadcast journalist, author, and television personality. She has hosted numerous programs throughout her career including Today, The View, 20/20, and the ABC Evening News. She is considered to be a major pioneer in women broadcasting and became the first female co-anchor of an evening news network on ABC News.
In 1996 he was ranked no. 34 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time. Even after she retired, she still made occasional reports for ABC through 2015.
Larry King - $144 Million
Over Larry David's career in both television and film, he has been recognized on many occasions for his work, including receiving two Peabody's and ten Cable ACE Awards. In the 1950s, King began his career as a Florida journalist and radio interviewer.
Then, in 1985, he was the host of Larry King Live on CNN until his retirement in 2010. Before passing away in 2021, he hosted Larry King Now on Hulu as well as the political talk show Politicking With Larry King.
Rachel Ray - $60 Million
Rachel Ray is a celebrity chef, television host, author, and businesswoman. He is the host of the wildly popular cooking show Rachel Ray, as well as has three Food Network series which include 30 Minute meals, Rachel Ray's Tasty Travels, and $40 a Day.But it doesn't stop there.
She also is credited with shows such as Rachel Ray's Week In A Day, Rachel v. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off, and Rachel Ray's Kids Cook-Off. Over the years, her shows have won three Daytime Emmy Awards as well as authored numerous cookbooks and published a magazine.
Katie Couric - $55 Million
Katie Couric is a journalist, author, and a global news anchor. She has been the co-host of Today, anchor of the CBS Evening News, and acorrespondent for 60 Minutes. Throughout her career, she has reported for almost every television news broadcast in ABC, CBS, and NBC.
In 2004, she was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame for her work in news for almost 30 years. She's become a staple in the world of news and most recently served as Yahoo! Global News Anchor.
Ellen DeGeneres - $400 Million
Ellen DeGeneres is truly a jack-of-all-trades. She began her work in entertainment as a comedian until she scored her first sitcom Ellen from 1994 to 1998. Not long after her sitcom, she hosted her syndicated talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Showsince 2003 and continues to do so today.
She has been in numerous films and TV shows, establishing herself as more than a talk show host. She has also hosted the Academy Awards, Grammy Awards, and Primetime Emmys. In 2011, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her philanthropic work and influence in the United States.
Regis Philbin - $150 Million
Regis Philbin was a media personality who has been hosting talk and game shows since the 1960s. He earned a television gig working as a page from The Tonight Show in the 1950s. His first exposure in front of the camera came from acting on The Jerry Bishop Show.
Nicknamed "the hardest working man in show business," he spent the most time in front of a television camera according to Guinness World Records. He has also hosted games such as Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, Million Dollar Password, and America's Got Talent. Philbin passed away in 2020.
Ryan Seacrest - $350 Million
Ryan Seacrest is a radio host, television host, and producer. He is best known for hosting the popular singing contest American Idol, the countdown program American Top 40, and the KIIS-FM morning show On Air With Ryan Seacrest.
He also began co-hosting a talk show Live with Kelley and Ryan on May 1, 2017. He has received numerous Emmy nominations fro his work on American Idol as well as for Live with Kelley and Ryan. In addition, he took over hosting New Year's Rockin' Eve after the passing of Dick Clark.
Conan O'Brien - $75 Million
Conan O'Brien is a comedian, writer, producer, and television host. Over his years in the industry, he has worked on several late-night television talk shows. Since 2010, he has been the host of Conan on TBS.
He has also been part of the writing staff for Saturday Night Live before he was hired on to take David Letterman's position of the show of Late Night in 1993. After his time on Late Show, he was the host of The Tonight Show for 10 months until he was hired on to make Conan.
Jay Leno - $350 Million
Jay Leno has established himself as an extremely successful comedian, actor, producer, writer, and television host. He began his career doing stand-up comedy, which he still does today. After receiving some recognition for his comedy, he became the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno from 1992 until 2009.
After leaving, he went on to start a primetime talk show called The Jay Leno Show, which was also on NBC. He even ended up hosting the last episode of The Tonight Show in 2014 and was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame that same year.
Anderson Cooper - $100 Million
Anderson Cooper is a renowned television personality, journalist, and author. He is the head anchor for CNN and has his own news show Anderson Cooper360°. Although he usually hosts his show from New York, he has been known to travel to the source of stories such as in Washington D.C., or wherever a breaking news story is taking place.
In addition, he is correspondent for 60 Minutes and from 2011 to 2013 was the host of his own daytime talk show Anderson Live.
Dr. Phil - $400 Million
Phillip McGraw, otherwise known as Dr. Phil, is an author, psychologist, television personality, and host for his own show Dr. Phil. The show first aired in 2002 after McGraw became famous for appearing on The Oprah Winfrey Show in the 1990s.
The show has been syndicated since and is produced by Winfrey's Harpo Studios. Currently, with the help of his show and his promotion of products, he is ranked as the 15th highest earning celebrity in the world and has become a household name.
Chelsea Handler - $40 Million
Chelsea Handler is a comedian, actress, writer, television host, and producer. After achieving success doing comedy at a young age, she eventually received her own show. From 2007 to 2014, she was the host of the late-night talk show Chelsea Lately.
After the cancellation of her late-night show, she released the documentary series Chelsea on Netflix in 2016. During that same time, she hosted the talk show Chelseai between 2016 and 2017 on Netflix. In 2012, she was named by Time as one of the most 100 most influential people for that year.
Jerry Springer - $75 Million
Jerry Springer is a British-born American television host, former lawyer, politician, news presenter, and actor. He currently hosts the tabloid talk show called Jerry Springer,which was debuted in 1991. Springer also hosted America's Got Talent, WWE Raw, the game showBaggage, The Adam Carolina Show, and more.
While he may be known for his numerous appearances in the media, it was his show Jerry Springer that made him as popular as he has become and is still on-air today.
Jimmy Kimmel - $35 Million
Jimmy Kimmel is a writer, producer, comedian, and television host. At the moment, he is the host and executive producer of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, a late-night talk show that premiered in 2003. Before Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Kimmel was the co-host of Comedy Central's The Man Show and Win Ben Stein's Money.
He also helped to produce shows such as Crank Yankers, Sports Shoe With Norm Macdonald, and The Andy Milonakis Show. Since rising to fame, Kimmel has also had the opportunity to host the Primetime Emmy Awards as well as the Academy Awards in 2017 and 2018.
Diane Sawyer - $80 Million
Diane Sawyer is a television journalist that has been the anchor of ABC News' nightly program ABC World News,and the co-anchor of ABC News' morning show Good Morning America. Towards the beginning of her career, she was a member of Richard Nixon's White House staff which helped to launch her upcoming successful career in the news industry.
In 2014, she announced that she was stepping down from the position of anchor, although she would continue making specials and conducting important interviews.
Chuck Barris - $120 Million
Charles "Chuck" Barris was an American game show creator and host. he is best remembered for hosting The Gong Showand creating the widely popular The Dating Game and The Newlywed Game. Barris first started working for NBC and then on American Bandstand on ABC.
Eventually, he was promoted in ABC and was appointed the task to fins out which game shows that ABC should air. So, when he realized his ideas were better than anyone else's he started his own production company and went on to make some of the most famous game shows of all time.
Jimmy Fallon - $25 Million
Jimmy Fallon is a comedian, actor, writer, producer, and most notably television host. At one point, he was a cast member on the renowned show Saturday Night Live, Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, and finallyThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
Before his talk show career, Fallon was an actor in films such as Taxi and Fever Pitch. Then, he returned to television as the host of Late Night With Jimmy Fallon in 2009. After he left in 2014, he became the sixth host for the long-running The Tonight Show and has been doing it since.
