The 20 Richest News Anchors in the World

Contrary to popular belief, news anchors are just as high earners and get deemed the wealthiest celebrities in the world.

Their excellence is by no means an overnight sensation as the best in the field often have graying hairs, hinting at their decades of resilience to getting the spot. They have built their career based on knowledge, experience, and integrity as their reach is on the same level as A-listers Hollywood stars.

Indeed, they have put their lives on the line to bring the breaking news, as their end goal had been showing the truth to the citizens. It takes a special kind of human to put everything behind and chase a story, as it’s high time they get the fruit of their hard work.

Here, we have compiled a list of twenty anchors who have successfully generated a hefty net worth.

20 Richest News Anchors In The World

20. Judy Woodruff – $8 million

American broadcaster Judy Carline Woodruff is the first anchor in our list with eight million dollars to her name. The 76-year-old from Tulsa, Oklahoma, is a Duke University graduate and has worked in the network, cable, and public television news since 1976.

Currently, she is the managing editor of PBS NewsHour and has made a name in covering every presidential election and convention since joining the industry.

After graduation, she was merely interested in Altlents until she got named a correspond from NBC News. She interviewed the heads of state for six years until she joined PBS in 1982. She continued her reports before moving to CNN in 1993 to host Inside Politics and CNN WorldView.

She got bored with the channel and began filling in for her peers when they abruptly left their seats. In May, she announced that she would be stepping down from her role as the NewsHour’s anchor at year’s end.

19. Bob Schieffer – $10 million

Austin, Texas-born Bob Lloyd Schieffer falls at number 19 on our list as he gets known for his moderation of presidential debates. Even his critics have praised his tireless capacity as he is one of the few journalists to have covered all four of the major Washington national assignments.

Before stepping foot in the newsroom, he served in the United States Air Force for three years and got honorably discharged. He assigned many key assignments to Vietnam to profile soldiers, consequently, became the first reporter from a Texas newspaper who reported from the war-torn area.

That was only the beginning, as he joined CBS Sunday Night News in the 1970s, commencing his long relations with the channel. He served as a Chief Washington Correspondent and took up vital roles until he announced retirement, reducing his work to a contributor. He kept busy during his retirement, writing three books about his career in journalism. Schneider had a net of 10 million dollars.

18. David Gregory – $12 million

52-year-old David Michael Gregory certainly deserves his 12 million net worth as he is the former host of NBC News’ Sunday morning show Meet the Press.

He began his career at just eighteen years old when he interned as a summer reporter in Tucson, Arizona. In his coverage of the 2000 presidential elections, he got close with the former president, George W. Bush, who inducted him as a correspondent for NBC.

Meanwhile, he filled in for other hosts on the Today show, NBC News Nightly, and Imus in the Morning before getting his permanent spot when he replaced Tucker Carlson’s Tucker in the MSNBC weekday evenings. In 2008, he again covered the presidential elections until becoming the moderator of Meet the Press.

After a decade at the show, CNN hired him as a political commentator for the 2016 U.S. Presidential election season.

17. Scott Pelley – $16 million

CBS News correspondent and anchor Scott Cameron Pelley have a net worth of 16 million dollars as he has worked for the channel for three decades.

He got his degree in journalism at Texas Tech University and joined the channel in the late 1980s. He covered many international affairs like the Gulf war, reporting from Baghdad, and the assault on Iraq and Kuwait while dabbling in political news by covering the 1992 presidential campaigns.

During his time, he also over the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the Oklahoma City bombing while serving as the NBS News’s Chief Correspondent. But his interests always catered toward world affairs, as he reported extensively from many war zones, including the genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan, wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and reporting on climate change from Antarctica.

16. Chris Wallace – $16 million

Chris Wallace is an unforgettable name in the journalism world as he gets known for his tough and wide-ranging interviews.

The 75-year-old comes from a reputed lineage, as his dad was not other than CBS 60 Minutes reporter Mike Wallace. He forwent his acceptance letter to the Yale Law School for an internship at The Boston Globe, where his boss called him an aggressive and ambitious reporter. In the 1970s, he began his network journalism career with NBC, staying 14 years before serving as Washington co-anchor and news reader for the Today show.

Next, he accepted the offer from NBC, where he became a senior correspondent for Primetime Live. For the past two decades, he has been hosting Fox News Sunday, gaining a reputation, devoting 18 years to covering every major political event, and securing several high-profile interviews.

15. Christiane Amanpour – $18 million

British-Iranian journalist and television host Christiane Amanpour has successfully entered the list with 18 million dollars under her name.

The 64-year-old from Middlesex was born to a Shi’ite Muslim dad while her mom was Roman Catholic. After completing her secondary education, she moved to the United States to study journalism at the University of Rhode Island, and she scored a job at the WBRU-FM in Providence. It did not take long for her to catch the eyes of CNN, where she began as an entry-level desk assistant. Her first major assignment as a correspondent was to cover the Iran–Iraq War, which led her to Eastern Europe.

During the 1990s, she reported from Frankfurt am Main, West Germany, Persia, Bosnia, and other war-torn zones as she kept a neutral stance. Next, she got asked by 60 Minutes creator Don Hewitt to file four to five in-depth international news reports a year, securing a Peabody Award under her name.

14. Bret Baier- $20 million

With a net worth of 20 million dollars, Bret Baier gets his riches by working as a host of Special Report with Bret Baier on the Fox News Channel. The 52 years old also added chief political correspondent for Fox to his resume as he was previously a Pentagon correspondent.

The Rumson, New Jersey, local comes from a family of mixed origin, with German and Irish running in his blood. He secured his BA degree in political science at DePauw University, where he was a member of the Xi Chapter of the Sigma Chi fraternity.

Next, he moved to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, to begin his television career with a local station WJWJ TV16 and also sent an audition tape for Fox News. The Atlanta headquarters liked his anchoring, as he became one of them. By 2008, he had taken 11 trips to Afghanistan and 13 to Iraq, when he finally got called to host Special Report as a permanent anchor.

13. Erin Burnett – $20 million

46-year-old Mardela Springs, Maryland native Erin Isabelle Burnett began her career as a financial analyst for Goldman Sachs before she found her passion in journalism.

While working in mergers and acquisitions, she got offered a spot by CNN for Moneyline with Stuart Varney, but she left that area to join Bloomberg Television as Stocks Editor and anchor. For six years, she worked tirelessly as the host of CNBC’s Street Signs and co-anchor of Squawk on the Street.

In 2010, she made a breakthrough when she presented an investigative report on chemical giant Transammonia, winning an Emmy for her efforts. By 2011, she was back at the CNN office when she got honored to headline her prime-time news program, Erin Burnett OutFront, where she reported life from Afghanistan, China, the United Arab Emirates, Rwanda, and Israel.

Next, she traveled the world filming documentaries at highly risky places and got dubbed the International Superstar by Joe Scarborough.

12. David Muir – $20 million

ABC World News Tonight anchor David Jason Muir is originally from Syracuse, New York, and he called Ithaca College his alma mater.

During his tenure, he functioned as the co-anchor of ABC News magazine 20/20 while operating in multiple parts of the ABC broadcast television network.

Before devoting his time to the channel, he served as a weekend anchor at ABC’s World News Tonight with Diane Sawyer while substituting when the main journalist went off the air. His time with ABC has granted him various accolades, an Emmy and Edward R. Murrow awards for his phenomenal work in national and international journalism.

11. Shepard Smith – $25 million

Shepard Smith is a broadcast journalist who served as the chief general news anchor and host of The News with Shepard Smith on CNBC.

The man from Holly Springs, Mississippi, began his career at the local level with WCJB-TV, then bounced between a few showrooms until he joined Fox News. He was the prime correspondent for Fox affiliate service News Edge report on the passing of Princess Diana, the untimely demise of Michael Jackson, President Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial, and the Columbine High School massacre, to name a few.

During his reign with the channel, his show got voted third among the top five U.S. cable news programs as he got a three-year contract for $7–$8 million per year in 2007. But his reporting has been far from perfect, angering many viewers for his controversial verdicts and conspiracy theories.

10. Lester Holt – $35 million

American journalist Lester Holt is the tenth man on our list, as he has a net worth that crosses the 35 million mark.

He had early beginnings on air when he worked as a disc jockey at a Country and Western station.

Soon, he crossed paths with CBS, where he fulfilled roles as a reporter, anchor, and international correspondent for 19 years. Many acknowledged him as the anchor for the weekday edition of NBC Nightly News and Dateline NBC until he scored a permanent spot at NBC Nightly News following the demotion of Brian Williams.

Indeed, his career trajectory followed the similar footsteps of Max Robinson, an ABC News, getting voted the most trusted TV news anchor in America. In 2016, he got prestige as the moderate in the presidential debate 2016 and got praised by The Washington Post for his quick role in fact-checking false statements.

9. Jane Pauley – $40 million

American television host Margaret Jane Pauley has worked at the assistant level at numerous newsrooms, actively news reporting since 1972.

The Indianapolis, Indiana mother of three found fame when she became the successor to Barbara Walters on the NBC morning show Today at 25. After a decade of service, she got threatened with Norville’s addition to the program, asking to peacefully cut ties with the channel. After her request got granted, she subsequently joined the anchor position at Dateline NBC, where she devoted another decade with Stone Phillips. By 2000, she got the stage of her daytime show, The Jane Pauley Show, but it got canceled after one season.

Her constant struggle with bipolar disorder became a talking point while she gave back to society with her work with the Children’s Health Fund in New York City. She also serves on the Board of Directors of The Mind Trust, an Indianapolis-based non-profit organization.

8. Brian Williams – $50 million

With a net worth of fifty million bucks, American journalist Brian Douglas Williams stands at a higher spot than his peers at NBC for his career that spans fifty years.

Born to a Catholic family, a young Brain got his education from three different universities as he ultimately decided to drop out. His lack of degree did not hinder his progress as he got an internship with President Jimmy Carter’s administration. His broadcasting gig began around the same time, with assistant-level work with a few newsrooms until he joined NBC News in 1993. It did not take him long to score the show and even oversaw the reporting of Diana, Princess of Wales, passing.

But his breakthrough only came with him becoming the anchor of NBC Nightly News, doubling down on his reporting, and he earned the George Polk Award and the DuPont-Columbia University Award for his work. A few controversies halted his racing career as he returned to the air as MSNBC’s chief anchor in 2015. The show was a hit as they beat CNN and Fox News for three months straight.

7. Anderson Cooper – $50 million

According to Parade, Anderson Cooper’s net worth is a staggering 50 million bucks, but it is all because of his hard work.

Despite getting brought up in a multiple million dollar household thanks to his socialite mother, he never chances after the riches as he got raised wearing hand-me-downs. Like his parents, he would only pay for the college tuition for his son as he would have to fend for himself after that.

Besides, Copper had no trouble blending into the poor college student attire and became a fact-checker for Channel One News after he graduated from Yale. His work as a correspondent impressed his bosses, and he got called to ABC in 1994.

By the dawn of the new millennium, he called CNN his new home as he landed his flagship show, Anderson Cooper 360° two years later. He became a worldwide phenomenon for his in-person reporting live from war-torn places, speaking the truth when a missile was raining down behind him. He looked fearless in the face of danger, and he halted his session to save a young child who got injured during the war.

6. Robin Roberts – $55 million

Newscaster Robin Roberts falls into the more world-renowned names in our list as people may recognize her as the anchor of ABC’s Good Morning America.

Growing up in Mississippi, she had her humble beginning as a sports anchor as she had a background in athletics. In the 1990s, she joined ESPN as a sportscaster, working on the SportsCenter until 2005.

She left the show because she got promoted to co-anchor of Good Morning America, getting joined by George Stephanopoulos, leading the program to higher ratings. Her accolades extended outside the world of journalism as she became the first woman of color to host the American TV game show Jeopardy!

5. Dan Rather – $70 million

Daniel Irvin Rather Jr. is an American journalist, commentator, and former national evening news anchor from Wharton, Texas.

His warning of Hurricane Carla saves the lives of thousands, instantly launching him to become a national hero. The evacuations saved the lives of as many as 350 thousand people as he reported on the most significant events of the modern age during his seventy-year-old career.

Back in Dallas, he also reported the President John F. Kennedy assassination, promoting him as the correspondent of CBS. His work led him to London and Vietnam, where he delivered other breaking news. After two decades in CBS Evening News, he left his desk following the Killian documents controversy and sued CBS and its former parent company Viacom for 70 million bucks.

4. Charles Gibson – $80 million

Good Morning America host Charles DeWolf Gibson has a net worth of 80 million bucks as he also works as an anchor, journalist, and podcaster.

The 79-year-old from Evanston, Illinois, is the great-nephew of graphic artist Charles Dana Gibson, and he graduated with a degree in history from Princeton University. His career began in 1966 when he joined RKO General and operated as a reporter and anchor for WLVA. In a decade, he led ABC News and became a House of Representatives correspondent.

Next, he became the first co-anchor of Good Morning America, making it the most-watched morning show on American television. After operating on and off in the show, he became the frontman for World News with Charles Gibson.

In 2009, he washed his hands off journalism when he announced his retirement from ABC News. The channel tried its best to persuade him to stay, but he had made up his mind. After his retirement, he used his knack as a speaker on Voices in Leadership and narrated the Netflix original series House of Cards.

3. Matt Lauer – $80 million

Former NBC News personality Matt Lauer started his career as a local news personality in New York City on WNBC.

After joining the channel in 1992, he became a co-anchor of the early weekday news after he scored a spot at Live at Five. His on-screen presence was enough to get him many gigs, filling in for Margaret Larson on The Today Show. It did not take long before he got a solo show, as he also co-hosted the opening ceremonies of several Olympic Games. By 2012, he had signed a 25 million dollar contract with NBC News, where he led many interviewers with buzz-worthy celebs.

When people thought he was at the top of the game, NBC News announced that Lauer’s employment had gotten terminated after he harassed employees. Then began the downward spiral of his career as he disappeared from the public eye.

2. Diane Sawyer -$80 million

Lila Diane Sawyer is a 76-year-old newscaster with 80 million dollars in her bank account.

She is the perfect example of beauty with brains as her flowing blonde locks won her national America’s Junior Miss scholarship pageant.

After graduation, her focus changed as she got employed as a forecaster for WLKY-TV in Louisville. In a few years, she moved to the capital city, where she interviewed for various positions in government offices. During her time in government offices, she got accused of being the source of leaks of classified information to journalist Bob Woodward, destroying her reputation.

Still, she scored a job with CBS News as a general-assignment reporter, and she devoted her time to two networks, including ABC World News Tonight, Good Morning America, 20/20, and Primetime newsmagazine while at ABC News.

1. Tom Brokaw – $85 million

Thomas John Brokaw is the top entry in our checklist as the 82-year-old NBC veteran has earned his stripes.

He served as the co-anchor of The Today Show in the 1970s and 80s and then as managing editor of NBC Nightly News for two decades. He got named one of the big three anchors of his time, hosting three major NBC News programs: The Today Show, NBC Nightly News, and, briefly, Meet the Press.

After his retirement, he wrote several books on American history and society and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, awarded to him by President Barack Obama in 2014.