“They were good boys and they’re really solid, good men,” the NBC anchor gushed about his sons.

From his voice to his smile, Lester Holt is one of the most recognizable news anchors on TV — and he’s certainly passed on his genes to his sons.

Beyond anchoring NBC Nightly News and Dateline, Holt is a proud father and has reminisced about how those early days of parenthood go by in the blink of an eye. “When they were babies people used to warn us about ‘how fast they grow up.’ Back then, 18 years seemed like forever, but you know what? Those people were right. It not only goes fast. It goes too fast,” he wrote in a Father’s Day letter for TODAY in 2007, adding that he’s “lucky” to have built relationships with his children.

Now as adults, Holt is in awe of the men his sons have become. “You are two fine, respectful and compassionate men who I am proud to say I now look up to,” he wrote in 2015 for TIME.

How many kids does Lester Holt have?

Lester Holt is proud dad to two adult sons with his wife, Carol Hagen: Stefan, born in 1987, and Cameron, born in 1990.

The NBC anchor has described his sons as “the best two young men I know.”

All about Lester Holt’s son Stefan

Stefan Holt was born in 1987 in Chicago. At the time, his father was the anchor of the Chicago news station WBBM-TV and the family continued to live in the Windy City for many years, growing up in Lincoln Park.

Today, Stefan is in his late 30s and has followed in his father’s journalism footsteps, even sharing a few on-air moments together through the years. After graduating from Pepperdine University, Stefan began working in local news in West Palm Beach, Florida before he joined NBC 5 in Chicago and WNBC in New York City as a reporter and anchor, according to his NBC bio.

Currently, Stefan is the nightly news anchor for NBC 5 in Chicago, where he raises his three sons — Henry, Samuel, and James — with his wife, Morgan Holt.

In a 2019 interview with New York Family, Stefan said he’s had “the news bug” like his dad since he was a kid, while Lester added that his oldest son would often tag along with him to the studio. “So many mornings he would get up at 4:30 a.m. with me and come down to Studio 1A on a Saturday — what teenager does that, I don’t know, but he did,” the proud dad shared. “He got to know the crews, he hung out, got to understand a little bit about how we put a broadcast on the air.”

Stefan is also an aviation enthusiast and has been flying planes for years. “I’ve always loved aviation and have been a private pilot since 2006,” he shared in his Pepperdine University bio.

All about Lester Holt’s son Cameron

Cameron Holt was born in 1990, also in Chicago. Cameron lives a more private life than his father and older brother, and his resume is equally impressive.

Cameron is a graduate of Stanford University and is currently an executive director at Morgan Stanley in New York City, according to his LinkedIn bio.

Cameron has also been a big supporter of his father’s news career, and even surprised him on-air alongside his mom when Lester was named permanent anchor of NBC Nightly News in 2015.

“I’ve been watching Nightly News ever since I was a little kid, and I never thought my dad would be anchor, so I’m so proud of him right now,” Cameron told his dad on TODAY.

Cameron also appeared on-air in 2013 to celebrate his dad’s 10th anniversary with the TODAY family. During the appearance, Lester joked about how they’ve kept much different schedules. “It’s been a running joke [that Cameron] didn’t know I worked mornings because I would come home and be in jeans with a cup of coffee by the time he’d wake up,” Lester laughed.

“It’s tough with him always on the road [for a story], but it’s fun that he works on TV,” Cameron added. “If I ever want to watch him, I can just put him on and he’s usually on the air then.”

Stefan and Cameron Holt look just like their dad

From their mannerisms to their smiles, Lester’s two sons could very well pass as his twins, as evidenced by a 2018 photo of all three of them posing together.

And fans of the Dateline anchor certainly agree. “Sons are [a] carbon copy of their dad,” one commented, while another joked sarcastically, “No resemblance there 😂😂.”

Lester Holt says his sons Stefan and Cameron are “solid, good men.”

In a 2021 interview with Yahoo! Life, Lester talked about how proud he is of the men his sons have become.

“I think it’s just that they’re terrific young men,” he said of Stefan and Cameron. “We were very lucky when they were growing up. There was frankly never any drama. There was no trouble — that I knew of [laughs]… They were good boys and they’re really solid, good men. They’re friendly, they have a strong work ethic, they’re running their own way in life and as a parent, you really couldn’t ask any more.”