Television news broadcasting has taken a substantial viewership hit in the digital age as more and more media consumers get their news from online platforms rather than turning on Fox, CNN, or one of the other major television news networks.

Even so, being a news anchor is still a lucrative career, especially if you’re on television representing one of the big media broadcasters.

If you host a nightly news show on Fox (FOXA) or MSNBC (CMCSA) or anchor the news for a major network like Paramount’s CBS (PARA) , chances are you’re going to pull in millions of dollars annually — even though, according to Payscale.com, the average U.S. news anchor’s salary stands at only $65,500 (Glassdoor reports a similar figure).

The highest-paid news anchors are doing better than that — way better. These are the 15 marquee news anchors who earn the most in terms of annual compensation.

1. Sean Hannity

Estimated net worth: $250 million
Estimated salary: $45 million

Sean Hannity, a stalwart at Fox News as host of “The Sean Hannity Show,” earns an estimated $45 million at the broadcast network and has an estimated net worth of $250 million.

Born in New York City, Hannity’s broadcast career dates back to the early 1980s in Alabama and Georgia. He was also a talk show host at the University of California, where he attended college. Hannity was hired by Fox News in 1996 for the news and political talk show “Hannity and Colmes,” which lasted until 2009.

A resident of Long Island, N.Y., Hannity continues to host both a weekday radio show and his FOX television broadcast. He’s the highest-paid anchor on Fox News, making him one of the wealthiest news personalities in the U.S.

2. Diane Sawyer

Estimated net worth: $80 million
Estimated salary: $22 million

Diane Sawyer made history in 1984 as the first-ever woman correspondent for CBS’ “60 Minutes” and as a news anchor for “CBS Morning News.” She later anchored at ABC from 2009 to 2014 and now serves as a special contributor for the network, conducting interviews and hosting special programs.

Sawyer, who has an estimated net worth of $80 million according to Celebrity Net Worth, was married to Hollywood producer and director Mike Nichols, who died in 2014.

3. Robin Roberts

Estimated net worth: $55 million
Estimated salary: $18 million

Co-host of ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Roberts took an alternative route to news broadcasting, working for ESPN before leaving for ABC in 2005.

Roberts earns an estimated annual salary of $18 million at ABC. A cancer survivor, Roberts is a frequent speaker on the subject of illness and recovery and has earned four Emmy awards for her work at ABC.

4. George Stephanopoulos

Estimated net worth: $40 million
Estimated salary: $15 million

A former aide to President Clinton, Stephanopoulos earns an estimated $15 million annually as the co-anchor of ABC’s “Good Morning America” and as a regular anchor at the network’s “ABC World News Tonight.” He has an estimated net worth of $40 million, most of it earned from his time at ABC.

Born in Fall River, Mass., Stephanopoulos is a Rhodes Scholar and launched his political career working on the presidential campaign of Michael Dukakis, former governor of Massachusetts and the Democratic party’s presidential nominee in 1988, who lost to George H.W. Bush.

After working in the Clinton administration until 1996, Stephanopoulos wrote a best-selling book on his role as a senior adviser for President Clinton and has served as a news correspondent and anchor since 2002.

5. Anderson Cooper

Estimated net worth: $50–$200 million
Estimated salary: $12 million

Anderson Cooper is the long-time host of CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” and is the son of Gloria Vanderbilt, who died from cancer in 2019 at age 95. Cooper previously worked for ABC as a news correspondent before becoming co-host of “World News Tonight.”

As a result of his inheritance from his mother’s estate valued at $1.5 million (his father died in 1978), Cooper’s net worth is in question. Including his inheritance, Cooper’s net worth is estimated at around $50 million by Celebrity Net Worth but may be as high as $200 million according to other sources.

6. Shepard Smith

Estimated net worth: $30 million
Estimated salary: $10 million (former)

Shepard Smith is the former host of Fox News’ “Shepard Smith Reporting.” He also served as managing news editor for the network before leaving in 2019, later citing “falsehoods” and “lies” spread by the Fox network as the impetus for his decision to depart from the network.

He earned $10 million annually at Fox before joining CNBC to launch an evening news show. That show was canceled in late 2022.

Originally from Holly Springs, Miss., Smith began his broadcasting career in Florida and California, before moving on to Fox in 1996.

7. Rachel Maddow

Estimated net worth: $45 million
Estimated salary: $30 million

Rachel Maddow used to earn $7 million annually as a news anchor at MSNBC, but she signed a contract in 2021 that boosted this number more than threefold to $30 million. As of 2024, her estimated net worth is around $45 million.

Originally from Castro Valley, California, Maddow is a news industry pioneer as the first-ever lesbian host of a major network news show, a feat she achieved with the launch of “The Rachel Maddow Show” for MSNBC in 2009. She also serves as the network’s special events co-anchor.

Maddow was one of the original hosts for “Air America,” the politically left-leaning national radio network back in 2004 and 2005, and moved on to MSNBC in 2005 as a network contributor. She scored her TV show after acting as a substitute host for various network news programs in 2008 and 2009 and has held strong in the ratings ever since.

She is also the author of the 2012 book: “Drift: The Unmooring of American Military Power,” which became a New York Times best-seller.

8. Bret Baier

Estimated net worth: $70 million
Estimated salary: $20 million

Bret Baier is the host of Fox News’ “Special Report with Bret Baier,” and also serves as the network’s chief political correspondent. He earns a salary of $20 million annually, and his net worth stands at an estimated $70 million in 2024.

From Rumson, N.J., Baier served as Fox News White House correspondent before debuting his nightly news show. He’s also reported abroad from conflict zones in places like Afghanistan and Iran over 20 times. Before joining Fox News in 1998, Baier worked as a news reporter in Raleigh, N.C.

9. Maria Bartiromo

Estimated net worth: $50–$70 million (with spouse)
Estimated salary: $10 million

Maria Bartiromo has carved a formidable reputation as a tough, no-nonsense business and finance reporter first at CNBC and now at Fox Business Network, where she holds the title of chief global business editor. She and her husband, Wall Street financier Jonathan Steinberg, have an estimated net worth of between $50 and $70 million.

Bartiromo hosts “Morning with Maria” and “Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street” for Fox, reportedly earning about $10 million annually. She also frequently plays herself in Hollywood film roles, having appeared in “Risk/Reward,” “The Taking of Pelham 123,” and “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps,” among other movies.

10. Tucker Carlson

Estimated net worth: $50 million
Estimated salary: $10 million (former)

Originally from California, Tucker Carlson is best known as the former host of the right-wing Fox News show “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” The network fired him in 2023, in part due to a racist text message that came to light as a result of Dominion Voting Systems’ lawsuit against the news network. After his firing, Carlson took his show online to the social media site X (formerly Twitter).

Carlson began his career as a reporter for the Arkansas-Democrat Gazette before eventually getting into the broadcast side of the business with CNN’s “Crossfire.”

Before his termination from Fox News, Carlson’s 2023 salary stood at an estimated $10 million. As of 2024, his net worth stands at an estimated $50 million, augmented not only by his former nightly news show on Fox News but also by a $10 million publishing deal for his book “Ship of Fools: How a Selfish Ruling Class Is Bringing America to the Brink of Revolution.”

11. Lester Holt

Estimated net worth: $35 million
Estimated salary: $10 million

The long-time NBC news broadcaster holds down three jobs at the network, hosting “Weekday Nightly News,” “Nightly News Kids Edition,” and “Dateline NBC”.

Holt got his NBC anchor job after long-time host Brian Williams was suspended from his anchor duties in 2015. Holt attended the University of California in his home state, earns an estimated $10 million a year, and has an estimated net worth of $35 million.

12. Joe Scarborough

Estimated net worth: $25million
Estimated salary: $8 million

Joe Scarborough is a former congressman from Florida who has hosted the MSNBC newscast “Morning Joe” since 2007. Scarborough first got into television news after leaving politics in 2001, starting as the host of “Scarborough Country” for MSNBC.

Scarborough earns a salary of $8 million annually from MSNBC and has an estimated net worth of $25 million. He is married to “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski and serves as a fellow at Harvard University’s Institute of Politics.

13. Scott Pelley

Estimated net worth: $18 million
Estimated salary: $7 million

Best known for his anchor role at the network from 2011 to 2017 and his longstanding correspondent role with CBS’s “60 Minutes,” Pelley has been with CBS News for over three decades. He previously held the White House chief correspondent position at the legendary news network.

Originally from San Antonio, Pelley earns an estimated annual salary of $7 million and has an estimated net worth of $18 million. His 2019 book “Truth Worth Telling: A Reporter’s Search for Meaning in the Stories of Our Times” is a memoir of Pelley’s career as a reporter and serves as a snapshot of a life spent covering world news events like 9/11 and the Iraq War.

14. Erin Burnett

Estimated net worth: $20 million
Estimated salary: $6 million

Born in 1976 in Mardela Springs, Md., Erin Burnett is the host of “Erin Burnett Outfront” on CNN. Before that gig, Burnett co-hosted CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” from 2005 to 2011.

Burnett started her professional career as a financial analyst for Goldman Sachs, working in the financial giant’s investment banking department, giving her a special insight into the financial industry and Wall Street.

Burnett earns an estimated $6 million a year from her on-air work and has an estimated net worth of $20 million.

15. Lawrence O’Donnell

Estimated net worth: $16 million
Estimated salary: $4 million

Bostonian Lawrence O’Donnell is a fixture on MSNBC as host of “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell.” He has an estimated net worth of $16 million and reportedly earns about $4 million annually.

O’Donnell comes from a political background, formerly working as an aide to New York Senator Patrick Moynihan. He also dabbled in Hollywood as a writer for the television show “The West Wing.” He is also a contributor to charitable causes — O’Donnell’s own “Kids in Need of Desks” initiative has helped more than 1 million learners in Malawi.