What Is Rachel Maddow’s Net Worth?

Rachel Maddow, the prominent MSNBC news anchor, has a net worth of $35 million. Best known for hosting MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show,” she is celebrated for her strong liberal viewpoints and insightful political commentary. Maddow holds the distinction of being the first openly lesbian news anchor for a major program in the United States.

Rachel Maddow Salary

For many years, Rachel Maddow’s annual salary at MSNBC was $7 million. In August 2021, she signed a new contract that reportedly increased her salary to $30 million per year. This contract is set to keep Maddow with MSNBC through the 2024 Presidential election.

Early Life

Rachel Anne Maddow was born on April 1, 1973, in Castro Valley, California. Her father is a former Air Force captain, and her mother was a school administrator. Maddow grew up in an extremely Catholic, conservative household alongside her older brother. During high school, she was a dedicated athlete, actively participating in basketball, volleyball, and swimming.

After high school, Maddow attended Stanford University, where she earned a degree in public policy. During her time at Stanford, the college newspaper inadvertently revealed she was a lesbian, a fact her parents did not know until then. After earning her degree at Stanford, Maddow attended Oxford’s Lincoln College, obtaining her postgraduate degree in 1995. She earned her Doctor of Philosophy in politics from Oxford University in 2001.

Rachel Maddow Career

While at university, Rachel Maddow began her career in talk radio. Her first job was co-hosting “The Dave in the Morning Show” for WRNX, a Massachusetts-based radio station. She then hosted “Big Breakfast” at another Massachusetts-based station. Her career took off when she started hosting “Unfiltered,” a morning show featuring Public Enemy’s Chuck D and “The Daily Show” co-founder Lizz Winstead. After “Unfiltered” was canceled in 2005, Maddow was given her own radio show, “The Rachel Maddow Show,” which continued to air even as she transitioned to television, ending in 2010.

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In 2005, Maddow started appearing on MSNBC’s “Tucker.” In 2006, she appeared as a guest on CNN’s “Paula Zahn Now.” Her big break came in 2008 when she became an analyst for MSNBC’s “Race for the White House” and started to appear regularly on “Countdown with Keith Olbermann.” When Olbermann was unavailable, Maddow hosted the entire segment, proving to be a popular choice among viewers. This led to MSNBC launching “The Rachel Maddow Show” later that year. The show immediately received high ratings and became one of the network’s most popular programs, praised for Maddow’s “winning formula.” By 2017, MSNBC gained higher ratings than CNN or Fox News, largely due to the rising controversy surrounding the Trump administration.

Maddow is known for her long monologues on “The Rachel Maddow Show,” which sometimes take up to 20 minutes or more.

Controversy

Rachel Maddow has had a close professional relationship with Fox News CEO Roger Ailes, often seeking his advice on presenting the news. She kept this relationship private, fearing it could be used against her. Ailes even offered her a contract to keep her off the air.

In 2019, One America News Network (OAN) sued Maddow for $10 million, alleging defamation after she described them as “paid Russian propaganda.” This followed a Daily Beast article highlighting an OAN employee also working for Russian news organization Sputnik News.

Maddow is frequently criticized for her strong liberal bias, often echoing Democratic Party views. She describes herself as a “national security liberal,” differentiating herself from other liberal commentators. While critical of America’s global military actions, she opposed Trump’s decision to withdraw troops from Syria and is a longtime supporter of the Trump-Russia collusion theory.

Further Ventures

Rachel Maddow launched her podcast “Bag Man,” focusing on the 1973 Spiro Agnew controversy. She has also been a correspondent for “The Advocate Magazine,” an LGBT-focused publication, and has authored two books: “Drift: The Unmooring of American Military Power” (2012) and “Blowout: Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, and the Richest, Most Destructive Industry on Earth” (2019). She also voiced Vesper Fairchild in the 2019 television series “Batwoman.”

Personal Life

In 1999, Rachel Maddow met her partner, Susan Mikula, an artist specializing in photography using older technology such as pinhole cameras and Polaroids. The couple splits their time between New York City and West Cummington, Massachusetts.

Maddow suffers from cyclical depression and has become vocal about her struggles to help others. She manages her depression through frequent exercise, adequate sleep, and fishing as a hobby.

Rachel Maddow Net Worth

Rachel Maddow net worth is $35 million.