Anderson Cooper’s CNN Salary & Net Worth Revealed

Before becoming one of the most recognizable faces in journalism, Anderson Cooper already had a claim to fame, being the son of the late Gloria Vanderbilt and a direct descendent of Cornelius Vanderbilt, the American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping.

However, despite coming from a wealthy family, Cooper’s net worth comes primarily from his work as a broadcast journalist, not his inheritance. In fact, the CNN anchor once opened up about his family’s spending and how he was told not to expect a trust fund.

“My mom’s made clear to me that there’s no trust fund,” Cooper told Howard Stern in a 2014 interview, per Business Insider. “There’s none of that, [and] I don’t believe in inheriting money. Who’s inherited a lot of money that has gone on to do things in their own life? From the time I was growing up, if I felt that there was some pot of gold waiting for me, I don’t know that I would’ve been so motivated.”

That said, Gloria died in June 2019 after a battle with stomach cancer, and at the time ion her death was seemingly bot as rich as everyone assumed. Page Six reported that Cooper received a perhaps surprisingly modest $1.5 million in inheritance money, which was the majority of his mother’s estate. Gloria’s other son Leopold Stanislaus Stokowski (Anderson’s half brother) received his mother’s NYC apartment.

Cooper has blazed his own trail, becoming the face of CNN with his nightly show Anderson Cooper 360°, which he has hosted since 2001. He also stars on the network’s annual New Year’s Eve Live special alongside his long-time friend and co-host, Andy Cohen.

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So, what is Cooper’s net worth? According to Celebrity Net Worth, the famous anchor has an estimated net worth of $60 million. However, this is disputed, as USA Today estimated in 2021 that it’s closer to $200 million.

Cooper’s earnings come from more than just his CNN show. He’s also the author of several best-selling books, including, Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty and The Rainbow Comes and Goes: A Mother and Son on Life, Love and Loss.

In addition, he served as host of The Mole on ABC from 2001 to 2008, appeared as a Jeopardy! guest host in 2021, and co-starred alongside his mother in the 2016 HBO documentary Nothing Left Unsaid: Gloria Vanderbilt and Anderson Cooper. He also hosts the podcast, All There Is With Anderson Cooper.

Per Yahoo! Finance, Cooper makes around $20 million a year for his work as a news anchor on CNN, making him one of the highest-paid broadcast reporters in the country.