Brian Williams Net Worth

Brian Williams is a well-known American journalist and retired chief anchor of the commercial broadcast television and radio network NBC (The National Broadcasting Company). After leaving CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System), he started working as an NBC Nightly News reporter in 1993. During his 28 years career at NBC, Williams worked in various positions, including news anchor, managing editor, and breaking news anchor for MSNBC, The 11th Hour with Brian Williams. He was widely praised for his journalistic excellence, especially regarding his coverage of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath in 2005 and the Asian Tsunami in 2004. In 2015, NBC suspended Williams for six months without pay for exaggerating his role in a helicopter incident while covering the Iraq War in 2003.

In 2007, Time magazine named Williams one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Brian Williams has won 12 Emmy Awards in the news and documentary category. In November 2021, Williams announced his departure from MSNBC and NBC News after completing his contract.

What is Brian Williams’ Net Worth?

In 2004, Brian Williams became the chief anchor of NBC’s Nightly News, succeeding the retiring journalist and author Tom Brokaw — his salary was bumped from $8 million per year to $13 million per year by 2014. However, due to the scandal during his coverage in Iraq, he got demoted, and as a result, his salary was reduced to $ 6 million per year. As of September 2022, Brian Williams’ net worth is estimated to be around US$50 million.

Who is Brian Williams?

Brian Douglas Williams was born on May 5, 1959, in Ridgewood, New Jersey, U.S. Born to Gordon Lewis Williams and Dorothy May. Williams is the youngest of four siblings, he was raised in a Catholic home of largely Irish descent. His father was an executive vice president of the National Retail Merchants Association, in New York City, and his mother was a stage actress.

The Williams family lived in Elmira, New York, for nine years. When Brian Williams was in junior high school, his family moved to Middletown Township, New Jersey.

Williams attended the Mater Dei High School in New Jersey, a Roman Catholic school. During his high school years, he volunteered as a firefighter with the local fire department for three years and was also the editorial editor for his school newspaper. After graduating from high school, Williams attended Brookdale Community College in New Jersey; he later transferred to The Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. and then George Washington University. However, he never graduated from any of those institutions.

Career

After Williams dropped out of college, he worked as an intern for the administration of President Jimmy Carter. In 1981, Williams began his broadcasting career when he got a job at KOAM-TV in Kansas. In 1987, he was appointed to New York City and broadcast for WCBS (one of the flagships of CBS). In 1993, Brian Williams left CBS and joined NBC, anchoring the national program Weekend Nightly News. The next year, he was promoted to chief White House correspondent. In 1996, he was given his own show, The News with Brian Williams as an anchor and managing editor; it was broadcast on both MSNBC and CNBC.

In 2004, this was a very significant time in his career when Williams officially became the chief anchor of NBC Nightly News, replacing Tom Brokaw, who intended to retire. He was lauded for his coverage of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. The New York Times stated Williams’ reporting of the hurricane as “a defining moment.” NBC Nightly News was awarded a Peabody for their highest levels of journalistic excellence for their coverage of Hurricane Katrina.

From 2011 to 2013, Williams hosted a weekly television news magazine Rock Center with Brian Williams. From 2004 to 2015, he was the chief anchor on NBC Nightly News. During this period, Williams made regular appearances on The Daily Show as a celebrity guest interviewed by Jon Stewart and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Late Show with David Letterman, and Late Night with Conan O’Brien. He also frequently appeared on NBC’s comedy 30 Rock as a caricatured version of himself.

Iraq War Helicopter Scandal

In February 2015, NBC suspended Williams for 6 months without pay from his position as Managing Editor and Anchor of the Nightly News for fabricating the helicopter incident while covering the Iraq War in 2003 for Dateline NBC. In March 2003, Williams claimed that an RPG shot a military helicopter (Chinook) he was traveling in. However, crew members that were on board that day stepped forward and disproved Williams’ story, stating the helicopter Williams traveled in wasn’t at all. The Chinook traveling behind him was forced to make an emergency landing because of a sandstorm, not an attack.

After Williams’ suspension was over, he was demoted to a breaking news anchor for MSNBC. Williams has since covered some significant events, including Pope Francis’s trip to the United States, terrorist attacks in France, and the Umpqua Community College shooting. Williams also anchored The 11th Hour with Brian Williams, nightly news and politics show.

In November 2021, Williams announced his departure from NBC News and MSNBC after his contract ended.

Personal Life

In 1986, Williams married former TV executive producer Jane Stoddard Williams. They have two children. His daughter, Allison Williams, is an actress. His son, Doug Williams, is the late-night anchor of a regional sports network Geico SportsNite on SportsNet New York.

Even though Brian Williams never graduated from college, he holds several honorary degrees from various universities, including Catholic University of America, Bates College, Ohio State University, University of Notre Dame, Fordham University, and George Washington University.

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