Anderson Cooper Net Worth: How Did He Become Famous?

With a net worth of $50 million, Anderson Cooper is an American journalist, novelist, and television personality. He currently makes $12 million annually hosting the CNN news program “Anderson Cooper 360.”

Due to an incorrect assumption about Anderson's mother's wealth, we originally listed a substantially greater estimate for his net worth.

Anderson asserted that no significant Vanderbilt family fortune was left at the end of his mother's life in “Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty,” his book from 2021. She was Cornelius Vanderbilt's only surviving direct descendant.

Cornelius had a maritime, railroad, and real estate empire, making him one of the wealthiest Americans in history. Cornelius, one of the wealthiest individuals of all time, had a net worth of $185 billion when he passed away in 1877 after accounting for inflation.

The family's wealth was increased by his son William Henry. Unfortunately, after that moment, Vanderbilts continued to spend their money in increasingly wasteful ways. As a result, during a family reunion of 120 Vanderbilt descendants in the early 1970s, not one of them was a millionaire.

Anderson Cooper Early Life

On June 3, 1967, Anderson Hays Cooper was born in Manhattan, New York City. Wyatt Emory Cooper, his father, was a writer. His mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, was an heiress, fashion designer, and artist. Cornelius Vanderbilt, a railroad and shipping mogul, had a great-great-great-grandson named Gloria.

When Anderson's mother was just a year old, his paternal grandfather passed away. He bequeathed his whole estate, $5 million, to his daughter in 1925 because he was the only living male heir to the Vanderbilt fortune.

Gloria would achieve great success as a fashion designer and artist as an adult. That is equivalent to almost $70 million after inflation. Gloria's mother and aunt allegedly quarreled about Gloria's custody and the management of the trust fund. Ultimately, her aunt—the Whitney museum's founder—won control.

Cooper modeled for Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, and Macy's from the age of 10 until the age of 13 before becoming a news anchor. He attended Yale University to study international relations and political science. Cooper worked with the CIA for two summers while still in college.

Tragic consequences followed his father's abrupt death in 1978. His elder brother committed suicide ten years later. This incident sparked his passion for journalism. Anderson spent a year in Vietnam after receiving his degree from Yale University, where he studied the language at the University of Hanoi.

He later worked as a fact-checker for Channel One television and occasionally sold the channel his original news programs. Cooper first documented Vietnamese life and culture before capturing stories in war-torn countries, including Bosnia, Somalia, and Rwanda, for Channel One.

Anderson Cooper Journalism Career

In 1995, Cooper started working for ABC News as a correspondent. On September 21, 1999, she was named co-anchor of the ABC program “World News Now.”

Cooper decided he needed a break from the demanding news schedule in 2000, and for two seasons, he hosted “The Mole” before going back to television. He joined CNN in 2001 and co-anchored “American Morning” with Paula Zahn. He started working as CNN's weekend prime-time anchor in 2002.

In 2003, he debuted his program, “Anderson Cooper 360.” Early in 2007, Cooper agreed to a multi-year contract with CNN that would let him continue contributing to “60 Minutes” on CBS News while also serving as a CNN anchor and correspondent. According to the agreement, his pay increased from $2 million to $4 million yearly.

Cooper has received numerous honors for his journalism and for covering various topics and events.

These include two Emmy Awards in 2011 for his coverage of Haiti, the GLAAD Media Award in 2013, a Peabody Award in 2005 for his coverage of Hurricane Katrina, an Emmy Award in 1997 for his coverage of Princess Diana's funeral, a National Headliner Award in 2005 for his coverage of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, and a Peabody Award in 2005 for his coverage of Hurricane Katrina.

Anderson Cooper Personal Life

Cooper, openly homosexual, presided over the second presidential discussion between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in 2016. Cooper was the first openly gay person to moderate a presidential debate in a general election. Before officially appearing gay, Apple CEO Tim Cook asked Cooper for help.

In June 2019, Cooper's mother passed away. A few weeks after her passing, it was discovered that she had given most of her wealth to her son.

How Did Anderson Cooper Become Famous?

Cooper's career was influenced by the enormous fortune and connections he inherited at birth. He has argued, nonetheless, that the family riches offered him a small luxury.

 

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In September 2021, on the podcast The Morning Meeting, “I oppose giving away big sums of money. I'm not interested in money, but I don't want to leave my son with some golden goose. The advice from my parents, “College will be paid for, and then you have to get on it,” is what I'll abide by.”

Anderson joined Channel One News as a fact-checker after graduating from Yale in 1989 and eventually produced original reporting on the conflict in Myanmar (then commonly known as Burma). He quickly rose through the network's ranks as a correspondent after his work won over viewers and superiors.

Cooper moved to ABC News in 1994 and co-anchored World News Now for several years before leaving in 2000 to present the brief reality series The Mole. He joined CNN as a correspondent in 2001, and two years later, he was given his show, Anderson Cooper 360°.

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