Matt Lauer, best known as the anchor of NBC’s The Today Show, was fired from his position on Wednesday, November 29, after allegations of sexual misconduct in the workplace. The alleged incident dates back to the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
Lauer, a graduate of the Scripps College of Communication, School of Media Arts and Studies of Ohio University who was in the television business for almost 40 years, has interviewed the likes of British royalty, Hollywood stars, Olympic athletes, and world leaders such as Vladimir Putin.
Lauer, who joined The Today Show as a full-time news anchor in January 1994, appeared on the program for 23 years until his 2017 dismissal.
Matt Lauer Net Worth as of 2017: $60 Million
Matt Lauer, the longtime host of NBC’s TODAY Show, is worth approximately $80 million. Lauer’s reported TODAY Show salary was $28 million per year.
1979 – 1991
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Matt Lauer was born on December 30, 1957 in New York City.
Lauer graduated from the Scripps College of Communication, School of Media Arts and Studies of Ohio University. In 1997, he received his undergraduate degree from Ohio University at the age of 39. He had previously dropped out of Ohio University in the Spring of 1979.
Lauer then began his television career in that year as a producer of the 12 O’clock News for WOWK-TV in Huntington, West Virginia. By 1980, he had become an on-air reporter on the 6 and 11 o’clock newscasts.
From 1989 to 1991, Lauer hosted a three-hour live interview program, WWOR-TV’s 9 Broadcast Plaza.
1992 – 1997
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Lauer’s breakout year came in 1992, when he moved to WNBC-TV and became a co-anchor, alongside Jane Hanson, of the early weekday news show Today in New York. Thanks to the national TV exposure WNBC gave Lauer, an opportunity to fill in as a substitute for Margaret Larson on The Today Show.
NBC asked Lauer to become the full-time news anchor for The Today Show in 1994. Soon after, Lauer became the co-host of Weekend Today and worked as the co-anchor for Ann Curry on NBC’s NBC News at Sunrise. In addition to being a part of the NBC Nightly News, he also hosted content for the Discovery Channel and HBO.
Lauer joined The Today Show as a full-time news anchor in January 1994, while still co-anchoring Today in New York and Live at Five.
1998 – 2017
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When Matt Lauer’s contract with The Today Show came up for renewal in 2012, NBC was eager to make him stay. Following the speculation that Lauer would leave the show in the wake of the storm over the brutal departure of co-host Ann Curry, NBC offered Lauer a whopping $28 million salary. NBC also paid for Lauer to chopper out to the Hamptons, several times a week, where he lives year-round with his wife, Annette Roque and their children.
On November 30, 2016, Lauer signed a new contract with NBC through 2018 that would pay him $25 million annually.
In June 2016, he bought a North Haven, NY property known as Strongheart Manor from Richard Gere for $36.5 million.
On Wednesday, November 29, Matt Lauer was fired from TODAY due to allegations of sexual harassment. The allegations stems back to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
