Howard Stern Net Worth (Money & Salary)

What is Howard Stern’s Net Worth and Salary?

With a net worth of $650 million, Howard Stern is a renowned American radio and television personality. The first “shock jock” to attract a broad audience, he honed his radio hosting skills for rock stations and initiated radio talk shows during the late 70s and early 80s. At the beginning of his career, he was celebrated for his “total honesty” on air; however, while this approach garnered him several awards, it did not translate into significantly larger paychecks or a stable following. For several years, he moved from one station to another until he landed a position at WNBC in Washington, D.C. His confrontations with the station and the progressively risqué content of his broadcasts catapulted him into the national limelight. Despite being dismissed by the station, his show was rated the highest among WNBC programming.

From the mid-80s until the early 2000s, Stern’s radio program held the title of the most popular morning radio show in the United States. He expanded his brand to include two late-night talk shows, two bestselling books, numerous pay-per-view events, and successful music albums. He even made a bid for the position of Governor of New York. “The Howard Stern Show” was broadcast nationally on terrestrial radio from 1986 until 2005. On December 16, 2005, Howard departed from “regular” radio, subsequently signing a lucrative 5-year, $500 million contract with Sirius Satellite Radio. His debut on Sirius took place on January 9, 2006. Since then, he has amassed well over $1 billion through his work at Sirius alone, not to mention the hundreds of millions earned previously in traditional radio.

On December 9, 2020, it was announced that Howard had agreed to a 5-year extension with Sirius, with a reported worth of $120 million annually, totaling $600 million.

When discussing Howard’s annual earnings of $120 million, it’s important to note that these funds are utilized by Stern to cover production expenses for the show, including the salaries of team members like Robin Quivers and Gary Dell-Abate, who are estimated to earn $10 million and $4 million per year, respectively, amounting to $14 million. Assuming an additional $10-15 million in other costs, Howard would retain approximately $90 million before taxes and agent commissions. Agents typically receive around 10%, reducing the figure to about $80 million. Taxes would further diminish this by roughly half, leading to a net income of around $40 million per year for Howard.

If Howard maintains a schedule of three new shows each week, approximately 40 weeks a year, this totals 120 shows annually. By using the figure of 120 new shows with $40 million net earnings after all expenses, Howard Stern essentially earns $333,333 for each show he broadcasts. That equates to essentially a brand new Ferrari for every broadcast.

Early Life

Born on January 12, 1954, Howard Allan Stern grew up in the Jackson Heights area of Queens, New York City. His mother, Ray, worked as an office clerk, while his father was a World War II Army veteran who later became a radio engineer at WHOM in Manhattan. Additionally, he co-owned Aura Recording, Inc., a Manhattan recording studio that produced commercials and cartoons. Stern has an older sister named Ellen, and when he was one, the family relocated to Long Island, New York.

From the age of five, Stern aspired to enter the radio industry. His father constructed a makeshift recording studio in the family's basement in Roosevelt, New York, allowing Stern to create make-believe radio shows. He attended Roosevelt Junior-Senior High School. At 15, his family moved again to Rockville Center, New York, where he transferred to South Side High School for the 1969-70 academic year. He completed high school in 1972 and subsequently enrolled at Boston University that fall.

While attending college, he began working at WTBU, the college radio station, starting in his sophomore year. In 1974, he was accepted into Boston University’s School of Public Communications, and he graduated magna cum laude in May 1976.

Early Career

Between 1976 and 1982, Stern hosted morning shows at several stations: WRNW in Briarcliff Manor, New York; WCCC in Hartford, Connecticut; WWWW in Detroit, Michigan; and WWDC in Washington, D.C., where he honed his on-air persona.

Success

From 1982 through 1985, Stern worked the afternoon shift at New York City’s WNBC. He started a 20-year stint at WXRK in New York City in 1985. By 1986, his morning show was syndicated across 60 markets, reaching an audience of 20 million listeners.

He made history by being the first individual to simultaneously host the number one show in both New York City and Los Angeles.

Private Parts

In 1993, Stern signed a $1 million contract with Simon & Schuster to pen his memoir titled “Private Parts.” Released in October 1993, the book was an instant success, with its first print run of 225,000 copies selling out within hours of its launch. Within just five days, “Private Parts” became Simon & Schuster's fastest-selling book and debuted at #1 on the “New York Times” Best-Seller list, remaining there for 20 weeks.

The film adaptation of “Private Parts” premiered in 1997, featuring Stern and several members of his radio show staff, including Robin Quivers, Fed Norris, Gary Dell’Abate, and Jackie Martling, as themselves. The movie was released in the U.S. on March 7, 1997, and topped the box office during its opening weekend, grossing $14.6 million. By the end of its theatrical run, it had earned a total of $41.2 million domestically.

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Other Work

In 1995, Stern penned “Miss America” and later “Howard Stern Comes Again” in 2019.

Stern proclaimed in 2011 that he would replace Piers Morgan as a judge on “America’s Got Talent” for the seventh season. He remained a judge through the eighth, ninth, and tenth seasons before departing at the conclusion of the tenth season in September 2015.

Howard Stern Salary and Contracts

Upon Stern's arrival at Sirius, the satellite service attracted 600,000 subscribers and incurred losses of $226 million annually against revenues of $13 million. Currently, SiriusXM boasts 35 million paying subscribers, generating $1.8 billion in profits from $7.2 billion in revenue. On Sirius, Howard enjoys complete uncensored free speech, beyond the FCC's control. Analysts estimate that 10-15% of Sirius users subscribe solely for Stern's show.

In 2004, Stern became one of the highest-paid figures in radio, signing a five-year contract worth $500 million with Sirius. Under this agreement, he received $100 million annually, comprising $80 million in cash and $20 million in stock. This figure also encompassed production expenses, including staff salaries. Estimates suggest that Stern kept around $50 million for himself. Prior to his Sirius tenure, he earned $30 million each year at Viacom for terrestrial radio broadcasts.

He renewed his contract in 2010 with another five-year, $500 million agreement. Following this, he inked a new 12-year deal with Sirius in December 2015. This latest contract is reported to pay Stern $80 million annually, covering his salary, staff salaries, and production costs. By the completion of this agreement, Stern is set to have earned over $1 billion in salary (excluding production costs) throughout his Sirius career. Additionally, he accrued several hundred million dollars from terrestrial radio before 2005.

On December 9, 2020, Howard confirmed the signing of a five-year extension with Sirius, valued at approximately $600 million, which amounts to $120 million for all production-related costs.

Personal Life

Stern first encountered Alison Berns through a mutual friend while he was attending Boston University. The couple married on June 4, 1978, in Brookline, Massachusetts, at the age of 24. They have three daughters: Emily Beth (born in 1983), Debra Jennifer, and...

After separating in October 1999, Stern and Ashley Jade ended their marriage amicably in 2001.

During the brief period between his split from Alison and meeting Beth Ostrosky, Stern dated model Angie Everhart and actress Robin Givens. In 2000, he began a relationship with model and television host Ostrosky. They got engaged on February 14, 2007, and exchanged vows on October 3, 2008, at Le Cirque restaurant in New York City.

When the FCC imposed fines totaling $2.5 million on station owners for content they found indecent, Stern became the most fined radio host in history.

Struggling with obsessive-compulsive disorder, Stern disclosed this challenge in his 1995 book “Miss America.” He utilizes Transcendental Mediation, a practice his parents adopted in the early 1970s, to help manage his condition.

In 2012, Stern adopted a pescetarian diet.

The couple of Stern and Ostrosky are advocates for the North Shore Animal League of America. Remarkably, they have fostered nearly 900 cats together and currently own four cats named Bella, Yoda, Walter, and Pebble.

Stern showed interest in campaigning for the President of the United States in 2024, should Donald Trump become the Republican nominee once more, in June 2022.

Real Estate

Purchasing a 4,000-square-foot apartment on the 54th floor of the Millennium Tower on Manhattan's Upper West Side for $4.9 million in 1998, Stern later acquired the adjacent 1,011-square-foot unit for $5.75 million. He expanded his holdings in 2008 with the acquisition of two apartments on the 53rd floor, situated just below his 4,011 square foot penthouse, for $15.1 million, thereby adding another 2,546 square feet of living space.

In 2005, Stern invested $20 million in an undeveloped lot in Southampton, New York, where he commissioned a grand custom mansion to be constructed.

Howard made a significant purchase in 2013, acquiring a 12-bedroom mansion that sits on 3.25 oceanfront acres in Palm Beach, Florida, for $52 million. This Palm Beach residence features multiple structures that together encompass 40,000 square feet, with the main mansion measuring just under 19,000 square feet. Noteworthy features of the house include stunning columns, meticulously landscaped grounds, a protective wall against ocean water intrusion on the lawn, and a picturesque pool at the center of the property.

In April 2023, a neighboring property to Howard's Palm Beach estate sold for a record $170 million. The seller, Bob Stiller, amassed his wealth through Keurig coffee pods. Stiller's estate is approximately half the size of Howard's in terms of both living area and property acreage, suggesting that Howard's Palm Beach mansion could be valued at a minimum of $300 million based on this comparison.