Lester Holt Salary and Net Worth 2023 Forbes
Lester Holt, the esteemed American journalist and news anchor, has amassed a significant net worth of $82 million US dollars. As of 2023, his annual salary from NBC is reported to be $7 million. Holt is widely recognized for his roles as the anchor of NBC Nightly News, NBC Nightly News Kids Edition, and Dateline NBC.
Born on March 8, 1959, in Hamilton Air Force Base, Marin County, California, Lester Don Holt Jr. is the youngest of four children born to June (DeRozario) and Lester Don Holt Sr. His maternal grandparents hailed from Jamaica, with his grandfather Canute DeRozario being a Jamaican Anglo-Indian from Spanish Town.
Canute was one of 14 children, born to an Indo-Jamaican father from Calcutta, India, and a White English Jamaican mother from England. Lester’s maternal grandmother, May, was an Afro-Jamaican born in Manchester Parish, Jamaica, but raised in Harlem, New York, where Lester’s mother was also born. His father, on the other hand, was African American with roots in Tennessee.
Holt completed his high school education at Cordova High School in Rancho Cordova in 1977. He pursued a major in government at California State University, Sacramento, but did not graduate, although he was bestowed an honorary degree in 2015. Throughout his career, Holt has also received Doctorate degrees in Humane Letters from Rutgers University in 2020 and Villanova University in 2023.
Holt’s journey in journalism began with a position as a disc jockey at a Country and Western radio station. He held this job while attending college, as he revealed in an interview with American Profile news magazine in 2012.
Holt mentioned, “The only time I could land a full-time gig was if I was willing to report the news.” He continued to work at the radio station during his college years.
Holt’s credibility and trustworthiness as a news anchor are widely recognized. In a 2018 poll, he was ranked as the most trusted TV news anchor in America. He gained further acclaim for his moderation of the first presidential debate in 2016, where he was praised for his diligent fact-checking by The Washington Post columnists.
While NBC Nightly News had been the top-ranked evening news program for over 30 years during the eras of Tom Brokaw and Brian Williams, ratings shifted to second place after Holt assumed the anchor role.
Lester Holt’s remarkable career and dedicated approach to journalism have contributed to his substantial net worth and notable position in the media industry.
Lester Holt Wife and Kids
Lester Holt resides in Manhattan with his wife, Carol Hagen. Together, they have two sons named Stefan and Cameron.
Stefan Holt, the couple’s eldest son, graduated from Pepperdine University in 2009. He initially pursued a career in journalism and served as the morning news anchor at NBC-owned WMAQ-TV in Chicago. In 2016, Stefan joined his father’s Nightly News on the same floor when he became a part of WNBC. Eventually, he succeeded veteran Chuck Scarborough as the anchor of the station’s 11 p.m. news broadcast. Currently, Stefan serves as the 10:00 p.m. anchor at NBC affiliate WMAQ in Chicago.
In addition to his successful career in journalism, Lester Holt possesses a passion for music. He is skilled in playing the bass guitar and upright bass. Holt is part of the band Rough Cuts, which primarily consists of video editors from Dateline NBC. Through their shared love for music, they come together to create engaging performances.
Lester Holt and his family are actively involved in their faith community. They attend the Manhattan Church of Christ in New York, where they participate in worship and engage with their religious community.
