When Hoda Kotb walked off the TODAY show set for the last time on January 10, 2025, she left behind nearly three decades at NBC. But here’s what caught my attention: she’s walking away with a $30 million net worth and potentially more earning power than she had while anchoring one of America’s most-watched morning shows. Let me break down exactly how she built that fortune and what her financial future looks like.
Hoda Kotb Current Net Worth in 2025
Hoda Kotb net worth sits at an estimated $30 million as of 2025, according to Celebrity Net Worth. That’s a substantial sum, but here’s what makes it interesting: it didn’t come from a single massive payday. Instead, she built this wealth through nearly 40 years of grinding it out in broadcast journalism, starting at small CBS affiliates and working her way up.
What I’ve discovered looking at her financial trajectory is that she’s a perfect example of the “slow and steady” approach to building wealth. She didn’t hit the jackpot early. She became a household name in her 40s and didn’t land the co-anchor spot until she was 54 years old.
Hoda Kotb’s TODAY Show Salary Through the Years
Initial Co-Anchor Salary in 2018
When Hoda took over as co-anchor of TODAY in 2018, replacing Matt Lauer after his dismissal, Page Six reported she signed a contract worth $7 million annually. For most people, that’s an astronomical figure. But in the world of network television morning shows, it tells a different story.
Salary Comparison to Matt Lauer and Other NBC Anchors
Here’s where things get revealing. Matt Lauer was reportedly making $25 million per year before NBC fired him in November 2017 following sexual misconduct allegations. That means Hoda was making roughly 28% of what her predecessor earned for doing the same job.
Even more striking: Megyn Kelly, who joined NBC around the same time, secured a $20 million annual contract before her controversial exit after just 18 months. Hoda was earning about one-third of what Kelly made, despite having far more experience at the network and ultimately proving far more valuable to TODAY’s audience.
According to sources who spoke with Page Six, insiders acknowledged the disparity but noted that “Matt’s salary reflected the long time he was on the show” and suggested Hoda could negotiate for more when her contract came up for renewal. By most estimates, her salary likely increased to around $8 million annually by the time she left, though NBC never publicly confirmed the exact figure.
Pay Equity with Co-Anchor Savannah Guthrie
One bright spot in the salary discussion: sources confirmed to Page Six that Hoda and her co-anchor, Savannah Guthrie, made the same salary. This matters because it shows NBC learned something from the pay disparity criticism. When you have two people doing identical jobs with similar responsibilities, equal pay isn’t just fair; it’s basic workplace equity.
Both women reportedly earned in the $7 to $8 million range, with likely increases over their years together.
Salary Difference Between Hoda and Jenna Bush Hager
For the fourth hour of TODAY, which Hoda Kotb co-hosted with Jenna Bush Hager, the pay structure looked different. Hoda made approximately $8 million per year for all her TODAY duties, while Jenna’s salary was estimated at around $4 million annually.
This makes sense from a responsibility standpoint. Hoda anchored both the main TODAY show and the fourth hour, essentially working two shows daily, while Jenna focused primarily on the fourth hour program.
How Hoda Kotb Built Her Fortune
Career Earnings from NBC and TODAY
Let’s do some math. If Hoda Kotb averaged around $7.5 million per year for seven years as co-anchor (2018-2025), that’s roughly $52.5 million in pre-tax earnings from just that role. Add in her years as a Dateline correspondent and fourth-hour co-host from 1998 to 2018, and you’re looking at substantial career earnings from NBC alone.
But here’s what makes her $30 million net worth realistic rather than inflated: taxes, cost of living in Manhattan, raising two adopted daughters, and the reality that she wasn’t making millions annually until relatively late in her career.
Book Publishing Success
Hoda has published six books total, and this is where she diversified her income smartly. Her 2010 memoir “Hoda Kotb: How I Survived War Zones, Bad Hair, Cancer, and Kathie Lee” became an instant bestseller. She followed up with four more nonfiction titles between 2013 and 2020.
Then she pivoted to children’s literature. “I’ve Loved You Since Forever,” inspired by her daughter Haley Joy, came out in 2018. Her latest, “Hope Is a Rainbow,” dropped in March 2024 and was inspired by her younger daughter Hope Catherine.
Publishing doesn’t make you TODAY show money, but bestselling books can bring in six figures per title through advances and royalties. Over 15 years and six books, that adds up.
Podcast Revenue from Making Space
Since September 2021, Hoda has hosted “Making Space,” a podcast featuring intimate conversations about resilience and personal journeys. By November 2024, she’d recorded 50 episodes with guests like Lainey Wilson.
Podcasting revenue varies wildly, but for someone with Hoda’s profile and NBC’s backing, advertising deals and sponsorships likely generate a solid five-figure to low six-figure income annually.
SiriusXM Radio Show
From 2015 through 2022, Hoda Kotb hosted her own SiriusXM radio show twice a week. That’s seven years of additional income streams beyond her television work. While SiriusXM salaries aren’t typically disclosed, hosts with national name recognition can command $100,000 to $500,000 annually for part-time shows.
Hoda Kotb Career Journey to Financial Success
Early Career at CBS and ABC Affiliates
Hoda graduated from Virginia Tech in 1986 with a broadcast journalism degree and immediately started at a CBS affiliate in Greenville, Mississippi. This is the part of her story I find most instructive. She spent the late 1980s and most of the 1990s working at local stations: ABC in Illinois, CBS in Florida, and then CBS in New Orleans.
These weren’t glamorous jobs. Local news reporters typically earn between $30,000 and $60,000 annually, even today. Back in the ’80s and ’90s, she was likely making less. She ground it out for over a decade before NBC came calling.
Joining NBC News in 1998
1998 marked the turning point. At age 34, Hoda joined NBC as a correspondent for Dateline NBC. This was her first network job after 12 years in local news. Network correspondents typically earn $75,000 to $150,000 starting out, with increases based on experience and visibility.
She spent nine years primarily as a correspondent before getting her TODAY show opportunity.
Co-Hosting TODAY’s Fourth Hour
In 2007, Hoda’s career accelerated when she began co-hosting TODAY’s new fourth hour. A year later, in April 2008, Kathie Lee Gifford joined as her co-host, and their chemistry became legendary. Those Wine Wednesday segments turned them into living memes.
This fourth-hour gig put Hoda Kotb in front of millions of viewers daily and established her as more than just a news correspondent. She became someone viewers felt they knew personally.
Becoming Co-Anchor of TODAY in 2018
When Matt Lauer was fired in November 2017, NBC faced a crisis. They needed someone America already trusted, someone who could step into the role immediately without a learning curve. Hoda was the obvious choice.
In January 2018, she and Savannah Guthrie became the first all-female anchor team in TODAY’s history, which began in 1952. That’s 66 years of male-dominated or male-female anchor pairings before two women finally led the show together.
Hoda Philosophy on Money and Career Fulfillment
Here’s what sets Hoda apart from many high-earning media personalities. In a January 2018 interview with People, she addressed her salary directly: I think the whole money thing for me, I’ve always been sort of… I know it sounds ridiculous that I’m going to say this,
But I really have done jobs I liked for the job I liked because I never wanted to be happy every other Friday on payday. Like, I didn’t want that to be the happy day. I wanted to feel good throughout.”She continued, acknowledging the pay gap: “So no, I’m not making Matt Lauer money. Not even close.”
In an October 2022 Forbes interview, she described herself as “a worker. I’m a grinder. I’m not the most talented. I’m not top of my class. I’m not that person. But I’m a grinder, and the one thing I think I do really well is, I get up. I’ll fall a thousand times, but I get up.”
That philosophy explains both her career longevity and her financial success. She didn’t chase the biggest paycheck. She chased meaningful work and built relationships, which ultimately led to the big paycheck anyway.
Financial Future After Leaving TODAY
Potential Brand Endorsement Deals
Here’s where Hoda Kotb story gets really interesting financially. Now that she’s left TODAY, she’s no longer bound by NBC’s restrictions on outside endorsements and brand partnerships.
According to Us Weekly, a source close to the situation said, “Now that she’s not full-time at NBC, Hoda’s going to be working with brands and can be paid to endorse them.”For someone with her Q rating (industry term for likability and recognition), brand deals can be incredibly lucrative. We’re talking potential six-figure deals for becoming a brand ambassador or spokesperson.
Speaking Engagement Opportunities
The same Us Weekly source revealed that Hoda “could make several hundred thousand dollars for speaking engagements on subjects like ‘changing your life at 60.'”
Corporate speaking fees for celebrities of Hoda’s caliber typically range from $50,000 to $150,000 per engagement. If she books 10 to 20 speaking gigs per year, that’s $500,000 to $3 million annually, just from speaking.
Why She May Earn More Post-TODAY
Multiple sources told Us Weekly that “She’s going to earn way more than she did at the Today show.” At first, this sounds counterintuitive. How do you make more than $8 million a year without a major network job?
The math actually works. Consider this scenario:
- Brand endorsements: $1-2 million annually
- Speaking engagements: $1-2 million annually
- Book deals and royalties: $500,000-$1 million
- Podcast sponsorships: $200,000-$500,000
- Consulting or special appearances: $500,000-$1 million
That totals $3.2 to $6.5 million annually, with far more flexibility and potentially less stress than waking up at 4 a.m. for a daily morning show. Plus, she keeps control over her schedule and can be more selective about opportunities.
Personal Life and Real Estate Investments
Hoda lives with her two adopted daughters in an Upper Manhattan apartment, which makes her commute to NBC’s Rockefeller Center studio convenient. Manhattan real estate, especially in desirable Upper Manhattan neighborhoods, represents a significant asset. Depending on the size and exact location, her apartment could be worth $2 to $5 million or more.
In 2018, she purchased an additional property: a $2 million waterfront home in Point Lookout, a hamlet in Nassau County, New York. The home features a private swimming dock, giving her family a retreat from city life.
Real estate has likely been a smart wealth-building strategy for Hoda Kotb. New York property values have appreciated substantially over the past decade, and waterfront properties especially have increased in value.
She’s also been open about her personal journey, including her 2007 breast cancer diagnosis and successful treatment, her brief marriage to tennis coach Burziz Kanga from 2005 to 2008, and her relationship with financier Joel Schiffman, which began in 2013. They got engaged in 2019 and adopted two daughters together: Haley Joy and Hope Catherine.
Conclusion: Hoda Kotb Legacy Beyond the Paycheck
What strikes me most about Hoda Kotb financial story isn’t the $30 million net worth. It’s how she got there.
She didn’t come from wealth. She didn’t become famous overnight. She worked at local TV stations for 12 years before getting a network job. She was 43 years old before she became a regular presence on TODAY. She was 54 when she became co-anchor.
In an era when we’re obsessed with young founders and overnight success, Hoda’s path offers a different model. She built her career and her wealth through consistency, authenticity, and genuine connection with audiences. She survived breast cancer. She rebuilt her personal life after the divorce. She became a mother through adoption in her 50s.
Her decision to leave TODAY in 2025 wasn’t about money running out. It was about reprioritizing. As she told her daughters and colleagues, she wanted to spend more time with Haley and Hope while they’re young. She wanted to “repot” her life, as she put it.
The fact that she can potentially earn more money with more flexibility post-TODAY? That’s just proof that she built something valuable over those decades: a personal brand rooted in authenticity that transcends any single job.
For anyone building a career, Hoda Kotb story offers this lesson: the grind matters. Showing up matters. Being genuinely yourself matters. And sometimes, the biggest opportunities come not at 25 or 35, but at 54, after you’ve put in the work and built the relationships and earned the trust.
That $30 million net worth? It’s not just money. It’s the financial representation of nearly 40 years of 4 a.m. wake-up calls, of covering hurricanes and Olympics, of genuine tears and real laughter on air, of connecting with millions of Americans who felt like they knew her.
And now, in 2025, she gets to write the next chapter on her own terms. Not bad for a self-described “grinder” from Norman, Oklahoma.
