What Is Chris Hayes' Net Worth and Salary?
Chris Hayes is an American political commentator, journalist, podcaster, producer, and author who has a net worth of $6 million. Chris Hayes got his start on television as a guest host for "The Rachel Maddow Show" in 2010, then he landed hosting gigs on other MSNBC shows. Chris was given his own two-hour weekend morning show on MSNBC called "Up with Chris Hayes" in 2011, and he has hosted "All in with Chris Hayes" on the network since 2013. He has also produced several episodes of "All in with Chris Hayes." Chris has written for "The Nation" and was named the publication's Washington, D.C. editor in 2007. He hosts the podcast "Why Is This Happening?" for MSNBC, and he has published the books "Twilight of the Elites: America After Meritocracy" (2012) and "A Colony in a Nation" (2017). Hayes has written for numerous publications, including "Time," "The Guardian," "New York Times Magazine," and "Chicago Reader." In 2014, he played himself in one episode of Netflix's "House of Cards" and two episodes of NBC's "Revolution."
Salary
Chris Hayes' annual salary at MSNBC is $2 million.
Early Life
Chris Hayes was born Christopher Loffredo Hayes on February 28, 1979, in The Bronx, New York. He is the son of Geri and Roger Hayes, and he grew up with two brothers in a Catholic household. Hayes' brother Luke worked on both of Barack Obama's presidential campaigns, and in 2020, he was Congressman Jamaal Bowman's campaign manager. Geri is a former schoolteacher, and Roger led community organizing for the Community Service Society of New York. According to a 2011 "AlterNet" article, both of Hayes' parents later worked for the city, with Geri taking a job with the NYC Department of Education and Roger working for the NYC Department of Health as an assistant commissioner. Chris attended Hunter College High School, where future "Hamilton" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and rapper Felipe Andres Coronel (now known as Immortal Technique) were his classmates. Hayes directed Coronel in Miranda's first musical. After graduating from high school, Chris enrolled at Brown University, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy in 2001.
Career
In August 2001, Hayes began a four-year stint as a contributor to the "Chicago Reader," writing about national and local politics for the weekly independent newspaper. Beginning in 2003, he spent four years at the Chicago-based magazine "In These Times," where he served as a senior editor and a Schumann Center Writing Fellow. Chris was a Puffin Foundation Writing Fellow at the nonprofit media organization The Nation Institute from 2006 to 2007, and after writing for "The Nation," he was named its Washington, D.C. editor in November 2007. Hayes taught English as an adjunct professor at Chicago's St. Augustine College, and from 2008 to 2010, he was a Bernard L. Schwartz fellow at the think tank the New America Foundation. He was also a fellow at the Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics at Harvard University.
In July 2010, Chris guest-hosted MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show" while Maddow was in Afghanistan, and he later filled in for her many times when she couldn't do the show. He also hosted MSNBC shows such as "The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell" and "Countdown With Keith Olbermann." He hosted the weekend show "Up with Chris Hayes" from September 2011 to March 2013, and he credited Maddow with his hosting gig, stating, "I absolutely would not be doing this if it weren't for her."
In April 2013, Chris began hosting "All In with Chris Hayes," becoming the youngest host of a primetime TV show on any of the United States' major cable news channels at the age of 34. "All In with Chris Hayes" has earned several News & Documentary Emmy nominations, winning in 2015 and 2018. In May 2018, Hayes began hosting the weekly podcast "Why Is This Happening?," on which he "asks the big questions that keep him up at night." From 2015 to 2022, Chris appeared on the NBC talk show "Late Night with Seth Meyers" 16 times, and during a January 2021 appearance, Meyers told Hayes that he was the show's most frequent guest. Hayes has also appeared on several episodes of "Real Time with Bill Maher" and "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."
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Personal Life
Chris married Kate Shaw on July 14, 2007, and they have three children, daughter Ryan and Anya and son David. Shaw met Hayes in college, and she has taught law at the Yeshiva University Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and served as an ABC News Supreme Court contributor. Kate was previously a clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens. In August 2019, it was reported that Chris was a registered Democrat. Hayes is a fan of the Chicago Cubs, and in September 2016, it was announced that he would throw out the first pitch at an upcoming game against the Milwaukee Brewers. He said of the opportunity, "I'm moderately nervous. I'm a totally adequate, average thrower of a baseball."
Awards and Nominations
"All In with Chris Hayes" has been nominated for six News & Documentary Emmys, winning Outstanding News Discussion & Analysis for "50 Year War: The Changing Face of Poverty in America" in 2015 and "All In America: Chicago" in 2018. The show was also nominated in that category for "All In America: A New Frontier in Women's Healthcare" in 2015 and "All In America: The Hottest Year" and "All In America: Bernie Sanders in Trump Country" in 2017, and it earned an Outstanding News Special nomination for "Bernie Sanders in Trump Country" in 2018.
