Walter Cronkite Net Worth

What was Walter Cronkite's net worth and salary?

Walter Cronkite was an American broadcast journalist who had a net worth of $20 million at the time of his death in 2009. Walter Cronkite passed away on July 17, 2009, at 92 years old.

Walter Cronkite anchored the "CBS Evening News" from 1962 to 1981. He reported on numerous major events during his tenure, including the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., the Apollo 11 moon landing, and the Watergate scandal, and received two Peabody Awards and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Cronkite was known for concluding his broadcasts with the catchphrase "And that's the way it is."

Salary

Walter's biggest contract came in 1981 when he signed a 7-year deal that paid him $1 million per year, which is the same as around $2.7 million per year today. After he yielded his slot to Dan Rather in 1988, CBS paid Walter $150,000 per year to act as a consultant for the network. It was a somewhat ceremonial job and Walter actually turned down some fairly lucrative competing offers to stay with CBS. He was ready for a slower schedule.

Early Life and Education

Walter Cronkite Jr. was born on November 4, 1916 in St. Joseph, Missouri to Helen and Walter Sr. He was raised in Kansas City until he was ten, and then moved with his family to Houston, Texas. There, Cronkite attended Woodrow Wilson Elementary School, Lanier Junior High School, and San Jacinto High School. In high school, he was editor of the school newspaper. Cronkite went on to attend the University of Texas at Austin, where he worked on the Daily Texan paper. Ultimately, he dropped out in 1935 before completing his degree.

Career Beginnings

Cronkite began his career as a reporter covering news and sports for various newspapers. He had his first broadcasting job as a radio announcer for WKY in Oklahoma City. After that, Cronkite did sports announcing for KCMO in Kansas City, Missouri, and joined United Press International in 1937. Having become an established name in broadcasting, he received a job offer from CBS News correspondent Edward R. Murrow to join the Murrow Boys team of war correspondents. Although Cronkite initially accepted the offer, he ended up staying with United Press International, which countered with a higher offer. This upset Murrow greatly, causing a rift between the two. Cronkite went on to become one of the top US reporters during World War II, covering battles in Europe and North Africa and sailing aboard the USS Texas. Moreover, he was one of eight journalists chosen by the US Army Air Forces to fly bombing raids over Germany. After the war, Cronkite covered the Nuremberg trials.

2/25/1981- Close-up of Walter Cronkite, US broadcast newsman. (Getty)

CBS

Cronkite finally joined Murrow at CBS News in 1950. Initially, he worked at WTOP-TV, the CBS affiliate in Washington, DC. In 1952, he anchored coverage of the presidential election, and from 1953 to 1957 he hosted the educational history program "You Are There." Cronkite subsequently hosted the documentary series "The Twentieth Century" and the game show "It's News to Me." Kicking off the 1960s, he anchored CBS's coverage of the Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, the first Olympic Games to be televised live. In 1962, Cronkite succeeded Douglas Edwards as the anchor of CBS's nightly feature newscast, which was eventually named the "CBS Evening News." He anchored the half-hour program until 1981, becoming one of the most iconic personalities on television. Cronkite was known for concluding his broadcasts with the catchphrase "And that's the way it is," followed by the date.

During Cronkite's tenure, the "CBS Evening News" became the top-rated news program on American television. Cronkite covered numerous major events on the show, including the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.; the Vietnam War; the 1968 Democratic National Convention; various NASA missions, including the Apollo 11 moon landing; the Watergate scandal; and the Iran hostage crisis. Because CBS had a policy at the time mandating retirement by the age of 65, Cronkite announced his intention to retire in early 1980. He spent his final day as anchor of the "CBS Evening News" on March 6, 1981, and was succeeded by Dan Rather. Cronkite continued to appear occasionally on CBS as a special correspondent.

Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

Later Broadcasting Career

After leaving the "CBS Evening News," Cronkite did some reporting for CNN and the British network ITV. For several years, he hosted the annual Vienna New Year's Concert and the annual Kennedy Center Honors. Among his other broadcasting appearances, Cronkite hosted the documentary series "World War II with Walter Cronkite" and the documentaries "Dinosaur!" and "Silicon Valley: A 100 Year Renaissance."

Other Media Work

Due to his broadcasting fame, Cronkite appeared in an episode of the sitcom "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" in the 1970s. He later made some appearances on the sitcom "Murphy Brown." Cronkite also did extensive voiceover work, narrating the 1985 IMAX documentary film "The Dream is Alive," voicing Captain Neweyes in the 1993 animated film "We're Back: A Dinosaur's Story," and voicing the titular book in the 1995 Broadway revival of "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying." He later voiced Benjamin Franklin in the educational animated children's show "Liberty's Kids."

Political Activism

Heavily involved in political activism, Cronkite advocated for free airtime for political candidates, spoke out against the War on Drugs and the Iraq War, and supported the non-profit world hunger relief organization Heifer International. He also penned a syndicated opinion column for King Features Syndicate and contributed to the Huffington Post. Elsewhere, Cronkite was a member of the Constitution Project's bipartisan Liberty and Security Committee.

Personal Life and Death

Cronkite was married to Betsy Maxwell from 1940 until her passing in 2005. Together, they had three children named Nancy, Kathy, and Chip. Cronkite went on to date singer Joanna Simon from 2005 to 2009.

On July 17, 2009, Cronkite passed away at his home in New York City at the age of 92. His funeral, attended by numerous journalists, was held at St. Bartholomew's Church in Manhattan. Later, a memorial service for Cronkite was held at Lincoln Center.

Who's Richer?

Walter
Cronkite

Compare!

Dan
Rather