What is Harvey Levin's Net Worth and Salary?
Harvey Levin is an American television producer, lawyer, legal analyst, and celebrity reporter who has a net worth of $20 million. Harvey Levin is most widely known as the founder and managing editor of TMZ.com, a celebrity gossip site. Harvey does not own TMZ. The site was launched as a joint venture between AOL and Telepictures Productions, a division of Warner Bros. For most of the site's history, it was a subsidiary of WarnerMedia. In September 2021, WarnerMedia sold TMZ to Fox Entertainment in a deal valued at roughly $50 million.
Salary
Between TMZ and People's Court, Harvey earns at least $5 million per year in base salary and other earnings.
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Early Life
Harvey Robert Levin was born in Los Angeles, California, on September 2, 1950. His family is Jewish. He graduated in 1972 from Grover Cleveland High School in Reseda, Los Angeles. He then continued his education by completing his B.A. degree in political science at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and went on to graduate from the University of Chicago Law School with a J.D. in 1975.
Early Legal Career
Levin practiced as a licensed attorney in the state of California from December 1975 to January 1996. He gained wider public recognition in 1978 when he participated in several public debates regarding California Proposition 13, which was introduced that year. After entering the public eye, he began contributing legal advice on a radio show, which is where he earned the nickname "Doctor Law." He also began writing columns for the Los Angeles Times, something he continued to do for seven years.
Additionally, he taught law at the University of Miami Law School in the mid-1970s and also taught at Whittier College School of Law in Costa Mesa, California.
Entertainment Career
Levin broadened his reach when he moved to television in 1982 and began covering legal issues for KNBC-TV. He then moved to KCBS-TV, where he did investigative reporting and legal analysis for ten years. A notable case he covered during this period was the O.J. Simpson murder case. In 1997, Levin became co-executive producer and the on-air legal anchor for the arbitration-based reality court show "The People's Court," produced by Warner Bros. Building off of his time on "The People's Court," he released the book "The People's Court: How to Tell It to the Judge" in 1985, in which he reviews and comments on cases from the show. As of June 2020, he is still a presenter on the show and won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Legal/Courtroom Program for "The People's Court" in 2015.
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Other shows he has created include "Celebrity Justice," which ran from 2002 to 2005; "Famous in 12" (2014), which only aired five episodes before getting canceled; and "Rock & A Hard Place" in 2008. He also produced "Beyond Twisted" (2009), which only ran for one season. Since 2016, Levin has served as the host of the weekly show "OBJECTified," which is prerecorded and airs on the Fox News Channel.
TMZ
In 2005, the celebrity gossip site TMZ was launched by AOL and Telepictures Productions. Levin served as the founder and managing editor. One of the first big stories the site broke was about Mel Gibson's DUI arrest and anti-Semitic rant. Other high-profile stories TMZ has covered include Chris Brown's assault of Rihanna and the deaths of Heath Ledger, Brittany Murphy, Kobe Bryant, and Michael Jackson. The site has grown into one of the 500 largest websites in the world with a nationally syndicated television show, tour buses, and more. He has hosted the series "TMZ" on TV since 2007 and appeared in more than 1,400 episodes. He was also the executive producer of "TMZ" from 2007 to 2010.
As an actor, Levin has appeared in the films "Volcano" (1997) and "Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!" (2015) and in episodes of the TV series "JAG," "The Sopranos," "Family Guy," and "Empire".
Personal Life
In April 2010, while appearing as an event speaker for the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association, Levin publicly confirmed that he identified as gay. He has been in a long-term relationship with Andy Mauer, a Southern California chiropractor. Together, they own multiple properties, and their joint-deed listing date back as far as the late 1990s. He has appeared multiple times on Out Magazine's "Power 50" list as one of the most prominent and influential LGBTQ voices in America—No. 15 in 2012, No. 25 in 2013, No. 34 in 2014, No. 48 in 2015, and No. 40 in 2016.
Real Estate
In 1998 Harvey paid $950,000 for a home in Los Angeles. He put the home up for sale in March 2013 for $5.3 million, ultimately accepting $3.6 million in August 2015. In 2003 Harvey paid $2.2 million for an 1,800 square-foot ocean-view condo in Marina Del Rey, California that today would likely sell for $4-5 million.
