What Is Billy Bush's Net Worth and Salary?
Billy Bush is an American radio and television host who has a net worth of $13 million. Billy Bush is probably best known for his time hosting "Access Hollywood," a syndicated entertainment news show, which resulted in an infamous crude tape involving Donald Trump.
Early Life
Billy Bush was born William Hall Bush on October 13, 1971, in Manhattan, New York. He is the son of Josephine and Jonathan Bush. His older brother is Jonathan S. Bush, and his uncle on his father's side was George H.W. Bush. Billy attended middle school at St. Bernard's School in Manhattan and high school at St. George's School in Middletown, Rhode Island. Bush graduated from Colby College in 1994 with a Bachelor of Arts in international studies and government. In school, he was a four-year letterman and a two-time co-captain with the Colby Mules' men's lacrosse team.
Career
Billy could have pursued politics like his uncle George H. W. Bush or his cousin George W. Bush, but he instead opted for the world of entertainment. Bush began his career hosting the afternoon radio show on WLKZ-FM in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. He later moved to Washington, D.C., where he hosted the midday show on WARW-FM.
In 1997, he made a splash on his relatives' turf as the host of the Washington, D.C. morning show "Billy Bush and the Bush League," but it was his 2001 appearance on the entertainment news program "Extra" that led to his small-screen career. In January 2003, he hosted a short-lived NBC prime-time version of "Let's Make a Deal." He also worked as a correspondent for WNBC-TV's "Today in New York" morning show.
Bush was a natural on camera and was soon invited to contribute segments to NBC's "Today Show." By the end of that year, he was working as an "Access Hollywood" correspondent, and in 2004, he was promoted to full-fledged co-anchor. Billy made his mark by being unafraid to pose outrageous questions or poke fun at celebrities' images. For example, he once served pizza to Victoria's Secret models and asked Penélope Cruz if she could spell then-boyfriend Matthew McConaughey's surname. In 2004, Bush worked as a reporter for NBC at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens and was the host for "Access Hollywood's" coverage of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, as well as the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
After emceeing numerous specials, including beauty pageants and award-show countdowns, Bush landed a gig as the co-host of the Broadway reality series "Grease: You're the One That I Want" in 2007. The next year, Billy stood in for Meredith Viera for a week as the host of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" from April 21st to 25th.
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In 2008, he went back to his radio roots and launched "The Billy Bush (radio) Show," a nightly talk radio and entertainment interview show. The show aired from KBIG in Los Angeles and is syndicated by Westwood One. Bush and "Access Hollywood" executive producer Rob Silverstein served as the show's executive producers. The show aired Monday through Friday and focused on the top entertainment stories in the news, featuring celebrity guests and listener calls.
Meanwhile, Billy continued to expand his presence on TV and became a co-host on daytime's "Access Hollywood Live" in 2010 alongside co-host Kit Hoover. The show, a sister show of "Access Hollywood," featured the hosts chatting on popular topics and live celebrity interviews. During this time, Bush and Hoover traveled together to the UK to cover for NBC Prince William's wedding to Kate Middleton.
During the 2016 Summer Olympics, Bush was the first reporter to interview American Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte after the athlete claimed he was robbed at gunpoint in the middle of the night with three other competitors in Rio de Janeiro. Bush's interviewing skills were put through the wringer when critics claimed that he did not ask the right questions that would have demonstrated that Lochte had fabricated the story.
Billy left "Access Hollywood" in 2016 after being named the co-host of the third hour of NBC's "The Today Show." In 2019, Telepictures announced they had hired Bush to be the host of "Extra," replacing Mario Lopez at the start of the 26th season on September 9, 2019.
Outside of hosting, Bush appeared as a grill sergeant in the 2010 film "Furry Vengeance" and had a small role in the 2014 Disney film "Big Hero 6." He has also made guest appearances on several TV shows, including "30 Rock."
Donald Trump Controversy
In October 2016, a video surfaced that showed Billy Bush and Presidential candidate Donald Trump making extremely lewd comments about groping women, with Trump either unaware or unconcerned that his microphone was hot. The video was made on the NBC Studios lot over the course of the taping of an "Access Hollywood" episode in September 2005. Some of the comments were about Nancy O'Dell, who was Billy's "Access Hollywood" co-host at the time. Other comments were directed at a soap star. Bush is heard laughing about Trump's failed efforts to seduce a married woman. When the news of the footage first broke, Billy was at JFK Airport waiting to take off for Los Angeles. By the time he arrived at LAX, a horde of paparazzi had gathered at the airport and at his home in Los Angeles, where they remained for more than a week.
In the fallout of the video, Billy was indefinitely suspended by "The Today Show" on October 9, 2016, a job he only had for three months and had tried to save immediately following the controversy. At the time, his salary was $3 million. By October 17, 2016, he had been fired.
In November 2017, "The New York Times" reported that Trump had privately told people, including a sitting senator, that the voice on the "Access Hollywood" tape was not his. Bush quickly published an op-ed in the paper on December 3rd, confirming that the voice in the tape did indeed belong to the president.
Personal Life
Bush married Sydney Davis in April 1998. The couple has three daughters. They announced they were separating in September 2016. On July 15, 2018, they announced their divorce due to irreconcilable differences had been finalized.
Billy Bush Real Estate
In April 2019, Billy listed his longtime primary residence in Encino, California, for $5.395 million. He bought the 5,400-square-foot house in 2004 for $3.05 million. Billy removed the listing in July 2020.
