What is Steve Kroft's Net Worth and Salary?
Steve Kroft is an American news journalist who has a net worth of $30 million. Steve Kroft is well-known for being a longtime correspondent for "60 Minutes." He is the recipient of numerous Peabody and Emmy Awards for his investigative reporting. After completing his Master's Degree, he moved to Florida and began to establish a reputation as a hard-hitting investigative reporter. He caught the attention of CBS News and began working for the station in New York in 1980. He went on to cover multiple high-profile stories, including the hijacking of TWA Flight 847, the Lebanese Civil War, and the assassination of Indira Gandhi, among many others. He became a regular reporter and interviewer for "60 Minutes" in 1989. In 2019, it was announced that Kroft would be stepping down from 60 Minutes after the show's 30th season.
Salary
At the peak of his time at CBS/60 Minutes, Steve Kroft's salary peaked at $7 million.
Early Life
Steve Kroft was born on August 22, 1945, in Kokomo, Indiana, to parents Margaret and Fred Kroft. After completing high school, he attended Syracuse University, where he earned his bachelor's degree from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications in 1967. During his time in college, he was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity and also worked at The Daily Orange and WAER radio station.
Military Career and Education
Following his graduation from college, Kroft was drafted into the United States Army and served during the Vietnam War. He was assigned to the 25th Infantry Division, where he worked as a reporter for the Armed Forces Network, covering the division's participation in the invasion of Cambodia. During his time in this role, he won several Army journalism awards and a Bronze Star for Meritorious Achievement. He was later assigned to the military newspaper "Stars and Stripes" as a correspondent and photographer. He was honorably discharged in 1971, worked for a few years as a reporter in Syracuse, New York, and then enrolled in a master's degree program at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, which he completed in 1975.
CBS
Kroft then moved to Florida and worked first as a reporter in Jacksonville and then in Miami. In Miami, he caught the attention of CBS News, as the network was impressed with his work. He joined CBS News in New York City in 1980. The following year, he was named a correspondent, and the network moved him to their Dallas location. He remained there until 1983, after which time he was reassigned to Miami. While there, he began making trips to Latin America, where he covered the civil war in El Salvador and the U.S. invasion of Grenada.
In 1984, Kroft became a foreign correspondent based in London. He traveled extensively to cover stories around the world, many of which involved terrorism and violence. Some of the stories he covered include the hijackings of TWA Flight 847, the Lebanese Civil War, the violence in Northern Ireland, and the assassination of Indira Gandhi. His coverage of the assassination won him his first Emmy Award.
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60 Minutes
In 1986, CBS News brought Kroft back to the United States, where he became a principal correspondent on the show "West 57th." He remained in that role until the program was canceled in 1989. He then joined "60 Minutes" in September of that year.
Over the course of his time as an investigative reporter on "60 Minutes," Kroft has covered some of the most groundbreaking stories of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. In 1990, he became the first American journalist to be given extensive access to the grounds of the Chornobyl nuclear facility. His resulting story won him another Emmy. He also interviewed Hillary Clinton after the allegations of then-Governor Bill Clinton's infidelity surfaced during the 1992 presidential election. The same year, his coverage of a friendly fire incident in the Gulf War won him his first Peabody Award. He won two more Emmy Awards in 1994 – one for his profile of Senator Bob Dole and one for the exposé he did on the Cuban government's quarantine policy for individuals infected with AIDS.
He has also conducted a number of notable presidential interviews over the years, though he has been criticized by some for not asking enough hard-hitting questions. He has also interviewed other prominent public figures and celebrities. One memorable moment came in 1997 while Kroft was interviewing Clint Eastwood. During the interview, he asked Eastwood to confirm whether he had fathered seven children with five different women. Eastwood, known for his high level of secrecy, stared at Kroft in silence for 30 seconds.
In 2003, Kroft and the rest of the "60 Minutes" team were awarded Emmy Awards for their lifetime achievement working on the show and producing high-quality investigative reports. Kroft remained on the show for almost two more decades. In May of 2019, "The Hollywood Reporter" revealed that Kroft would be retiring from "60 Minutes," following his 30th season on the show.
Awards
Over the course of his career, Kroft received 11 Emmy Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award. He also was the recipient of five Peabody Awards and two Columbian University DuPont Awards. Indiana University, Binghamton University, and Long Island University have bestowed Honorary Doctoral degrees on Kroft. He has also made an impact on popular culture. He once appeared as himself on an episode of "Murphy Brown" and again played himself in the Woody Allen film, "Small Time Crooks."
Personal Life and Real Estate
Steve Kroft is married to author/journalist Jennet Conant. The two married in 1991. Conant also began her career as a journalist but then became an author. She has primarily published historical non-fiction books about World War II. The couple has one son, John, who attended Julliard School. In 2015, the "National Enquirer" revealed that Kroft had been involved in an extramarital affair with Lisan Goines, a lawyer working in New York who was 28 years younger than him. Kroft did admit to the affair and issued a public apology. Their marriage did survive the affair, as Conant chose not to file for a divorce.
Steve and Jennet have a home in New York City and a home in Sag Harbor, New York.
