What Is Don Lemon's Net Worth and Salary?
Don Lemon is an American journalist and television news anchor who has a net worth of $20 million. Don Lemon is best known for being a former lead anchor and presenter for CNN. His most prominent position with the network was as the host of "Don Lemon Tonight," which ran from 2014 to 2022 (though it was called "CNN Tonight" from 2014 to 2021). The show had its final broadcast in October 2022. A month earlier, Don had transitioned to being a co-host of a CNN morning show. On April 24, 2023, Lemon was fired from CNN after 17 years with the network. In February 2024, CNN reportedly paid Don a $24.5 million settlement, which represented the total amount he was set to receive under his remaining contract before he was fired.
Thanks to his work on "CNN Tonight" and other shows, Don has won a number of awards, including three Emmys. Don Lemon is considered to be one of the most influential African Americans in the world and one of the most influential LGBTQ people in broadcasting.
CNN Salary & Settlement
At the peak of his time working at CNN, Don Lemon earned a salary of $7 million per year. This salary was confirmed in February 2024 when CNN reportedly agreed to pay Don a $24.5 million settlement. That settlement apparently represented the full amount he would have earned under the 3.5 years he had left under his contract at the time of his firing. $24.5 million/3.5 years = $7 million per year.
Twitter Deal & Lawsuit
After being fired from CNN, Don struck a deal with Elon Musk's Twitter that would pay him a base salary of $1.5 million per year plus a cut of ad revenue. The contract was canceled almost as soon as it was signed after Don conducted an interview with Musk, which Elon did not enjoy. In the interview, Don asked Elon about his alleged drug use and his plans to address content moderation on the platform. A day after the interview, Elon texted Don's agent saying "contract is canceled." In August 2024, Don filed a breach of contract lawsuit against both Elon and Twitter.
Early Life
Donald Carlton Lemon was born on March 1, 1966, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Raised in a Creole household, Lemon was voted class president during his senior year of high school. In 2010, Lemon admitted in an on-air interview that he had been sexually molested at the age of five by a teenage boy, and he didn't tell anyone about the incident until he was 30.
After graduating, Don attended Louisiana State University before transferring to Brooklyn College in New York. During his time at Brooklyn College, Don majored in journalism. As a college student, he also gained experience by working as a news assistant at a Fox News affiliate station in New York.
Career
Before graduating, Lemon worked for various Fox News affiliates. After he left college, Donald started working as a correspondent for NBC in Philadelphia and Chicago. At first, he was working for affiliate stations in Birmingham, Alabama, as well as Pennsylvania. Over the next few years, he moved up from the role of correspondent to weekend news anchor. In addition, he worked as an investigative reporter for an affiliate in St. Louis during this period.
Eventually, Lemon started working for NBC News' "main" New York City hub of operations. He appeared on both "Today" and "NBC Nightly News" while also working as an anchor for "Weekend Today" on MSNBC. In 2002, Donald won an Edward R. Murrow Award for his coverage of the D.C. area sniper. He was also given the award in recognition of his reports on Hurricane Katrina.
In 2003, Don relocated once again – this time to Chicago. His activities at the NBC affiliate WMAQ-TV caused quite a buzz, and he won three Emmys while working as a reporter and local news co-anchor at this station. His Emmys came after he had been involved in one memorable business feature called "Life on Craigslist" and another report on the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa.
After gaining widespread recognition for his work, Lemon agreed to join CNN in 2006. Since joining the network, Donald has become quite famous for his strong views, seemingly abandoning the traditional penchant most reporters have for unbiased journalism. In many instances, he has made comments that have been viewed as controversial by audiences, and he has made a number of so-called "gaffes" during his time with the network. Don claims that he has received numerous death threats over the course of his work with CNN.
After a series of controversies and ratings declines, Don Lemon was fired from CNN on April 24, 2023.
Criticisms of Donald Trump
After the election of President Donald Trump in 2016, Don Lemon started to become even more direct with his personal opinions during CNN's programming. He has accused Trump of being racist and of supporting white supremacy. After the 2020 elections, Lemon continued to mock not only Trump but also his supporters.
During one particularly divisive segment, Don and two guests mocked Trump supporters with fake Southern accents, seemingly insulting their intelligence. Lemon's subsequent "laughing fit" was seen as unprofessional by some observers. After Don "laughed so hard he cried," Ivanka Trump tweeted, "You consistently make fun of half the country and then complain that it is divided."
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Relationships
In 2011, Lemon publicly announced that he was gay. He stated that he had known that he was gay from an extremely young age in his 2011 memoir "Transparent," and he again referred to the sexual abuse that he had suffered as a child. Don also reminded the public that although this revelation may have come as a shock for many people, he had been open about his sexuality with friends, family, and close colleagues for many years. Nonetheless, this public announcement made him one of the few homosexual African Americans in the broadcasting industry. In 2017, Don Lemon started dating Tim Malone, a real estate agent. The couple announced in 2019 that they had become engaged.
Legal Issues
In 2019, a bartender working at a bar in New York accused Lemon of assaulting him. The incident took place in 2018, and Lemon allegedly "rubbed his own genitals" before shoving his fingers in the face of the plaintiff. The bartender's name is Dustin Hice, and he claims that Lemon has made numerous offers to settle out of court for six-figure sums. Publicly, Don has denied all of Hice's claims.
Real Estate
In 2020, it was reported that Don was selling his home in Harlem for $1.75 million. The chic condo features 1,400 square feet of living space, two bedrooms, and 2.5 bathrooms. Lemon originally acquired the condo seven years prior for $1.5 million, which would suggest that he's comfortable with a relatively small profit margin on this sale. In fact, he's probably simply aiming to break even.
Additional features include a large balcony with panoramic views of Harlem and floor-to-ceiling windows. Lemon had previously owned another unit in the same building, which he sold for $970,000 in 2016. He also owns a home in the Hamptons neighborhood of Sag Harbor that he purchased in 2016 for $3 million. Today the home is worth an estimated $4.5 million.
