What is Howard Stern’s net worth today? Come into the world of Howard Stern, one of the most famous radio hosts ever. Stern’s story, from his humble beginnings to becoming the “King of All Media,” has captivated people all over the world. Stern has a huge net worth, which we find out about in this article about money and power. Come with us as we get a better look at the man behind the mic and the empire he’s built, showing you Howard Stern as a true businessman.
What is Howard Stern’s Net Worth Today?
Learn about the life of Howard Stern, the $650 million radio and TV host. Stern was the first “shock jock,” and his honest and risky style changed radio.
Stern stood out in his early years as a DJ for rock stations and host of radio talk shows in the late 1970s and early 1980s because he was always honest. Even though he was honest, it was hard for him to keep his audience and money as he switched radio stations. Stern’s luck changed when he joined WNBC in Washington, D.C., where his tense relationship with management and racy on-air antics made him famous all over the country. Stern’s meteoric rise began when his WNBC show had the most viewers.
From the middle of the 1980s to the early 2000s, Stern’s morning radio show was the best. He made a lot of money with late-night talk shows, best-selling books, pay-per-views, albums, and a run for governor of New York. Stern moved “The Howard Stern Show” into a new era when he signed a $500 million deal with Sirius Satellite Radio in 2005, ending his time on traditional radio. Sirius has given him a lot of money, including an extra $600 million in 2020.
Stern makes a lot of money—$120 million a year—but a lot of it goes to making the show and paying his staff, like Robin Quivers and Gary Dell-Abate. Stern makes $40 million a year after taxes and other costs. He does 120 shows a year and makes $333,333 each one, which is enough to buy a Ferrari every time.
Early Life
He was born in Queens, New York, on January 12, 1954. He came from nothing to become one of the most important people in broadcasting. Howard Stern grew up in a Jewish home with his parents, Ben and Ray Stern. His father worked as a radio engineer, and his mother was an office clerk and then an inhalation therapist.
Howard grew up in Roosevelt, New York, where he went to local schools and became very interested in many things, such as music and performing. Stern was very creative. He liked playing the piano and experimenting with marionettes. His summers at Camp Wel-Met sparked his love for radio, which had been a dream of his since he was five years old.
Stern stayed determined even though he had to deal with problems like bullying as a child. After moving to Rockville Center and graduating from South Side High School, he went to Boston University to continue his education. Stern had some trouble in school at first, but he eventually found his groove by getting involved with campus radio and improving his skills.
Stern got his first job as a professional radio host at WNTN in Massachusetts after getting his degree in broadcasting and film. His hard work and skill opened up more doors for him, and in 1976, he graduated with honors from Boston University.
Stern has been an icon in the radio industry for a long time because of how much he loves the medium. Howard Stern’s career, from his early days on local radio stations to his groundbreaking time at SiriusXM, shows how hard work and passion can help you reach your goals.
Career
✅1976–1981
Howard Stern set out to get into the radio business after he graduated. At first, he wasn’t sure of his skills, so he got a job at Briarcliff Manor, New York’s WRNW, a progressive rock station. Still, Stern had doubts, so he looked at other career paths for a short time. One of them was working at an advertising agency, but the job ended quickly.
Stern went back to WRNW when he realized that radio was his true calling. His hard work and professionalism impressed the station’s management. Soon, he got a full-time job that cemented his place in the field.
Stern’s career took a big step forward when he joined the rock station WCCC in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1979. There, he got better at being a morning show host by doing crazy things and making bold comments. Stern’s new way of doing things got him a lot of attention and praise, including a Billboard Award and respect in the industry.
Stern had some setbacks along the way, even though he was successful. After a disagreement over pay, he quit WCCC and had a hard time finding his next job. He finally got a job at WWWW in Detroit, Michigan, where he continued to push the limits of radio with his open and honest style.
A format change cut Stern’s time at WWWW short, but he never gave up on his radio dreams. Even though other stations made him offers, he stayed true to his vision, which set him up for future success in the business.
✅1981–1985
Howard Stern’s career kept going, taking him to new heights and giving him problems he didn’t expect. Stern had to make a very important choice after his successful time at WWDC in Washington, D.C., where he quickly rose in the ratings. He turned down a lucrative offer to extend his contract in favor of a chance that was closer to his dream of taking over the New York City radio scene.
Stern signed a big, five-year deal worth one million dollars to work for WNBC in New York City in 1982. Sharp disagreements quickly arose between Stern and the station’s management, which led to his abrupt firing a few months later. Stern’s unfiltered and controversial style didn’t fit with what the station wanted, even though he was becoming more popular and getting good reviews.
Stern didn’t let setbacks stop him from pushing the limits and reaching more people. He signed a new deal with WNBC, but it didn’t last long. In 1985, he and his co-host Robin Quivers were fired without warning because of “conceptual differences.”
Stern’s strength and determination helped him rise even though he faced many problems. His fame grew across the country after he was on Late Night with David Letterman and in People magazine. But he had a lot of problems with management at WNBC, and they put limits on what he could say.
Stern’s star kept rising because he was always true to himself and honest. He set the stage for his next big thing in radio, which would make him an even bigger star in the world of broadcasting.
✅1985–1993
But Howard Stern wouldn’t be quiet after he left WNBC. He instead kept interacting with his fans through live stage shows at clubs, keeping a strong bond with them while he thought about his next move. Stern turned down job offers in Los Angeles because he was determined to beat NBC and chose to stay in New York.
Stern signed a groundbreaking five-year deal with Infinity Broadcasting in October 1985. This secured his position as the afternoon host at WXRK in New York City. Stern eventually moved to the morning show in February 1986 because he wanted to be better than his former boss. This set the stage for his rise to radio stardom.
People liked Stern’s bold and unfiltered style, which helped spread his show to over 60 markets in North America. His dominance in the New York market from 1994 to 2001 cemented his reputation as a radio powerhouse, and at its peak, 20 million people listened to him.
Stern moved from radio to TV, where he hosted a number of specials and shows that showed off his sarcastic humor and charming personality even more. Stern’s influence kept growing, even though the FCC looked closely at his content and fined him. He even called himself the “King of All Media.”
With his growing fame, Stern’s goals grew. He tried pay-per-view events, home videos, and even plans for a movie based on his famous character, Fartman. He negotiated with Fox in 1993 to host a late-night talk show. This was another important moment in his long and successful career, and it made him even more of a media outsider.
✅1993–1994
After “The Adventures of Fartman,” Howard Stern began a new project that would change the course of his career. When Stern signed a good deal with Simon & Schuster in early 1993, he wrote “Private Parts.” Stern put his whole heart and soul into the project with Larry “Ratso” Sloman as a collaborator and Judith Regan as an editor. It was an instant hit on October 7, 1993.
The first print of “Private Parts” was so popular that it sold out in hours. Stern was a literary giant because of the honest stories he told. Stern’s book signing in New York City drew about 10,000 fans. As Stern’s fame grew, he got praise from everyone. On the cover of Rolling Stone, it said that he was a cultural icon. For being creative and getting a lot of viewers, Stern was named Nationally Syndicated Air Personality of the Year by Billboard.
Stern’s popularity grew when he started doing pay-per-view shows and TV shows. His sarcastic tone and content that pushed the limits of what was acceptable sometimes caused trouble, like “The Miss Howard Stern New Year’s Eve Pageant.” Stern unexpectedly ran for governor of New York in 1994, which caused a lot of discussion. Even though he dropped out of the race, his political goals affected how people felt about him.
Stern started the Howard Stern Production Company. In the mid-1990s, E! showed highlights of Stern’s radio show during the week. Stern’s popularity grew over the course of the decade, peaking with “The Howard Stern Show,” which kept people interested for eleven unforgettable years until it ended on July 8, 2005.
✅1995–1997
Howard Stern caused a stir in April 1995 when he talked about the tragic death of singer Selena and Mexican Americans. People were angry at what he said, especially in Texas and Mexican American communities. He said mean things about Spanish people’s taste in music and criticized Selena’s music. Someone in Harlingen, Texas, called the police and issued an arrest warrant for Stern on charges of disorderly conduct. However, Stern was never actually arrested.
Stern didn’t let the negative reactions stop him from pushing the limits of his career. He made a good deal with ReganBooks to write his second book, “Miss America.” The book, which talked about many things, including his cybersex experiences, his meetings with famous people like Michael Jackson, and his run for Governor of New York, was an instant hit when it came out. It broke sales records and went to the top of The New York Times Best-Seller list.
The production of Stern’s biographical comedy based on his first book, “Private Parts,” gave his film career a boost. After a long time in the works, the movie finally came out in 1997 to great reviews and huge crowds, opening weekend at the top of the box office charts. Stern’s soundtrack album for the movie was also a big hit; it made it to number one on the Billboard 200 chart.
Stern had legal problems in 1997 when he sued Ministry of Film Inc. for breach of contract and fraud in hiring him for a movie project. This was despite all of his successes. Stern eventually settled the lawsuit, but only got a small part of the money he originally requested. Stern stayed a controversial figure in entertainment through all of these ups and downs, constantly pushing the limits and questioning the norms.
✅1998–2004
Around April 1998, Howard Stern stirred controversy by announcing his return to TV on Saturday nights with a new show titled “
.” CBS affiliates aired the show, which featured exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, animated segments, and taped highlights from his radio show. Despite high hopes for the show, it encountered issues as affiliates dropped it due to its adult content. In November 2001, the show concluded after three seasons with the airing of its last episode.
During this time, Stern’s career kept changing as he tried his hand at executive producing for TV and movies. His work includes the animated show “Doomsday” for UPN, which never aired, and the sitcom “Son of the Beach,” which was a parody of “Baywatch” and aired on FX. In 2000, Stern also signed a new deal with Infinity Broadcasting that kept his radio show going for another five years.
Stern did more than just work on TV and radio. He also fought in court, suing ABC and Telepictures for $100 million over their reality show “Are You Hot?,” which he said copied his radio show “The Evaluators.” While Stern was looking into different TV projects, such as talks with ABC for an interview special and an animated show called “Howard Stern: The High School Years,” many of them ran into problems and were shelved in the end.
✅2004–2010
The 2004 Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show caused a lot of controversy, which made people pay more attention to inappropriate content on radio and TV. Howard Stern felt like he couldn’t be creative because of this crackdown on content, especially since station managers tightened control.
Stern’s response was to sign a groundbreaking five-year deal with Sirius Satellite Radio in 2004. This was the start of a new era in radio. Stern had the freedom he wanted because Sirius was a paid service and not subject to the FCC’s rules. In 2005, his last live show on regular TV or radio aired.
Stern’s first deal with Sirius was worth a huge $500 million, and it included a lot of money for staff, production, and programming. Along with Howard 100 and Howard 101, he started Howard 100 News, a team that covers daily stories about the show. Stern also lost his contract with E! and started Howard Stern On Demand, which later became HowardTV, to air uncensored episodes of his Sirius radio show.
Sirius built a state-of-the-art studio and office space in New York City to fit his new business. Stern’s popularity kept growing, and he got bonuses for getting more subscribers than planned. Time magazine and Forbes also gave him praise.
But leaving terrestrial radio wasn’t easy. He had to go through some legal trouble. CBS Radio sued Stern, saying he used CBS airtime to promote Sirius during his last few months with the station. As a result of a settlement, Sirius paid CBS $2 million for the rights to air Stern’s radio shows from 1985 to the present. Stern called the lawsuit a personal grudge.
✅2010–Present
Howard Stern renewed his deal with SiriusXM for another five years in December 2010. Under the new terms, he can only do three live radio shows a week instead of five. Stern and his agent, Don Buchwald, sued SiriusXM for $300 million in March 2011, saying they hadn’t received extra annual bonuses even though Stern met subscriber growth goals. Judge Barbara Kapnick threw out the lawsuit in April 2012, which meant Stern and Buchwald could not file another lawsuit against the company. On their second attempt, they also failed to survive an appeal.
Stern did other things during this time, like photography. In 2011, he announced that he would be back on network TV as a judge on America’s Got Talent for its seventh season. Besides the last season, he was on the show for three more years before leaving in 2015 to focus on his radio show more.
Legal battles notwithstanding, Stern’s career continued to grow, earning him honors such as induction into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2012 and, with Simon Cowell, Forbes’ recognition as one of America’s highest-paid TV personalities. He made a new deal with SiriusXM in December 2015 that gave him five more years to host his radio show.
Stern has been in the news a lot lately for being outspoken, like when he criticized President Trump or talked about problems from his past, like when he used racial slurs. He wrote his third book, “Howard Stern Comes Again,” which came out in 2019. In June 2022, he said he might run for president again if Donald Trump wins the Republican nomination.
FCC Fines
Indecent content on The Howard Stern Show led to fines of two and a half million dollars from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for radio stations that played it from 1990 to 2004. Stern blamed the Bush administration for the rise in FCC fines and closer scrutiny of radio broadcasts after the controversy over the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show in February 2004. Stern was very brave that year when he openly backed John Kerry for president and told his listeners to stand up against Bush’s presidency.
Salary and Contracts
Before Stern joined Sirius, the satellite service had 600,000 subscribers but only made $13 million a year, so it lost $226 million a year. Today, 35 million people pay for the combined SiriusXM service, which brings in $7.2 billion in revenue and makes $1.8 billion in profits. Howard has complete freedom of speech on Sirius, where the FCC can’t reach him. Analysts say that 10-15% of Sirius customers only signed up for the service to listen to Stern.
Stern became one of the highest-paid radio hosts when he signed a $500 million deal with Sirius in 2004 for five years. Stern got eighty million dollars in cash and $20 million in stock as part of the deal. A lot of money. That one hundred billion dollars would also cover the costs of making his show, such as paying the staff. Stern may have kept $50 million for himself. Stern was making $30 million a year at Viacom to broadcast on terrestrial radio right before he joined Sirius.
He signed a new $500 million, five-year deal in 2010. He signed a new 12-year deal with Sirius in December 2015. According to reports, Stern will get $80 million a year from this new deal. This will cover his salary, the salaries of his staff, and the costs of making the show. Stern will have made more than $1 billion in salary at Sirius (not counting the cost of making the shows) by the time this latest deal is over. Besides that, he made a lot of money (before taxes) from terrestrial radio before 2005.
Howard confirmed on December 9, 2020, that he had signed a seven-year extension with Sirius worth an estimated $600 million. To cover all the costs of making the movie, that comes to $120 million.
Personal Life
Stern first met Alison Berns through a friend they both had at Boston University. Their wedding took place in Brookline, Massachusetts, on June 4, 1978. They were both 24 years old. In 1983, Emily Beth was born, in 1986, Debra Jennifer, and in 1993, Ashley Jade. In October 1999, they broke up. The divorce was friendly and ended in 2001.
In the few months after splitting up with Alison, Stern dated model Angie Everhart and actress Robin Givens. That’s when he met Beth Ostrosky. In 2000, Stern began dating Ostrosky, a model and TV host. Two years later, on October 3, 2008, at the Le Cirque restaurant in New York City, they pronounced their marriage official. Stern became the most fined radio host in history when the FCC fined station owners $2.5 million for content it found inappropriate.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder affects Stern. This man wrote about his struggle with OCD in his 1995 book “Miss America.” Transcendental Meditation is what he uses to deal with it. His parents have been using it since the early 1970s. Stern gave up meat and fish in 2012.
Stern and Ostrosky stand with the North Shore Animal League of America. The couple has taken in almost 900 cats between them. Their own four cats are named Bella, Yoda, Walter, and Pebble. Stern said in June 2022 that he would like to run for president again in 2024 if Donald Trump wins the Republican nomination.
Real Estate
Stern bought a unit on the 54th floor of the Millennium Tower on Manhattan’s Upper West Side for $4.9 million in 1998. The apartment was 4,000 square feet. Next, he paid $5.75 million for the 1,011-square-foot unit next door. He bought two units on the 53rd floor for $15.1 million in 2008. They are right below the 4,011-square-foot penthouse he already owns. This made the room bigger by 2,546 square feet. Stern paid twenty million dollars for a vacant lot in Southhampton, New York, in 2005. He built a huge custom mansion on the land.
Howard spent $52 million on a big house with 12 bedrooms and 3.25 acres of beach in Palm Beach, Florida, in 2013. Multiple buildings on Howard Stern’s Palm Beach home add up to 40,000 square feet, with the main mansion measuring just under 19,000 square feet. The house has beautiful columns, beautifully landscaped grounds, a wall that keeps water from the ocean from flooding the lawn, and a lovely pool in the middle of the property.
It set a record for the area when the house right next door to Howard’s Palm Beach home sold for $170 million in April 2023. Bob Stiller, the seller, became very rich thanks to Keurig coffee pods. Howard’s $170 million estate is about twice as big as Stiller’s, both in terms of living space square footage and land area. That makes it possible to say that Howard’s Palm Beach home is worth at least $300 million.
FAQ’s
1. How much money does Howard Stern have?
Howard Stern is estimated to have a net worth of around $650 million. This means he has accumulated a significant amount of wealth over the years.
2. How did Howard Stern become so rich?
Howard Stern made most of his money from his successful career in radio and television. He hosted a highly popular show called “The Howard Stern Show” on SiriusXM, and he’s also written books, appeared on TV, and invested in different businesses.
3. Is Howard Stern one of the highest-paid radio personalities?
Yes, Howard Stern is considered one of the highest-paid radio personalities because he’s had some really big contracts with SiriusXM. His salary has been among the highest in the radio industry.
4. What other things has Howard Stern done to make money?
Besides his radio work, Howard Stern has written books that have sold really well. He’s also worked on TV shows and invested in different projects, like his own digital media hub and real estate.
5. How does Howard Stern’s wealth compare to other famous people?
Howard Stern is really wealthy compared to many other celebrities. While he might not be as rich as some of the world’s top billionaires, he’s still one of the most successful people in entertainment.
6. Has Howard Stern ever had money problems?
Howard Stern has had some legal issues, like a lawsuit from CBS Radio. But overall, he’s been pretty successful in dealing with these challenges and continues to do well financially.
7. What do experts think about Howard Stern’s future finances?
Howard Stern’s wealth is likely to keep growing because he’s still really popular and has lots of different business interests. As long as he stays active in the entertainment world, he’ll probably keep making a lot of money.
Conclusion
To sum up, Howard Stern’s net worth shows how far he has come in the entertainment business. Stern has been a real trailblazer in the business, from his highly successful radio career to his work in TV, movies, and books. His enormous wealth shows how talented, creative, and smart he is as a businessman, and how much of an effect he has had on popular culture. Stern keeps coming up with new ideas and looking for new opportunities. His net worth shows how influential and important he is in the media and entertainment worlds, inspiring millions of fans around the world.