Anderson Cooper Net Worth

American television personality Anderson Cooper’s net worth is estimated to be approximately $50 million. Despite his status as a descendant of railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, and fashion designer and heiress Gloria Vanderbilt, very little of his wealth is inherited. Instead, this scion of the Vanderbilt family earned his wealth through his work as a journalist, political commentator, and freelance writer.

Anderson Cooper’s salary, based on his contracts with the news organizations he works for, is approximately $12 million per year.

According to Cooper, nothing remains of the Vanderbilt fortune, and he had no trust fund growing up.

Who Is Anderson Cooper?

Anderson Cooper is an American broadcaster and political commentator. Cooper hosts the nationally syndicated talk show Anderson Live. Cooper also appears as a CNN anchor and reporter on the news desk and as a co-anchor of the CBS news show 60 Minutes.

Cooper also works as a freelance writer, with articles appearing on a number of sites. He has also written several books, including a biography, Dispatches from the Edge. His most recent book, Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty, traces the history of the Vanderbilt family from Cornelius Vanderbilt through its decline.

How Is Anderson Cooper Related to the Vanderbilt Family?

Anderson Cooper is the younger son of Gloria Vanderbilt, heiress of railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, and her third husband, the writer Wyatt Emory Cooper. Gloria Vanderbilt was married four times during her life and had four sons. Anderson Cooper’s brother, Carter Vanderbilt Cooper, committed suicide in 1988 by jumping from a 14th-floor apartment.

Gloria Vanderbilt was the daughter of Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt and Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt. She inherited a share in a trust fund worth $5 million at her father’s death. After her father’s death, she became the focus of a custody battle between her mother and her aunt, socialite, and arts patron, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney. Her aunt won the custody battle in 1934 and raised Gloria for eight years.

Gloria Vanderbilt had a varied career as an actress, artist, and fashion designer. At the time of her death in 2021, at age 95, the huge amounts of the earlier Vanderbilt fortune were largely depleted.  Anderson Cooper inherited the bulk of her estate, valued at $1.5 million.

What Has Anderson Cooper Done in His Career?

Anderson Cooper has been in the public eye from a young age. He appeared on The Tonight Show at age three. He first appeared as a model for Ralph Lauren at age ten. He also worked as a model for Calvin Klein and Macy’s.

In 1978, Cooper’s father, Wyatt Cooper, died at age 50 while undergoing a heart operation.

Cooper attended a private high school, the Dalton School, in Manhattan. He subsequently attended Yale University, where he majored in Political Science and International Relations. While a student at Yale, Cooper worked for two summers as an intern for the Central Intelligence Agency.

After graduation from college, Cooper began work as a fact-checker for Channel One, a small media company dedicated to producing news segments for middle and high school students.

Cooper decided to travel to Burma and Vietnam, making segments for Channel One as he visited both countries. He subsequently became a reporter for Channel One, covering various war-torn regions, including Rwanda, Bosnia, and Somalia.

In 1995, Cooper became a reporter and then a co-anchor on ABC News’ program World News Tonight. Other journalistic work soon followed, including serving as co-host of CNN’s New Year’s Eve coverage and as anchor of Anderson Cooper 3600.

In 2007, Cooper filled in as a guest host for Regis Philbin on Live With Regis and Kathy Lee and occasionally appears as a substitute. He also briefly served in April 2021 as a guest host on Jeopardy! after the death of Alex Trebek.

In 2011, Cooper appeared on Broadway as the voice of the narrator in the revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.

In 2016, Cooper was a moderator of one of the U.S. presidential debates between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. The second debate, moderated by Cooper and journalist Martha Raditz, drew an audience of about 66.5 million viewers.

What Journalism Awards Has Anderson Cooper Won?

Anderson Cooper has been frequently nominated for the Emmy Award. He has won no fewer than 17 times between 1997 and 2020 for various reports and segments.

In 2005, Cooper received the Peabody Award for his coverage of Hurricane Katrina. He also received the GLAAD Media Award for outstanding representation of the LGBT community on 6 occasions.

Other significant awards earned by Anderson Cooper include the Walter Cronkite Journalism Award, bestowed by the Arizona State University Department of Journalism, the Yale Undergraduate Lifetime Achievement Award, given by Yale University, and the National Order of Honour and Merit of the Republic of Haiti, given for his coverage of the 2010 earthquake.

What Is Anderson Cooper Doing Now?

Cooper continues to host Anderson Cooper 3600 for CNN, as well as continuing to serve as a correspondent for the CBS news program, 60 Minutes.

In 2020, Cooper, who is openly gay, and his partner, Benjamin Maisani, announced the birth of their first son, Wyatt Morgan Cooper, named for Cooper’s father, Wyatt Emory Cooper, and his maternal grandmother, Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt. In February 2022, Cooper announced the birth of his second son, Sebastian Luke Maisani-Cooper.

Although Cooper and Maisani have split, they will continue to share parenting duties. Cooper announced on the Howard Stern Show that he does not intend to leave any great inheritance to his children. Cooper says that this view of inherited wealth was handed down from his mother, Gloria Vanderbilt. He wants to emphasize to his children that there is no pot of gold and that they will need to make their own way in the world.

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