Barbara Walters Net Worth

What was Barbara Walters' Net Worth and Salary?

Barbara Walters was an American broadcast journalist, author, and television personality who had a net worth of $170 million at the time of her death. Barbara Walters died on December 30, 2022, at the age of 93. During her multi-decade career, Walters hosted several television shows, including "20/20," "The View" (which she also created and produced), and the "ABC Evening News." Walters began her career as a writer and researcher for "The Today Show" in 1961 and became the show's co-host in 1974. She was the first woman to co-host an American news program, and in 1976, she became the first woman to co-anchor a network evening news program. Barbara is also known for her annual "Barbara Walters' 10 Most Fascinating People" special and has published two books, "How to Talk with Practically Anybody about Practically Anything" (1970) and "Audition: A Memoir" (2008).

Early Life

Barbara Jill Walters was born on September 25, 1929, in Boston, Massachusetts. Her parents, Dena and Louis, were both Jewish, and Lou managed the Latin Quarter nightclub in Boston before expanding into a chain of nightclubs in 1937. He later became a Broadway producer and Entertainment Director for the Tropicana Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, which meant Barbara grew up surrounded by celebrities. Walters had an older sister, Jacqueline, who was mentally disabled and passed away in 1985, and a brother, Burton, who died of pneumonia when Barbara was very young.

Education

The family moved several times, and Barbara attended Lawrence School in Brookline, Massachusetts, Ethical Culture Fieldston School and Birch Wathen School in New York City, and Miami Beach High School in Florida, graduating in 1947. She went on to Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers, New York, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1951.

Early Career in Television

After college, Walters spent a year working at a small advertising agency before moving into television. She began at NBC affiliate WNBT-TV, where she wrote press releases and produced a children's program called "Ask the Camera." She later produced the "Eloise McElhone Show" on WPIX until its cancellation in 1954, then joined CBS to write for "The Morning Show."

Rise at "The Today Show"

In 1961, Walters joined NBC's "The Today Show," first as a writer and researcher. She later appeared on camera as the program's "Today Girl," covering weather and lighter stories. Her skills as a reporter-at-large allowed her to develop, write, and edit her own segments. In 1974, after the death of co-host Frank McGee, Walters broke barriers by becoming the first female co-host of "The Today Show." She also hosted "Not for Women Only" from 1971 to 1976 on a local NBC affiliate.

Breaking Ground at ABC News

In 1976, Walters made headlines again when she became the first female co-anchor of the "ABC Evening News." Her on-air relationship with co-anchor Harry Reasoner was famously tense, as he often displayed his discomfort with her presence. Walters transitioned to "20/20" in 1979, reuniting with former "Today" colleague Hugh Downs. She became co-anchor in 1984 and remained a leading voice on the program until her retirement in 2004.

Creating "The View"

Walters launched a new chapter in her career with the creation of the daytime talk show "The View," which premiered in August 1997. The original panel included Walters, Meredith Vieira, Star Jones, Debbie Matenopoulos, and Joy Behar. Over time, the show featured many notable co-hosts, including Lisa Ling, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Rosie O'Donnell, Whoopi Goldberg, Sherri Shepherd, and Jenny McCarthy. "The View" won a Daytime Emmy Award for Best Talk Show in 2003, and Walters and her co-hosts won the Daytime Emmy for Best Talk Show Host in 2009. She retired from the show in May 2014 but returned occasionally as a guest host until 2015.

Iconic Interviews

Throughout her career, Walters became famous for securing landmark interviews. She spoke with world leaders such as Anwar Al Sadat, Boris Yeltsin, Vladimir Putin, Margaret Thatcher, Fidel Castro, and multiple U.S. presidents. Her celebrity interviews were equally memorable, featuring figures like Michael Jackson, Katharine Hepburn, and Sir Laurence Olivier. Her 1999 interview with Monica Lewinsky attracted 74 million viewers, making it the second most-watched interview in television history behind Oprah Winfrey's 1993 sit-down with Michael Jackson at his Neverland Ranch.

Later Work and Retirement

Even after her formal retirement, Walters remained active. She conducted interviews with Donald and Melania Trump, Mary Kay Letourneau, and Peter Rodger, whose son committed the 2014 Isla Vista attacks. She also hosted "American Scandals" on Investigation Discovery in 2015 and continued her tradition of presenting the "10 Most Fascinating People" specials through 2015.

(Photo by Clarence Elie-Rivera/Getty Images)

Personal Life

Barbara married business executive Robert Henry Katz on June 20, 1955, and the union was annulled in 1957 after 11 months of marriage. She married theatrical producer Lee Guber on December 8, 1963, and they divorced in 1976; they adopted a daughter, Jacqueline, together in 1968. Walters was married to Lorimar Television CEO Merv Adelson from 1981 to 1984 and from 1986 to 1992. In college, she dated lawyer Roy Cohn. In the 1970s, Barbara had a relationship with Alan Greenspan (who would become U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman in 1987), and she dated Senator John Warner in the 1990s. In 2007, Walters dated Pulitzer Prize-winning gerontologist Robert Neil Butler.

In 2010, Walters took six months off from "The View" and "Here's Barbara," her Sirius XM show, to recover from open heart surgery; she had been suffering from aortic valve stenosis, and a faulty aortic valve needed to be replaced. The surgery was a success, and Barbara returned to both jobs in September. She retired from both shows in 2014.

Barbara Walters passed away in her home in Manhattan on December 30, 2022, at the age of 93, after suffering from dementia in her later years.

Awards and Honors

During her impressive career, Walters has been honored with many awards, including the Overseas Press Club's highest award, the President's Award, the Lowell Thomas Award for a career in journalism excellence, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Women's Media Foundation, and the Muse Award from New York Women in Film and Television. She has also won a Primetime Emmy Award, 3 Daytime Emmy Awards (as well as the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000), 7 News and Documentary Emmy Awards, a GLAAD Media Award, and a Television Critics Association Award. Barbara was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame in 1989 and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2007, and "TV Guide" listed her at #34 on their 1996 "50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time" list.

In January 2023, ABC aired the special "Our Barbara" as a tribute to the late broadcaster.

NYC Mansion

For three decades up til her death, Barbara Walters lived in a co-op NYC building located at 944 Fifth Avenue. Her apartment was an 11-room unit, including a library, formal dining room, dressing room, and large living room that directly overlooks Central Park. Barbara's estate listed her longtime apartment for sale in April 2023 for $19.75 million. The asking price was lowered to $17 million in early 2024. Her estate ultimately accepted $14.999 million in July 2024.

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