Ted Harbert Net Worth

What Is Ted Harbert's Net Worth and Salary?

Ted Harbert is an American broadcasting and television executive who has a net worth of $50 million.

During his impressive career, Ted Harbert served as the President and CEO of the Comcast Entertainment Group and as the Chairman of NBC and ABC. Harbert started his career as a student with Boston University's college radio station, where he worked with Howard Stern. After returning to New York, he worked for ABC. Ted then moved to Los Angeles and eventually became president of ABC Entertainment. He worked on popular programs such as "The Wonder Years," "The Practice," "NYPD Blue," and "My So-Called Life."

Harbert helped ABC move up to #1 in primetime programs in 1995 and become the most profitable network for several years. He was a producer for Dreamworks TV for two years before becoming president of NBC Studios in 1999. In 2004, Ted became the president of E! Networks, and in 2006, he became the president and CEO of Comcast Entertainment Group, which included E! and Style Network. Comcast acquired NBC Universal in 2011, and Harbert became responsible for advertising sales, NBC-owned television stations, network research, domestic television distribution, and NBC late night, among others. In 2013, he began overseeing NBC's late night programming. In 2016, Ted left NBCUniversal. In 1995, he won a Showmanship Award in the Television category at the ICG Publicists Awards. Harbert was also an executive producer on the ABC sitcom "It's Like, You Know…," which aired from 1999 to 2000.

Early Life

Ted Harbert was born Edward W. Harbert III on June 15, 1955, in New York, New York. His father was a television, advertising, and publishing executive. He is the son of Marna Harbert and advertising, television, and publishing executive Edward W. Harbert II, and he grew up with five siblings. As a child, Ted knew that he wanted a career in the television industry someday. In a 2005 Advertising Age article, he stated, "I started poring over the ratings in Nielsen 'Pocket Pieces' when I was 9 years old. Two years later, I learned there were jobs at networks that picked shows and decided where they went on the schedule. From that moment, I wanted one of those jobs."

Career

Harbert attended Boston University, and he worked with Howard Stern at the school's radio station, WTBU. He graduated magna cum laude from the Boston University School of Communications with a degree in film and broadcasting. After returning to Manhattan, he was hired by ABC. In 1981, Ted moved to Los Angeles and spent 20 years working for ABC there. He started out as a feature film coordinator and later became the president of the network. Harbert worked on ABC shows such as "The Wonder Years," "The Practice," "NYPD Blue," and "My So-Called Life," and during his time at the network, ABC led in primetime ratings in the mid-1990s for the first time in more than 15 years. ABC was also the most profitable network for several years. From 1997 to 1999, Ted was a producer for DreamWorks TV, then he became the president of NBC Studios, where he was in charge of daytime, primetime, and late night shows. He served as the president of E! Networks from 2004 to 2006, then he was promoted to a newly created position, CEO and president of the Comcast Entertainment Group. At Comcast, Harbert was in charge of E!, G4, Style Network, Comcast Entertainment Productions, and Comcast International Media Group. In 2010, he extended his contract with Comcast, and it was noted that E! had received record ratings for six years under his leadership.

In 2011, Comcast acquired NBC Universal, and Ted was subsequently responsible for NBC-owned TV stations, network research,  NBC advertising sales, domestic television distribution, affiliate relations, and NBCUniversal special events and digital entertainment. In 2013, Harbert began overseeing NBC's late night programming. The following year, "The Tonight Show" returned to New York City with a new host, Jimmy Fallon, and Seth Meyers took over Fallon's former time slot on "Late Night." In 2016, Ted left NBCUniversal. The company's CEO, Steve Burke, said of the news, "The businesses Ted oversees are firing on all cylinders and he is ready to look for his next challenge outside of NBCUniversal. Ted has had a great 40-year career in television and has played a significant role at Comcast and NBCUniversal since he joined E! in 2004. Ted's encyclopedic knowledge of the television business, creative instincts and enthusiasm have had a positive impact on so many of us." In 2000, Harbert played himself in the "Curb Your Enthusiasm" episode "Affirmative Action."

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Personal Life

Ted married former human resources executive Lisa Medrano in 2011, and he has two children, Will and Emily, from a previous marriage. He was in a relationship with comedian Chelsea Handler from 2005 to 2010. Harbert has served on the boards of the Paley Center for Media, the Friends of the Saban Free Clinic, the Urban Arts Partnership, the Hollywood Radio and Television Society, and City Year LA and on the executive committee of the School of Communications at Boston University.

Real Estate

In 2013, Ted paid $7.3 million for a New York City apartment. He listed the apartment for sale in August 2020 for $10 million. Harbert also owns a golf estate in Amenia, New York, which was acquired for $1.75 million. When he was dating Chelsea Handler, the two co-acquired a home in Marina Del Rey, California. Upon breaking up, Chelsea sold her stake to Ted, who sold the property a year later for $3.4 million.

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