Scott Rasmussen Net Worth

What Is Scott Rasmussen's Net Worth and Salary?

Scott Rasmussen is an American pollster, political analyst, media entrepreneur and author who has a net worth of $20 million.

Scott Rasmussen is perhaps unique in having helped create two nationally recognized media brands in completely different industries. In the late 1970s, he co-founded ESPN with his father, Bill Rasmussen, helping turn an idea for a regional sports channel into America's first 24-hour sports television network. Decades later, he became one of the country's best-known political pollsters as the founder of Rasmussen Reports.

Rasmussen did not become enormously wealthy from ESPN because he and his family lost control of the company shortly after its launch, years before the network became a multibillion-dollar media property. He subsequently built businesses around polling and emerging technology. In 1999, his first major polling company was acquired in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $3.3 million. He later founded Rasmussen Reports, which attracted private-equity investment in 2009 and became one of America's most frequently cited polling organizations. Rasmussen left the company in 2013 and went on to establish additional media and polling ventures, including RMG Research and the Napolitan Institute.

Early Life

Scott William Rasmussen was born on March 30, 1956, at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. He is the son of Lois and sports broadcasting entrepreneur Bill Rasmussen.

Scott grew up largely in Massachusetts and Connecticut as his father worked in radio, television and professional sports. He attended the University of Connecticut, where one of his professors was political scientist and pollster Everett Ladd. Rasmussen later earned a bachelor's degree in history from DePauw University in 1986 and an executive MBA from Wake Forest University's Babcock Graduate School of Management.

His exposure to both sports and polling began early. As a teenager, Rasmussen became interested in political consultant Joe Napolitan's work on public opinion. Meanwhile, his father's broadcasting career gave him firsthand experience with sports media.

Founding ESPN

In 1978, both Scott and Bill Rasmussen were working for the World Hockey Association's New England Whalers when the organization eliminated much of its front office. Their unemployment provided the unexpected catalyst for ESPN.

During a conversation while driving through Connecticut, Bill and Scott began discussing the idea of a television service devoted entirely to sports. The original concept was much smaller than the network that eventually emerged. They initially imagined a channel focused primarily on Connecticut sports before realizing that satellite transmission could allow them to reach cable systems across the country.

The Rasmussens operated on extremely limited resources. The fledgling company was partly financed with a $9,000 credit-card advance, and father and son traveled around pitching cable companies, advertisers and investors on a concept many people considered unrealistic.

Scott played an important role in researching the emerging cable industry and estimating how rapidly cable television could expand. He later recalled projecting that ESPN might reach 30 million cable households by the end of the 1980s. Even that seemingly aggressive prediction proved conservative; the network was approaching 60 million homes by the end of the decade.

Getty Oil ultimately supplied the capital that allowed ESPN to launch, committing tens of millions of dollars and eventually owning 85% of the company. ESPN went on the air on September 7, 1979, opening with the first episode of "SportsCenter."

The financing that made ESPN possible also meant the Rasmussens surrendered control. Scott and Bill were pushed out of the company in 1980. As a result, Scott did not retain a meaningful ownership position while ESPN subsequently grew into one of the most lucrative assets in television.

Photo by Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

From Sports Media to Polling

After ESPN, Rasmussen pursued several entrepreneurial ventures. He was involved with Enterprise Radio Network and other communications businesses before increasingly turning his attention toward public-opinion research.

During the 1990s, Rasmussen became involved with the congressional term-limits movement and began conducting surveys. He developed automated telephone polling methods that made it possible to conduct polls much more quickly and inexpensively than traditional interviewer-based surveys.

He founded GrassRoots Research, which evolved into Rasmussen Research and operated a polling service called "Portrait of America." Rasmussen also developed the proprietary Rasmussen Automated Polling System.

In November 1999, British Internet company TownPagesNet.com acquired Research Sales Inc., the corporate entity behind Rasmussen Research. According to securities filings, the buyer issued 551,302 shares for all of the company's stock. Those shares were valued at approximately $3.3 million at the time of the acquisition.

The transaction was an all-stock deal rather than a $3.3 million cash payment to Rasmussen personally, and the consideration was divided among the company's shareholders. Nevertheless, it represented Rasmussen's first documented multimillion-dollar corporate exit.

Rasmussen Reports

Rasmussen returned to independent polling and founded Rasmussen Reports in 2003. He initially operated the business on a small scale, reportedly working from an office above his garage.

The Internet allowed Rasmussen to adopt a business model that differed from many traditional polling firms. Rather than relying exclusively on commissioned surveys for political campaigns and corporate clients, Rasmussen Reports generated its own polls and distributed the results directly to readers. Revenue came from advertising, subscriptions and premium data products.

The company became especially prominent during presidential election cycles. Rasmussen appeared regularly on Fox News, CNN, CNBC and other television networks and became one of the country's most recognizable pollsters.

In 2009, private-equity firm Noson Lawen Partners made a major growth-capital investment in Rasmussen Reports. Financial terms were not disclosed. The investment funded an expansion of the company's polling, subscription and media operations, and Noson Lawen ultimately became the majority shareholder.

Rasmussen remained president until 2013, when he left following disagreements with the company's investors and board over business strategy. Rasmussen Reports continued operating under its private-equity owners, while Scott has repeatedly emphasized that he has had no involvement with the company since his departure.

Later Businesses, RMG Research and Media Work

After leaving Rasmussen Reports, Scott established Rasmussen Media Group and launched the digital-media venture Styrk. He later founded RMG Research, returning to the polling business under a new corporate name.

RMG conducts political and public-opinion research and has expanded into sentiment analysis and technology-driven research. Rasmussen has also served as an editor-at-large for Ballotpedia and developed the Napolitan Institute, an organization named in honor of political consultant Joe Napolitan.

His media work has included "The Scott Rasmussen Show," political commentary, syndicated columns and frequent television appearances.

Rasmussen has also built a career as an author and paid speaker. His books include "The People's Money," "The Sun Is Still Rising" and "Out of Touch: The Elite One Percent and the Battle for America's Soul." "The People's Money" became a New York Times bestseller.

Business Transactions and Assets

Despite his association with ESPN, Scott Rasmussen's documented wealth comes primarily from his later entrepreneurial career rather than the sports network.

His Rasmussen Research business was acquired for roughly $3.3 million of stock in 1999, while the later Rasmussen Reports transaction involved an undisclosed investment from a private-equity firm that became the controlling shareholder. There is no publicly documented nine-figure sale involving Scott Rasmussen.

Rasmussen has earned additional income over several decades through polling, consulting, books, television, licensing, speaking engagements and ownership of private businesses including RMG Research. He is not publicly known for maintaining an extensive collection of trophy real estate, private aircraft or other conspicuous assets commonly associated with a nine-figure fortune.

Personal Life

Scott is married to Laura Rasmussen, who, like him, is a DePauw University graduate. They have two adult children and have lived in Texas.

For decades, Rasmussen had relatively little public association with ESPN despite his role in creating the network. In later years, ESPN increasingly acknowledged both Scott and Bill as its co-founders. Scott participated extensively in the 2026 documentary "Sports Heaven: The Birth of ESPN," recounting the creation of the network, its chaotic launch and the events that led to his departure.

Although Rasmussen missed out on the extraordinary fortune that retaining a large stake in ESPN might have produced, he went on to build an unusually varied entrepreneurial career of his own, first applying new technology to sports television and later doing much the same thing to the polling industry.

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