A radio host can be described as someone who has an on-air position in radio broadcasting or rather hosts a radio show. A radio personality can be a talk radio host, AM/FM radio show host or a satellite radio program host.
Although it might seem radio is a thing of past, you will be surprised how much audience we still have today who eagerly wait and enjoy their favourite radio shows. In a country as vast as India, broadcast radio reaches 99 per cent population and has an overwhelming audience in rural India. Radio has survived generations of technological advances and has managed to keep on developing their content according to the newer generations. And most of its credit goes to the radio hosts or as Indians like to call it, Radio Jockey.
This article will provide insights into the following topics:
- Who is the highest paid radio presenter in Australia?
- How much do Siriusxm radio hosts make?
- How much do local radio hosts make?
- Who are the top 10 radio talk show hosts?
Here is a list of top-paid radio hosts from all across the world.
1. Howard Stern
Earnings: $90 million
This American radio and TV personality and an author made it to the highest-paid radio hosts due to his famous radio show, The Howards Stern Show. It was nationally syndicated on a terrestrial radio show from 1986 to 2005. He has a contract with Sirius XM Satellite Radio since 2006 which is currently said to pay eight-figured salary. He is also known as one of the judges on America's Got Talent and also had his photography featured in Hamptons and WHIRLS magazines. The 66 years old celebrity, first time became the highest-paid radio host in 2004 after signing a five-year deal with Sirius. He had also hosted and produced many late-night television shows, pay-per-view events and home videos and has also named himself 'King of all the Media'.
2. Rush Limbaugh
Earnings: $84.5 million
Best known for his radio show, The Rush Limbaugh Show, Limbaugh is also a conservative political commentator, television show host and author. The Limbaugh Show which has been broadcasted on AM and FM radio stations since 1988 has an estimated weekly audience of 15.5 million and has been tagged as Most-listened-to radio show in the US by the Talkers Magazine. The same magazine also ranked him as the greatest ever radio talk show host in 2002. He has also been an inductee of National Radio Hall of Fame and the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame and has also received Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2020 by President Donald Trump.
3. Ryan Seacrest
Earnings: $74 million
Seacrest's first radio project was in 2004 when he was chosen as a new host to radio program America Top 40, syndicated by Premiere Radio Network. The following month of the same year he signed up for another radio show, a Los Angeles radio station KIIS-FM's morning show called On Air With Ryan Seacrest. He is also popular for hosting American Idol and co-hosted Live with Kelly and Ryan. In 2006, he also became co-host and executive producer of Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve. These shows also led him to many Emmy Award nomination, winning one for producing Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution in 2010. He was also included into the Library of American Broadcasting Foundation's 16th Annual Giants of Broadcasting & Electronic Arts in 2018.
4. Sean Hannity
Earnings: $36 million
Known for his The Sean Hannity Show, he is a big name in conservative politics and also hosts a commentary program, Hannity, on Fox News. He had hosted many shows like WVNN in Athens, Alabama, WGST in Atlanta and WABC in New York. Since 2014, Hannity has worked at WOR. He has received a degree by Liberty University. He has also been admitted to the National Radio Hall of Fame since November 2017.
He has always been surrounded with controversies and has promoted few conspiracy theories related to birtherism, social distancing and climate change among others. He has always been President Trump's proponent and an ally making him one of the most-watched hosts in cable news and most-listened-to hosts in talk radio.
5. Michael Savage
Earnings: $10million
Michael Alan Weiner or professionally known as Michael Savage is popular for hosting the show by the same name The Savage Nation. This nationally syndicated talk show aired on Talk Radio Network across the US until 2012 when Cumulus Media Networks took it over. In 2009, it was the second most-listened-to radio talk show in the country with an audience of over 20 million listeners on 400 stations. Like most of his predecessors, Savage, too, is a bestseller author, conservative political commentator and centre of conspiracy theories. He is also a nutritionist and covers topics like medicine, nutrition, music, literature, history, theology, philosophy among others in his show. He is a recipient of the Freedom of Speech Award by Talkers Magazine. He is reportedly paid millions for hosting The Savage Nation, broadcasted by American Radio network Westwood One.
6. Glenn Beck
Earnings: $8.5 million
Glenn Lee Beck is famous for his Glenn Beck Radio Program and has also hosted Glenn Beck television program which currently airs on the radio network TheBlaze. He is the CEO, founder, and owner of Mercury Radio Arts which is also the parent company to The Blaze. He has written six bestsellers. He also makes a small fortune annually from his publishing imprint Mercury Ink, which he owns in partnership with Simon & Schuster.
7&8. Kyle Sandilands and Jackie' O' Henderson
Earnings: $5.7 million each(estimated)
These two are famous Australian radio hosts of the weekday morning radio program, The Kyle and Jackie O Show on Sydney's radio station KIIS 106.5. They entered the list of top-paid radio hosts last year after getting a hike according to their five-year contract with ARN. They have also co-hosted Big Brother.
Sandilands was also seen judging Australian Idol from 2005-2009, and Australia's Got Talent in 2010. He also sat on the Judges panel of The X Factor, Australia. He had made an appearance in a motion picture, Fat Pizza vs Housos.
Jackie O is also popular for hosting other radio programs like The Hot Hits Live from LA. She presented Hot30 Countdown and Take 40 Australia. She was also seen presenting Australian Princess, and celebrity prank show Surprise Surprise Gotcha. She also made an appearance in a comedy series The Nation in 2007. In 2018, she recorded "Honey Money" which reached number one on the Australian iTunes chart.
9. Mike Golic
Earnings: $5million
Co-host of ESPN Radio's Mike & Mike and Golic and Wingo, Golic is also an ESPN College Football analyst and a former National Football League (NFL) defensive lineman. He was the colour commentator for the Arena Football League (1996–98, 2007–present) and the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars pre-season games (1995–98). He is also the host of The Lighter Side of Sports, a long-running syndicated sports highlights, bloopers, and gag show. He also made an appearance on ESPN's mini-series Tilt and TV series Guiding Light in 2008. He was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in the Outstanding American category in 2015.
10. Dan Patrick
Earnings: $5million
He is famous for hosting The Dan Patrick Show broadcasted on Premiere Radio Networks and also co-hosted NBC's Football Night in America. He has been an anchor at weeknight and Sunday 11 p.m. edition of SportsCenter and has been part of ESPN for 18 years. He has also made cameos in many movies and TV shows like The Definite Maybe, Grown Ups and Blended, thanks to his longtime friendship with Adam Sandler.
Conclusion
Due to limited data available about the net worth of radio personalities, this list contains only hosts from America and Australia. It is possible there might be more competent celebrities who couldn't make to the list because of their low profile in mainstream media.
Co-author: Shreya Arya
A digital marketing enthusiast with experience in HR and hospital management, Shreya has wide interests ranging from philosophy, psychology to latest trends in automation. She is also a freelance content writer and loves lending beautiful words to ideas and feelings.
