What is Pat Sajak's net worth? 'Celebrity Wheel of Fortune' host with Guinness World Record's income will stun you
It's time for the most famous carnival wheel to go spinning again! 'Celebrity Wheel of Fortune' is returning with its highly anticipated Season 38 and it's an exciting time because it's not just host Pat Sajak spinning the wheel, but also a wide range of celebrities, including the likes of Chris Harrison, Jennie Garth, and more. But fans couldn't be more thrilled about the upcoming season, it does bring to mind the immense popularity and roaring income longtime host Sajak must have earned from the show. Not to forget, with his past career spanning through being a weatherman and an actor, Sajak's net worth lands at an massive $70M, with his salary from the game show making up for a whopping $15M annually.
As of 2020, Sajak, 74, earns $5M more than co-host Vanna White, who has been by his side on the job since 1982 taping four days a month, six shows a day. Sajak expectedly makes $312,500 per work day or roughly $52,083 per show. His stint began just a year before White's in 1981 when he took over from Chuck Woolery and caused quite the stir within NBC with network president Fred Silverman rejecting him for being "too local". In response, Merv Griffin, who had offered Sajak the job, decided to shut the entire show down and refused to film new episodes until the current host was hired.
Sajak's broadcast career began in college with WEDC's 6 am time slot. He joined the US Army in 1968 during the Vietnam war and deejayed on Armed Forces Radio during his service. Sajak was known for his signature broadcast kickstarter every morning, "Good morning, Vietnam!" and later, in the early '70s, he DJ'd in Nashville in the 3-5 pm time slot as the afternoon personality. In the late '70s, Sajak's career finally shifted to the entertainment industry with a full-time weatherman position at KNBC-TV in Los Angeles in 1977.
Sajak's other income includes his film appearances, most notably the 1982 comedy film 'Airline II: The Sequel'. He also had his own late-night talk show on CBS, 'The Pat Sajak Show', during the 1989-1990 run, of which he had left the daytime version of 'Wheel of Fortune'. He has also appeared on 'Super Password' as a guest host multiple times, as well as on 'Password Plus' from 1984-1989. Shows such as 'Dream House' and 'Just Men!' have also seen him as guest-host, along with 'Live with Regis and Kelly' where he substitutes in place of Regis Philbin several times. The year 2003 saw Sajak host the 'Pat Sajak Weekend' on Fox News as well as 'The Pat Sajak Baseball Hour', which was a syndicated radio sports talk show. In 2005, Sajak became an investor in the Golden Baseball League — an independent professional baseball league.
Sajak also serves as vice chairman on the board of trustees and serves at Hillsdale College in southern Michigan. His other professional engagements include being the External Director of Eagle Publishing, as well as being a regular podcast and poster contributor on the blog ricochet.com — both conservative platforms. Sajak, who's the author of several puzzle games including 2007's 'Lucky Letters', has also been writing for the National Review Online since 2010.
Having hosted both the daytime and the syndicated evening versions of the game show in the last 30+ years, 2018 saw Sajak become the longest running host in the category, along with a Guinness World Records nod on March 22, 2019. With a 'Wheel of Fortune' contract through 2022, Sajak already has three Emmys and even a Star on Hollywood's walk of fame.
'Celebrity Wheel of Fortune' Season 38 premieres on Thursday, January 7, 2021, at 8 pm only on ABC.
