What Is Bret Baier's Net Worth and Salary?
Bret Baier, an influential American television host, writer, and producer, boasts a net worth of $70 million. Operating as the host, writer, and producer of 'Special Report with Bret Baier' on Fox News, Bret has also held prominent roles as the network's Pentagon correspondent and Chief White House Correspondent. His yearly compensation from Fox News stands at $7 million. Notably, Bret made a cameo as himself in a 2017 episode of Netflix's 'House of Cards' and has authored several books, including 'Special Heart: A Journey of Faith, Hope, Courage and Love' (2014), 'Three Days in January' (2017), and 'Three Days in Moscow: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of the Soviet Empire' (2018).
Salary
For years, Bret Baier's annual salary at Fox News was $7 million. Following a contract extension in 2021, his salary surged to $20 million annually.
Early Life
Bret Baier, born William Bret Baier on August 4, 1970, in Rumson, New Jersey, was raised in a Catholic household and served as an altar boy. He attended the Marist School, a private Catholic institution in Atlanta, and graduated in 1988. Bret then pursued higher education at DePauw University in Indiana, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and political science in 1992. During his time at DePauw, he joined the Xi Chapter of the Sigma Chi fraternity.
Career
Bret Baier began his illustrious career at a TV station in Rockford, Illinois, before moving to WRAL-TV, a CBS affiliate in Raleigh, North Carolina. In 1998, after sending an audition tape to Fox News, he was appointed as the Atlanta bureau chief. On September 11, 2001, Baier's coverage of the Pentagon terrorist attack led to his recruitment as the network's Pentagon correspondent. Over his five-year tenure, he reported from Afghanistan 13 times and Iraq 12 times. By 2006, Bret ascended to the position of Chief White House Correspondent, covering George W. Bush's second term. In 2007, he began substituting for Brit Hume on 'Special Report,' ultimately succeeding Hume as the show's host in 2008.
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'Special Report with Bret Baier' premiered in January 2009. In 2012, he co-anchored 'America's Election HQ' with Megyn Kelly. Throughout his career, Bret has anchored over 30 Fox News political specials and reported from more than 70 countries. He has made numerous television appearances, including on 'Glenn Beck,' 'Happening Now,' 'The Real Story with Gretchen Carlson,' 'Fox and Friends,' 'Hannity,' 'Tucker Carlson Tonight,' and 'Outnumbered.' In 2011, Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group, released emails hinting at anti-Fox News bias in Barack Obama's administration. One of these emails from 2009 saw then-Deputy White House Communications Director Jen Psaki labeling Baier a 'lunatic.'
Personal Life
On October 9, 2004, Bret married Amy Hills. The couple has two sons: Paul, born on June 29, 2007, and Daniel, born on July 7, 2010. Paul, born with a potentially fatal heart defect, has undergone multiple open-heart surgeries. Before one of Paul's surgeries in 2008, President George W. Bush invited the Baier family to the White House and requested the White House physician to keep him informed about Paul's progress. A devout Roman Catholic, Bret attends Georgetown's Holy Trinity Catholic Church and was named a 'Significant Sig' by the Sigma Chi Fraternity in 2009.
Awards
Bret Baier's exemplary journalism has earned him numerous accolades. In 2016, he received the Kenneth Y. Tomlinson Award for Outstanding Journalism from the Robert Novak Journalism Fellowship Program. The following year, the National Press Foundation honored him with the Sol Taishoff Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism. Additionally, in 2018, Bret was presented with the Municipality of Urbino's Urbino Press Award.
Real Estate
In 2011, Bret purchased a condo in Naples, Florida, for $1.5 million. By 2015, he acquired a 10,668 square-foot mansion in Washington D.C. for $5.5 million, which he listed for sale in June 2020 for just under $8 million, eventually selling it for $6.5 million in June 2021. Here's a video of Bret's former D.C. home:
In September 2018, Bret and his wife bought a Washington D.C. home for $5.4 million. They demolished the existing structure and built a 16,250 square-foot estate featuring 5 bedrooms and 9 bathrooms, financed by a $25 million mortgage. They listed this property for $31.9 million in October 2023. Here is a video tour:
In March 2022, Bret purchased Tommy Hilfiger's Palm Beach mansion for $12 million, which he later sold in early 2024 for $13.5 million after listing it for $16.5 million in June 2023. In August 2023, Bret and his wife invested $37 million in a new home in Palm Beach, Florida.
