Lester Holt Biography & Net Worth

Lester Holt Biography & Net Worth

Lester Holt is a popular news anchor and journalist based in the United States of America. Best known for hosting the news program NBC Nightly News, he has earned a reputation for being one of the most-valued anchors on television. Though he had enrolled at the California State University in Sacramento, California, he later dropped out to work with a local radio station in San Francisco. Initially, he worked as a radio DJ until 1981 when he started working as a reporter for WCBS-TV. After spending nineteen years working with CBS and its affiliate stations, KNXT and WBBM-TV, for 19 years, Lester joined MSNBC in 2000 where he became a substitute newscaster on NBC Nightly News. However, in 2015, he took over from Brian Williams as the program’s weekday edition anchor, thus becoming the first person of African-American heritage to anchor a weekday nightly news program.

Over the years, Lester has hosted many programs such as “Dateline” and “Today”, and has been a part of several screen projects such as “Fugitive” and “30 Rock”. He has won several awards and recognitions as well as honorary degrees. He currently lives in Manhattan with his wife of many years and they have two sons who are also successful in their respective endeavors.

Early Life & Education

Lester Holt, born Lester Don Holt, Jr., is the youngest child of his family. He was born to Lester Don Holt, Sr. and June (nee DeRozario) in Marin County, near San Francisco, California, the United States, on March 8, 1959.

Lester has Jamaican roots. His paternal grandparents were from Jamaica, while his maternal grandfather was the son of an Indo-Jamaican father from Calcutta, India, and a White Jamaican mother from England.

Upon completing his elementary education, Holt joined Cordova High School in Rancho Cordova from which he graduated in 1977. He then enrolled at the California State University in Sacramento gunning for a major in government. However, he dropped out after two years and joined a small radio station in San Francisco.

Professional Career: Broadcast Journalism

Lester Holt’s first job was that of a DJ at a local Country and Western radio station. After nearly two years at this job, he joined WCBS-TV in New York as a reporter in 1981. The following year, he joined a CBS-affiliated TV station KNXT in Los Angeles as a weekend reporter.

In 1983, he rejoined WCBS-TV as weekend anchor. Three years later, he joined the CBS station WBBM-TV in Chicago, as an evening anchor. He spent fourteen years at the station, hosting the channel’s evening news until 2000. He also reported from troubled locations around the world, such as Ireland, Haiti, Somalia, Iraq, and Northern El Salvador.

In 2000, after having spent a total of nineteen years with CBS, Lester switched allegiance to MSNBC where he took up crucial responsibilities at NBC News over the years, eventually becoming a supernumerary anchor for NBC Nightly News and Today. He co-hosted Weekend Today after the program’s previous co-host, David Bloom, passed away.

Till 2005, Lester anchored a 2-hour-long news program on MSNBC daily. On May 9, 2007, he was installed as the full-time host of the weekend edition of NBC Nightly News. His stint on the show spanned for 8 years until 2015.

In 2013, he covered for Brian Williams as a weekday presenter. Back then, Brian had taken a long medical leave for knee surgery. In February 2015, when Brian was suspended for falsifying a story on the Iraq War, it became Lester’s duty to work as the interim host of the weekday version of NBC Nightly News. In June that same year, his spot on the show became permanent. With this, he became the first African–American to single-handedly anchor a weekday nightly newscast.

Since 2006, Lester has been the anchor of the NBC show “Dateline”. He has also anchored the show’s new edition on Investigation Discovery, “Dateline on ID”. Furthermore, he has presented a television special for The History Channel, which recounted countless conspiracy theories surrounding the 9/11 sad event. He has also served as a sports reporter for NBC Sports reporting the 2008 Summer Olympics that held in Beijing.

In 2016, Lester worked as a moderator of the presidential debates. In May the next year, he interviewed former United States President Donald Trump. When he had moderated the 2016 presidential debate, Lester was a Republican. However, he became politically independent two years later. He also hosted and moderated a town hall with current United States President Joe Biden for NBC News in Miami on October 5, 2020.

Other Ventures

Asides from broadcasting and taking charge of shows and debates, Lester Holt has also tried his hands on a couple of other profitable endeavors. He has appeared in cameo roles in several films and television series, including House of Cards (2015), Early Edition (1997–1999) Primal Fear (1996), The Fugitive (1993), and its sequel, U.S. Marshals (1998). He has also been seen in episodes of the sitcom 30 Rock, titled Cleveland, and in shows like Warehouse 13, Due South, Early Edition, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Lester announced the popular Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show on the US Network in the years 2006, 2007, and 2008. In 2008, he worked as a narrator in a Sci-Fi Channel documentary, “Mystery of the Crystal Skulls”. Additionally, he was a feature in the magazine Making Music.

On May 31, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Holt delivered a virtual commencement speech for the 254th graduating class of Rutgers University.

Awards & Achievements

Mr. Holt has won many recognitions and awards. He is a proud recipient of

• The Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism (2019)
• The National Association of Black Journalists’ Journalist of the Year Award from (2016)
• The Alan B. DuMont Broadcaster of the Year from the Montclair State University (2016)
• The Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for CBS’s 48 Hours: No Place Like Home (1990)

He has also received three honorary doctorate degrees so far. One from Rutgers University (2020), one more from Pepperdine University (2012), and the last one from California State University, Sacramento (2015). Lester was inducted into the California Hall of Fame on October 28, 2015.

Personal Life & Family

Lester Holt has been married to Carol Hagen since 1982. They’re the parents of two grown-up sons, Stefan and Cameron. The couple now stay in Manhattan where Carol works as a certified real-estate salesperson. In the past, she has worked as a flight attendant.

Their son Stefan is an Alumnus of Pepperdine University. Since his graduation in 2009, he has been working as a news anchor, walking in the footsteps of his father. Their second son, Cameron, is a Stanford graduate and is currently employed at Morgan Stanley.

Lester Holt Net Worth: Salary, Shares, Assets & Investments

As at the time of filing this report, several reputed online sources have pegged Lester Holt’s net worth at $15 million. We know for sure that the main source of this man’s income is his career as a journalist. He has also received a substantial sum by working in the film and television industry where he has featured in many television shows and movies.

A journalist, actor, and commentator, Mr. Holt is a respected icon in the media industry and his legacy will definitely live on for many years to come.