Matt Lauer has a net worth of around 80 million dollars as of 2026, built mainly from two decades as co-anchor of NBC’s Today show before his 2017 firing over workplace misconduct allegations cut his career short.
Quick Facts
| Full Name | Matthew Todd Lauer |
| Born | December 30, 1957, New York City |
| Age | 68 |
| Nationality | American |
| Profession | Former television journalist and news anchor |
| Net Worth | 80 million dollars |
| Peak Net Worth | 150 million dollars (2017) |
| Main Source of Wealth | NBC salary, Today Show hosting, real estate |
| Ex-Wife | Annette Roque (married 1998, divorced 2019) |
| Children | Three: Jack, Romy, Thijs |
Early Life and Education
Lauer was born in New York City in 1957 and grew up wanting to work in television news. He enrolled at Ohio University but left before finishing his degree to take a production job at a West Virginia television station, WOWK-TV, where he worked his way up from producer to on-air anchor.
He eventually returned to Ohio University and completed his degree in telecommunications in 1997, the same year he became co-anchor of Today. Before that milestone, he spent years hosting local news and magazine-style programs in New York, Boston, and Philadelphia, including stints on PM Magazine, which gave him the on-camera reps that later carried him to network television.
Career at NBC and the Today Show
Lauer joined NBC News in 1992, first appearing on the network’s local New York affiliate as a co-host of Live at Five and occasionally filling in on Today. His steady, conversational interview style stood out, and in 1997 he was promoted to full-time co-anchor of Today, a seat he held for the next twenty years.
During that run, Lauer interviewed sitting presidents, world leaders, athletes, and entertainers, and he anchored NBC’s coverage of major news events, including multiple Olympic Games, several presidential elections, and the September 11 terrorist attacks. Today remained the top-rated American morning show for most of his tenure, and Lauer’s name became closely tied to that success.
Salary and Peak Earnings
By the mid 2010s, Lauer was widely reported as the highest-paid morning television host in the country. His NBC contract reportedly grew from roughly $ 20 million per year in 2017 to an estimated $ 25- $28 million per year near the end of his run, once bonuses tied to ratings and syndication deals for NBC’s holiday specials were factored in.
Across his full twenty-year tenure at Today, from 1997 to 2017, Lauer’s cumulative earnings from the show alone are estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars, not counting income from Olympic coverage, parade-hosting duties, and other NBC specials. That income, compounded over two decades, is the primary reason his net worth reached an estimated 150 million dollars before his firing.
The 2017 Firing and Its Financial Impact
In November 2017, NBC fired Lauer after an internal investigation into complaints of inappropriate sexual behavior with colleagues, including an incident reportedly dating back to the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. The New York Times and Variety published detailed accounts from multiple women shortly before or around the time of his dismissal.
Lauer stated at the time that he was “truly sorry” for the pain he had caused, while also disputing parts of how the allegations were characterized. NBC ended his contract immediately, and reports indicate he forfeited a bonus tied to his deal and did not receive an expected severance payment.
The financial fallout compounded over the following years. Losing a 25 million annual salary alone accounts for a large share of the roughly 70 million drop between his 2017 peak and his current estimated net worth, and the divorce settlement that followed added further costs.
Real Estate and Assets
A meaningful share of Lauer’s fortune has gone into real estate over the years. He purchased Strongheart Manor, a Hamptons estate in Water Mill, New York, from actor Richard Gere in 2016 for 36.5 million dollars. He also owned a Manhattan apartment, which he listed for sale for more than 7 million dollars shortly after his firing, along with additional Hamptons property that included a horse farm.
More recently, Lauer has been linked to Hunter Valley Station, a large sheep and cattle station in New Zealand that he purchased in 2017 and has since been involved in ongoing legal disputes over, related to land access rights under New Zealand law.
Marriage, Divorce and Children
Lauer married Annette Roque, a Dutch former model, in 1998 after the two met on a blind date. They share three children: son Jack, daughter Romy, and son Thijs, whose name is a Dutch nod to his father’s own name, Matthew.
The couple separated in late 2017, shortly after Lauer’s firing, and Roque filed for divorce in July 2019. Reports at the time described a settlement in which Roque received up to 20 million dollars in assets along with the Hamptons horse farm, while the couple agreed to share custody of their children. A Suffolk County judge finalized the divorce later that year, ending a marriage of just over twenty years.
Life After NBC
Since 2017, Lauer has stayed almost entirely out of the public eye, splitting his time between his New York properties and his land in New Zealand. He gave one notable interview in 2019 focused mainly on his New Zealand property dispute rather than the misconduct allegations themselves, and has otherwise avoided television and press appearances.
Friends and former colleagues have described his post-NBC life as quiet, centered on golf, his adult children, and managing his properties rather than any attempt to return to broadcasting. Unlike some media figures who eventually rebuild a public platform, Lauer has not signed with another network or launched a podcast, and there is no indication as of 2026 that he plans to.
Matt Lauer Net Worth Today
Multiple financial trackers place Lauer’s current net worth at roughly 60 to 80 million dollars, down from an estimated peak of 150 million dollars in 2017. The decline reflects the loss of his NBC salary, legal and divorce costs, and the broader financial fallout of leaving television at the height of his earning power.
Even after that decline, Lauer remains one of the wealthier former network news personalities in the United States, a position built almost entirely during his two decades on Today rather than through outside business ventures or endorsements.