Piers Morgan, has an estimated net worth of £13 million. The British journalist, writer and television host has a career that spans over two decades.
Having studied journalism at Harlow College in UK, Morgan started his career working as a reporter for South London News at the age of 20.
A Reporter at age 20 at a regional paper, how did Morgan get his fame and fortune?
A few years later, he rose to the position of de facto editor of The Sun’s showbusiness column, Bizarre. In 1994, he became editor of News of the World, becoming one of the youngest editors at a national newspaper at the age of just 28.
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He quickly jumped ship though, and joined The Mirror in 1995 as its editor. He quickly came to be known as someone with a penchant for courting controversies running several inside stories on the Royal family, and publishing opposition to Britain’s involvement in the Iraq war and criticism of the British government, including Prime Minister Tony Blair.
After working at the tabloid for nearly a decade, Morgan was fired from The Mirror in 2004 for not apologising for running a series of photographs that depicted British soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners, which later turned out to be false.
In 2005, Morgan gained ownership of Press Gazette, a key media trade publication.
In 2006, Morgan appeared as a judge on America’s Got Talent on NBC, replacing Simon Cowell for two full seasons. That same year, he acted as a judge on the British version of the show, where he remained for several seasons.
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In 2009, Morgan also began fronting ITV’s Piers Morgan’s Life Stories, which was broadcasting in the UK. The show received high ratings and attracted high profile guests such as then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Morgan had signed a two-year ‘golden handcuffs deal’ with ITV for an estimated $3m per annum to present the show in addition to his Britain’s Got Talent commitments.
Morgan raised further eyebrows when he was chosen by CNN as a successor to legendary chat show host Larry King. There are reports that Morgan landed $2m per year for hosting duties on ‘Piers Morgan Live’, which was cancelled in February 2014 owing to poor ratings.
In addition to these earnings, Morgan has also authored eight commercially successful books. After divorcing Marion Shalloe in 2008, Morgan married columnist Celia Walden in 2010. The couple has a baby daughter and Morgan also has three sons with his first wife. He divides his time between California and London.
