Rachel Maddow — $7 million

Rachel Maddow’s career in the media started when she won a competition to host a morning radio show in Massachusetts. Her current TV show, The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC, is a direct port of a radio show she hosts, where she analyses and discusses daily news stories.

Maddow is renowned for being the first openly lesbian host of a prime time news show. She has also authored a New York bestselling book called Drift: The Unmooring of American Military Power. In October 2019, Maddow published her second book, Blowout: Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, and the Richest, Most Destructive Industry on Earth.

Erin Burnett — $3 Million

Besides her impressive $3 million annual salary, Erin Burnett is also a remarkable financial journalist, having broadcast her CNN show, Erin Burnett OutFront, from countries like Rwanda, Afghanistan, and Israel. Burnett started her career as a financial analyst, working in the investment banking department for Goldman Sachs.

Besides helping her manage her wealth, her skills in the financial industry earned her a big TV break, first as a Stocks editor and anchor for Bloomberg TV and then as host of CNBC business program Street Signs. She had a big reputation by the time she joined CNN and was instantly offered her show.

Don Lemon — $1 million

After cutting his teeth as a news anchor and investigative journalist for local station KTVI St Louis in the United States, Don Lemon worked his way to the top. From KTVI to NBC where he corresponded for NBC Today, Night News, and anchored for Weekend Today and MSNBC.

Don won three Chicago Emmy Awards while working for NBC owned Station WMAQ for stories on the Chicago Craigslist real estate industry and HIV in Africa, respectively. He moved to CNN in September 2006, where he now earns $1 million a year. Don is engaged to his long-time partner and successful real estate agent, Tim Malone.