Chris Cuomo Net Worth: What Was the Reason Behind His Dismissal From CNN?

By David Mudd On Jun 23, 2022

Chris Cuomo was born on August 9, 1970, and is best known as the former host of CNN’s weeknight news analysis programme Cuomo Prime Time. From 2006 until 2009, he served as the top law and justice correspondent for ABC News, co-anchor for ABC’s 20/20, and news anchor for Good Morning America. Until May of 2018, he was one of the two co-anchors of the daily edition of New Day, a three-hour morning news programme.

Cuomo is the younger brother of Andrew Cuomo, the 56th Governor of New York from 2011 to 2021, and the son of Mario Cuomo, the 52nd Governor of New York from 1983 to 1994. CNN banned Cuomo indefinitely in November 2021 following accusations that he defended his brother against the s*xual harassment claims that led to his departure. CNN terminated his employment the next month.

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Early Life and Education of Chris

Cuomo was born in the borough of Queens in New York City. He is the youngest child of former New York Governor Mario Cuomo and Matilda Cuomo and the brother of former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. His paternal grandparents were from Nocera Inferiore and Tramonti in the Campania region of southern Italy, and his maternal grandparents were from Sicily, with his grandfather hailing from Messina.

Immaculate Conception School in Jamaica, Queens; The Albany Academy, a private university preparatory day school in Albany, New York; Yale University, where he got a bachelor’s degree; and Fordham University School of Law, where he earned a juris doctorate in 1995. He is licenced to practise law.

Choosing Journalism as Career

Cuomo’s early career in journalism includes social and political issues-related appearances on CNBC, MSNBC, and CNN. He served as a correspondent and political policy expert for Fox News and Fox Broadcasting Company’s Fox Files, where he covered a variety of difficult social issues.

Cuomo responded affirmatively when asked if he should be considered a journalist on his show “I cannot see how this is relevant. I am indifferent to my classification. I will not present my agenda. That’s not my cup of tea. My opinion is unimportant.” When hired for Fox Files, Fox News head Roger Ailes described Cuomo as “brave.”

His year-long investigation of heroin addiction at ABC and as co-anchor of 20/20 highlighted the extent to which it affected suburban families. His further work includes coverage of the earthquake in Haiti, child custody, bullying, and homeless adolescents.

His undercover investigation of for-profit school recruiters led to policy improvements and an industry-wide clean-up. A BMW owner’s report to Cuomo resulted to the recall of nearly 150,000 impacted automobiles.

His convoy was struck by an IED while embedded in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq while covering the fight on terrorism. In the United States, he covered the Virginia Tech tragedy, the Fort Hood shooting in 2009, and the Amish school shootings in Pennsylvania. In August 2007, he presented live coverage of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Sago Mine disaster, and the Minneapolis bridge collapse.

CNN Coverage of Andrew Cuomo and His Dismissal

In early 2020, while recovering from COVID-19, Chris Cuomo interviewed his brother, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, on his CNN show. In March 2021, after reports of s*xual harassment charges against his brother arose, Cuomo acknowledged his clear conflict of interest by stating that he could not discuss any subjects related to the allegations on his programme.

In May 2021, Cuomo reportedly advised his brother on how to respond to the charges through strategic meetings. CNN described Cuomo’s participation in the talks as “inappropriate” but stated that company will not discipline him. Multiple CNN employees expressed “vexation” about Cuomo’s behaviour and violation of journalistic ethics and standards.

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s a “error” that would “never occur again.” Cuomo addressed his brother’s upcoming resignation in August, stating that he was not Andrew’s advisor and noting that he had urged Andrew to quit as governor.

On November 29, 2021, the Additional York attorney general’s office revealed records indicating that Cuomo used his media connections to uncover information about his brother’s known accusers and to inquire about the likelihood of new accusers who had not yet come out publicly.

S*xual Misconduct Charges

In September 2021, Cuomo’s former boss Shelley Ross accused him of s*xual harassment in a New York Times op-ed. She stopped short of requesting his dismissal from CNN, stating that she would “want to see him journalistically repent.” Cuomo acknowledged the event and characterised it as “not s*xual in nature.”

He stated, “I sincerely apologised to her at the time.” In December 2021, Debra Katz, the attorney for another former colleague of Cuomo’s, informed CNN that her client had accused Cuomo of s*xual assault. Katz has since asserted that this accusation led to Cuomo’s dismissal.

Awards on His Excellence

Cuomo has been nominated for many Emmy Awards. His profile of 12-year-old poet Mattie Stepanek on Good Morning America earned him a News Emmy, making him one of the youngest correspondents to win the honour.

He is the recipient of the Polk and Peabody Awards for team coverage. His work in breaking news, business news, and legal news has been acknowledged with the Edward R. Murrow Award for breaking news coverage, the 2005 Gerald Loeb Award for Television Deadline business reporting for “Money for Nothing?,” and the American Bar Association Silver Gavel Award for investigating juvenile justice.

Chris Cuomo’s Salary and Net Worth

American television journalist Chris Cuomo has a net worth of $12 million. He is best known as the former anchor of Cuomo Prime Time, a weekday news analysis programme that aired on CNN until December 2021, when it was cancelled. Cuomo is the brother of former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and the son of the late Mario Cuomo.

Chris was terminated from CNN on December 5, 2021 due to reports that he exploited his position and resources at CNN to investigate women who accused his brother of s*xual harassment. Cuomo Prime Time was the highest-rated show on CNN at the time of his dismissal, albeit it was not even close to the highest-rated prime time cable news programme.

Personal Life and Controversies

Cuomo married Gotham magazine editor Cristina Greeven in a Roman Catholic ceremony in Southampton, New York, in 2001. They live in Manhattan with their three children. Cuomo also has a home in Southampton.

Cuomo threatened to toss a heckler down a flight of stairs at a bar on August 13, 2019, and punished him with profanity-laced accusations after the man called him Fredo, a reference to the unglamorous fictitious character from The Godfather novel and flicks.

Cuomo told the guy that using the moniker “Fredo” was like using “the n-word” for Italian-Americans, which sparked controversy on Twitter. Cuomo addressed the issue publicly, tweeting his gratitude to his supporters while admitting that he “should be better than what he opposes.”