What Was Rush Limbaugh's Net Worth When He Died?
Rush Limbaugh, the influential, controversial radio host who forever changed the way in which United States politics interacts with and is influenced by the media, died on Wednesday, February 17, 2021, of lung cancer. Per Forbes, when Limbaugh launched his syndicated conservative radio program, The Rush Limbaugh Show, in 1988, the format of "talk radio" in which a host discusses current events and encourages listeners to call in and share their thoughts, was a "relatively new medium."
As of December 2020, Limbaugh remained the most listened to talk show host in the U.S. with an estimated weekly average of 15.5 million listeners, as reported by Talkers. Limbaugh's enormous influence on conservative politics was first highlighted in 1992 when, according to the Washington Post, then-President George H.W. Bush invited Limbaugh for an overnight stay at the White House and was reportedly seen carrying Limbaugh's bags inside himself. Limbaugh later reported: "The president never once asked me about the views of my listeners [or callers] ... He did, however, ask me for my views on a few things."
In November 1993, Time magazine featured Rush Limbaugh and "shock jock" Howard Stern on their cover, reported Forbes, noting that at that point Limbaugh's "confrontational and often crude style" was well-known, including his habits of "referring to feminists as 'feminazis' and his obsequious fans as 'dittoheads.'" Limbaugh was also notoriously racist, once laughing at a caller who compared then-presidential candidate Barack Obama to Curious George, the famous monkey from children's books and television.
All that talk paid off
In 2020, Rush Limbaugh was the 11th highest celebrity earner in the United States. Forbes reported his 2020 earnings at $85 million, noting that in January 2020 he'd renewed his contract with Premiere Radio Networks, which paid him $70 million per year. Limbaugh also wrote seven books, including a children's series, Rush Revere, and received fees for the streaming of videos of his radio show.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Limbaugh's net worth when he died was a staggering $600 million. In addition to the $85 million annual salary, which made him the second highest paid radio host in America, after his fellow Time magazine cover feature Howard Stern, Limbaugh lived in a "$26 million oceanfront home in West Palm Beach...[with] seven bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, and an elevator." He also owned "a penthouse condo on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan." Limbaugh married his fourth wife, Kathryn Rogers, in 2010 and had no children.