Fox News had a few contestants, some big names, in fact, that were also considered as a replacement for Bill O’Reilly’s show. While the others were also talented, the network decided to go with someone familiar to the viewers. Plus they preferred someone from their “family” rather than some high-profile talent that didn’t know how their network operates. Moreover, they believed seeing a friendly face would help their audience handle the change better.
Their gut feeling was correct. Carlson’s show kept the network’s viewership up, even after one of their favorite shows had been taken off the air.
Night Time Slot
2017 must have been Carlson's year! On April 19, the network released an official announcement that "Tucker Carlson Tonight" would replace Fox News’ 8 PM time slot. This was after Bill O’Reilly's show, "The O’Reilly Factor", was canceled.
You know what they say, "when one door closes another door opens", well, in this case, when Bill O’Reilly's door closed, it left Carlon's wide open. You don't get opportunities like that every day. The question was, would he live up to the expectations?
Carlson Didn't Disappoint
Fox News was proud that they place their bets on Carlson. Just two months after "Tucker Carlson Tonight" premiered it averaged 2.8 million viewers. A 23% increase in total viewership from the 7 PM slot. Furthermore, according to Nielsen Media Research, he was captivating more viewers than both his former networks, CNN and MSNBC. We can only wonder what his former employers thought about that...
Carlson's enchanting charisma kept viewers engaged. There were even many liberal viewers that tuned in to what Carlson had to say about certain topics. He soon became the most popular host on Fox News.
You Look Like ($8) Million Bucks!
According to reports, Tucker Carlson has an estimated net worth of $8 million, though he isn't the lowest paid at the network — many of his peers have triple his net worth. For example, the controversial host, Megyn Kelly, has an estimated net worth of $15 million, Sean Hannity, $80 million, and not to mention Bill O’Reilly, $85 million.
His other fellow anchor must have other streams of income besides hosting on Fox News. Carlson seems to be doing what he loves not concerned about the financial aspect of it. Or maybe he simply doesn't want everyone to know how much money he really has.
Charity Work
Tucker Carlson's charity of choice is Horton’s Kids, which works to empower at-risk children from Washington DC's most under-resourced communities. Carlson was introduced to the organization by CNN’s Jake Tapper, telling US News “I remember being on the road with Jake in ’99 when we were both reporters covering the presidential race and him telling me about [Horton’s Kids],”. He added, “I had three kids by that point, weirdly, so our support has been from afar, limited to financial support, but I’ve always been a fan since the beginning."
Carlson, having children of his own, seems to have a soft spot for underprivileged kids. Fortunately, his kids will never have to experience the hardships of poverty thanks to his successful career.