Not many news anchors also double as actors. Well, the financial news reporter and anchor Melissa Francis has had a long career in which she’s also dabbled in acting. And when we say long, we mean from the age of one-years-old when she first appeared in a Johnson & Johnson commercial. Years later, she starred in Little House on the Prairie, playing the role of Cassandra Cooper Ingalls. Before landing her current role on Fox News in 2012, she worked at CNET and CNBC. The latest movies to be added to her resume were The Dictator and Race To Witch Mountain.
During her spare time off from television and movies, she authored a book (how she had time to manage this is beyond us). Well, all her hard work has made her a net worth of $8 million. Her current salary is estimated to be around $400,000. $300,000 of that comes from Fox News and $100,000 comes from Fox Business News. And a woman of this caliber could only have studied at the best of schools- she graduated from Harvard University in 1995 with a degree in Economics.
Ainsley Earnhardt – $400K
It’s a good omen that your career will be promising when you start it, even before graduating from college. It’s also an indication of your motivation and drive. Ainsley Earnhardt, a South Carolina native who graduated from the University of South Carolina, got a head start on her career while her peers were doing beer pongs and jello shots. Ainsley majored in journalism in college and worked as a local reporter for the Columbia, a South Carolina CBS news station.
After graduating from college, she moved to San Antonio, Texas, where she worked as a weekday news anchor for KENS-TV Eyewitness News. This job kept her down south for two years. In 2007, she got her big career break, sealing her current role in New York City on Fox News. Currently, she is reportedly making $400,000 per year.
Charissa Thompson – $500K
Most sports fanatics with aspirations to work on a sports network would dream of having their names associated with at least one network, however big or small. Well, Charissa has been talented enough to be associated with several. She has worked on ESPN, Versus, GSN, and the Big Ten Network as both a host and sportscaster on the various networks. At the moment, she is working as a sideline reporter on FOX for the NFL games. Like hello, way to defy all the odds and work in male-dominated roles.
She also works as a sideline reporter on the Big Ten Network, where she covers college football and basketball games. Before The Best Damn Sports Show Period was canceled on the FSN in 2009, she co-hosted the show. She makes around $500,000, and we must say, every penny is well deserved.
Paula Faris – $565K
Getting your big break takes a lot of hard work, and many times, there are roadblocks and major struggles along the way. Paula Faris is very familiar with the effort it takes to achieve your goals. Before she landed her huge broadcasting break, she struggled for a number of years. She landed her first big role after working in communication jobs and radio sales. Becoming a production assistant with WKEF/WRGT allowed her the in that she needed; she has been working her way up the ladder ever since.
From 2002-2005 she worked on WCPO-TV in Cincinnati as the sports anchor. From 2005-2011, she moved to Chicago to work as a sports reporter and anchor. In 2014, ABC signed her on as a co-anchor on Good Morning America Weekend. Since working at ABC, she has been on World News Now and America This Morning. She is estimated to make around $565,000.
Martha MacCallum – $700K
A lot of reporters and anchors bounce around between networks. Since 2004, Martha MacCallum has been loyal to delivering the news on Fox News strictly. But, before landing her role on the network, she was also a reporter on NBC/CNBC. For the last 15 years, she has worked as a reporter, anchor, and correspondent on the conservative network.
She has been on several shows like The Live Desk, America’s Newsroom, The Kelly File, and The O’Reilly Factor. She has also covered the last four presidential campaigns and Pope Francis’ visit to the United States. She has gotten the honor to interview many big figures throughout the years like President Barack Obama, John McCain, and Laura Bush. She makes $700,000 per year.