For many, the thought of becoming a millionaire by writing and talking about other people appears unachievable but this is the reality of the prominent American journalist Anderson Cooper who gathered millions of dollars for conducting accurate political analysis and other vital reports on TV. He is the main anchor of the CNN news show Anderson Cooper 360 degrees and a correspondent for 60 Minutes. The international news anchor started his career as a model but took a leap to a great height in journalism for his prowess and expertise. Now he has become one of the most known faces on CNN news.
Bio of Anderson Cooper
Anderson Cooper was born on June 3, 1967, in New York City to Wyatt Emory Cooper and Gloria Vanderbilt. Both his parents had some stints in writing. Cooper’s media participation started quite early with his first TV appearance being on The Tonight Show alongside his mom when he was only three. Six years later, he starred as an imposter on, To Tell the Truth, and changed his fixation to modeling from age 10 to 13. He did some projects with Ford Models for Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein and Macy’s before focusing on his education.
Though he came from a very rich home, Anderson Cooper’s teen was marked by disaster. His interest in journalism grew when his brother Carter died from self-murder at 23. Before his death, his dad who was a writer suffered several heart attacks and had gone for open heart surgery which took his life at age 50 in 1978.
Cooper attended Dalton School, a private university preparatory day school in New York City. He graduated a semester ahead, took some time for his survival trip that saw him tour around Africa before furthering at Yale University where he studied political science. After obtaining a B.A in 1989, he went on to commence his career in journalism even though he had no formal training in the field.
He did his first correspondence work in 1990 and decided to join Vietnam National University in Hanoi to study the Vietnamese language for a year.
Before this time he was already working for Channel One as a fact-checker. He made use of the opportunity of being in the country to record his experience in Vietnam which aired on the channel. He also embarked on different assignments of recording scenes from different war zones in the world and in 1995, he moved to ABC as its news correspondent. Cooper joined CNN in 2001 and has since edited, reported and interviewed his way to the top to become one of the best international reporters of our time. He has been given many top responsibilities at the company including moderating both presidential and vice-presidential debate during US election seasons.
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Who Is His Mom?
Cooper’s mom is from a wealthy background. Known as heiress Gloria Vanderbilt, she is a successful fashion designer and artist with a net worth estimated to be over $200 million. That notwithstanding, the TV anchor’s mother and father raised him to be independent and to work for his own money. They made it clear to him that there was no trust fund, so he won’t be inheriting any of her wealth.
Also, his maternal parents were Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt and socialite Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt and were millionaires. These two of his maternal ancestral lineage dominated the business world in the past and also established many famous shipping and railroad companies.
What Is Anderson Cooper’s Net Worth?
Anderson Cooper has amassed a soaring wealth from CNN to become one of the richest media personalities in the world right now. The celebrated news anchor receives $11 million every year from CNN which has pushed his net worth to a whopping $ 100 million.
Although this amount is quite fair for a reporter who has won five Emmy awards and a GLAAD media award, ordinarily, his net worth could have been more than what it is, given that he is a member of the Vanderbilt family, famous for shipping and railroad business. The family also expanded into different areas of humanitarian endeavors thanks to the self-sustaining financial empire instituted by Cornelius Vanderbilt, one of Cooper’s ancestors.
But Cooper has expatiated on this general notion saying that he was a privileged child while growing up since he didn’t have to go to college on loan, but apart from that, his parents made him understand that it was up to him to make a living for himself.
Is He Gay and Does He Have A Boyfriend or Husband?
Anderson Cooper is proudly gay and one of the most renowned gay journalists on American TV after opening up about his personal life in 2012. Cooper hid this fact from the public for many years avoiding any discussion that would lead to out it. Thankfully, he made a bold move when he gave authorization to Andrew Sullivan, an English-America author to publish a private mail where he stated that he was gay.
According to him, hiding who he has been and will always be will give people the impression that he is not comfortable or proud of his sexuality which isn’t the case in reality. So to kill such impression, he came out openly and announced that he is gay and doesn’t intend to change who he is in future. His boldness made Apple CEO Tim Cook to give him a somewhat godfather role by seeking his advice prior to reaching his final decision to announce in due course that he is gay as well.
The power journalist is not married so has no husband yet. However, he has shared his beloved heart with Benjamin Maisani for long. They both got a Rye House in 2014, a famous estate in Connecticut and were happy together until recently when the news of their separation was everywhere. It broke the heart of many who thought the duo was heading to marriage when Cooper confirmed the split. Currently, Cooper has found himself a new lover named Victor Lopez and has been also focusing on his TV shows on CNN.
