Anderson Cooper is an American television personality, journalist and author who has a net worth of $200 million. As the current host of the CNN news show “Anderson Cooper 360,” he makes an annual salary of $12 million.
He is the younger son of write Wyatt Emory Cooper and artist, fashion designer and heiress Gloria Vanderbilt, and the great-great-great-grandson of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt. When Cornelius died, he had an inflation-adjusted net worth of $185 billion, which is enough to make him one of the 5 wealthiest people of all time. Anderson’s maternal grandfather died when his mother was just one year old.
Cooper was the last male heir of the Vanderbilt fortune and left his entire estate, $5 million in 1925 to his daughter. That’s the same as around $70 million after adjusting for inflation. Gloria’s mother and aunt fought over her custody, and allegedly over control of the trust fund. Her aunt, the founder of the Whitney museum, ultimately won custody. As an adult, Gloria would go on to have enormous success as an artist and fashion designer.
As a journalist, Cooper has won numerous awards for his coverage of various events and issues. These include an Emmy Award in 1997 for his coverage of Princess Diana’s funeral; a Peabody Award in 2005 for his coverage of Hurricane Katrina; a National Headliner Award in 2005 for his coverage on the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami; two Emmys in 2011 for his coverage of Haiti; and also the GLAAD Media Award in 2013.
