Television personality Howard Stern has been known for notoriously speaking his mind and saying things just to get a rise out of people. For the longest time, he was known to harass guests with intimate questions just to entertain his listeners. When his first wife Alison Berns asked him for a divorce, after 21 years of marriage, he realized that his narcissism and focus on his career had ruined his marriage.
It was time for a change. Stern decided to go for therapy to improve himself as well as his communication skills. The new Howard Stern is far different than when he came to fame. He credits his longevity on the radio to that big change he did in his life. Aside from radio, Stern has taken on other roles that have enabled him to amass his wealth over the years. Now he readily brings home the bacon and this is how he has maintained his $650 million net worth.
15 Radio
Other than money, Stern longed for the freedom to do and say whatever he wanted on radio. This is what led him to start The Howard Stern Show, which airs to date. According to Money, in order to air uncensored content, Stern decided to move from regular airwaves to satellite radio under the mega-entertainment audio company, SiriusXM. He opened two channels, which were a massive success.
Even though he has reduced the number of hours he works per week, radio has been his biggest moneymaker and continues to be. He has maintained a lot of his wealth by doing it.
14 Producing Shows
Other than radio, Stern picked up other roles that have helped him maintain his huge net worth to date. He started hosting a late-night TV show called The Howard Stern Radio Show, which ran for three seasons. After the show, Stern decided to work as an executive producer through his production company for several TV and film projects, his most successful show being Son of the Beach as City-Journal reports.
13 Shares With Networks
When Stern first broadcasted his show on Sirius, he received 34.3 million of Sirius stock worth $218 million for surpassing his contractual requirements. He later received another bonus of 22 million shares of stock worth $82.9 million. A year later, Sirius decided to merge with a rival station and paid Stern $25 million as per a clause in his contract as wiki reports. All these shares and money is what has enabled him to maintain his net worth up to today.
12 Being A Best-Selling Author
Stern released his first book, 'Private Parts' in 1993 and his second book, 'Miss America' in 1995. He entered the New York Best Seller list selling over one million copies. Three years later, his first book was adapted into a film, which he starred in. Since he was the scriptwriter and the main cast, he must have made a chunk considering it grossed at $41.2 million at the Box Office as Wiki reveals. Following the success of his two books, Stern recently released his third book Howard Stern Comes Again in 2019.
11 Serving As A Judge On AGT
Stern was offered the opportunity to replace Judge Piers Morgan on the hit show America’s Got Talent from 2012 to 2015. He earned a salary of $15 million per year as Cheatsheet reports. When he joined, the show relocated to Radio City Music Hall in NYC to cater to his crazy radio show schedule but after three years, he could not balance the two and decided not to film AGT anymore. At least that salary has helped him maintain his net worth.
10 Being In Long-Lasting Marriages
In Hollywood, it is easy for celebrities to lose their hard-earned money through failed marriages, especially those without prenuptial agreements. Stern has been able to maintain his money by having long-lasting marriages. According to Moneyinc, he was married to his first wife Alison Berns for 21 years and is currently married to his second wife Beth Ostrosky since 2008.
9 Photography
Photography is another small side hustle that has helped Stern maintain his wealth. He took it up as a hobby in 2011 and turned it into a business by starting his own photography company called Conlon Road Photography. As Cheatsheet reveals, his first works were shoots for Hamptons magazine, WHIRL magazine, and Lifestyle Magazine.
8 Hosting And Acting
Stern has also made and maintained his money through hosting and acting. He starred in films like Ryder P.I and Private Parts. He has also hosted a number of pay-per-view specials like Howard Stem’s Negligee and Underpants Party, Butt Bongo Fiesta and Howard Stem’s New Year’s Rotten Eve where celebrities made appearances as Wiki reports. He still does his hosting gigs to date, recently he interviewed former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
7 Special Appearances And Interviews
66-year-old Stern can now retire from working and still live a lavish lifestyle. Because of his fame, he still does special appearances where he gets paid, like on The Ellen Show and Jimmy Fallon Show. It might not be a chunk but at least it helps him maintain his net worth. Recently, The New York Times Magazine interviewed him, and he answered many questions about his life.
6 Paid Partnerships
As a celebrity and a radio host, Stern has obviously been paid by many companies to market their brands, which he uses to maintain his net worth. One major one was with Whalerock Industries. According to Wiki, he was to set up a future direct-to-consumer digital service with a substantial mix of free and subscription-based programming.
5 Maintaining A Healthy Lifestyle
In order to have such net worth and maintain it, you need to be in tip-top shape to chase the day-to-day hustles. For years, Stern struggled with alcohol and drug addictions until he decided it was time to quit. Such addictions if not managed on time can easily drain one’s account. Luckily, he stopped when he did. According to Wiki, in 2012, he even started a pescetarian diet to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
4 His Big Change
For the longest time, Stern was known for his antagonistic celebrity interviews until he decided to change. He had to go to therapy to develop empathy. Looking back, he is very embarrassed about those old snotty interviews and has apologized to some of the guests. According to Yahoo, Stern believes he would not be making millions on radio to date were it not for his big change.
3 Consistency And A Good Reputation
Stern has not always had a good reputation thanks to those outrageous online antics he did in the past. After he realized what he was doing was hurting people and his reputation, he decided to change. Another thing that has enabled him to maintain his net worth is consistency. Alongside other roles, Stern has and continues to work as a radio host since 1986, according to wiki reports.
2 Great Communicator
Even when Stern was doing those antagonistic interviews, he was still entertaining listeners because he was a good communicator as CNBC points out. To improve his communication further, he mastered the art of being able to elicit honest emotions and genuine insight rather than being hostile to the guests. This greatly improved his communication making him the highest-paid radio host to date. This skill has definitely helped him maintain his wealth over the years.
1 Painter
Stern is truly a jerk of all trades. According to Artnet, he knows his way around the canvas. His wife Ostrosky has commissioned a series of paintings from her husband; this photo is one of them. She revealed that he has painted a rose, a lilac and a peony painting. We are not too sure if he sells his pieces. However, according to his wife, they are on-demand and people want to buy them.
Sources: Artnet.com, Nytimes.com, Cheatsheet.com, Moneyinc.com, Money.com