Find Out How Many Vowels Pat Sajak Can Afford To Buy (Net Worth 2023)
The 'Wheel of Fortune' host will be steadily employed until at least 2024.
Pat Sajak has been hosting Wheel of Fortune since 1981. You just don't see career stability like that anymore, especially in television. In his hosting role, Sajak has been nominated for 19 Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Game Show Host, winning three of them.
A sensible man could turn decades of TV salary into quite the nest egg. According to his own Twitter, Sajak was sent to Vietnam in 1968, where he briefly worked as a finance clerk. From there, he got his start in broadcasting as a radio host. Taking his hosting skills—and business sense—from the Army, the Wheel of Fortune host has managed to amass a fortune of his own.
Related: Is Pat Sajak Retiring from Wheel of Fortune?
What is Pat Sajak's net worth?
Celebrity Net Worth estimates Sajak to be worth $70 million, while Money Inc. guesses he's worth slightly less: $65 million.
Both these estimates use Sajak's most recently announced salary of $15 million a season (per Forbes). But that's what he was getting paid in 2016. In 2021, both Sajak and Vanna White extended their contracts through 2024, according to Variety. Sajak also received a consulting producer credit. That not only indicates a raise, it could mean he now receives a portion of the show's syndication rights.
What is Pat Sajak's workload?
According to Cosmopolitan, Sajak and White only film Wheel four days a month. That may not seem like much work for $15 million, but those four shoot days a month are probably pretty long. Each season of Wheel is 195 episodes long. Sajak and White also host the spinoff show, Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, which premiered 2021.
Related: Get To Know Pat Sajak's Daughter, Maggie Sajak
Does Pat Sajak have any side gigs?
Pat Sajak has done some acting from time to time. In 1983, he guested on Days of our Lives as Kevin Hathaway. But since his stint on Wheel of Fortune took off, Sajak has gotten more acting roles playing himself. Sajak's IMDb shows him playing fictionalized versions of himself on such shows as Fresh Off the Boat, The King of Queens, Rugrats, The A-Team, and two episodes of The Larry Sanders Show. Not to mention he was a singing bust in 2021's Muppet Haunted Mansion. Taking all those roles into consideration, Sajak must get some hefty TV residuals every year on top of his salary.
Pat Sajak also briefly branched out into entrepreneurship, partnering with Great American Deals. The company modeled itself as a hyper-specific, franchisable Groupon. Sadly, the company seems to have called it quits. Its official Twitter hasn't made a post since 2015.
Does Pat Sajak own property?
Pat Sajak is bicoastal! According to the Baltimore Sun, Sajak bought a house in Baltimore for $$1.275 million in 1991. His neighbors didn't seem too excited to have a celebrity in the 'hood. "I wouldn't know him if he was sitting right next to me," one told a reporter. "I don't watch too much TV."
Sajak also owns a house in Encino, Calif. Located in the San Fernando Valley, it's not a terrible commute for Sajak from Encino to CBS Television City where Wheel tapes. Sajak bought the house in 1988, according to Urban Splatter, for $1.8 million. Today the house is valued at $5 million.
Related: Does Vanna White Get to Keep Her Wheel of Fortune Dresses?
Is Pat Sajak good with money?
If the appreciation of his homes didn't clue you in, Pat Sajak is good with money. He began his career working in finance for the military, and still budgets like he's spending taxpayer money. Writing on Twitter, Sajak bragged about his pursuit of a great deal. In a now deleted tweet, Sajak wrote "Between being a senior citizen, a Vietnam veteran, using coupons and joining their buyers’ clubs, I’ve found several stores that have to end up paying me for every purchase. (Not sure if the people in line behind me appreciate the half hour it takes to check out.)"
Next: Watch a Wheel of Fortune Player Solve 27-Letter Puzzle With Only One Letter Showing
