Alex Trebek’s Net Worth and How Much He Gets Paid to Host ‘Jeopardy’
What is … Alex Trebek’s annual salary and net worth?
Trebek has been the host of Jeopardy for more than three decades and although most of us can’t imagine the popular game show airing without him, he has said that he may retire once his contract is up in 2020. While we have plenty of time to ponder and speculate about who would replace him if he does leave the question fans have now is how much he’s made hosting the program for so long?
Other TV gigs
Trebek has been on Jeopardy since its revival in 1984 but he actually began hosting game shows much earlier than that.
In 1966, the Canadian-born TV personality debuted as a game show host on Reach for the Top, which was a quiz show featuring high school age contestants. From there he went on to host a few other CBC programs before moving to the United States in 1973.
He ended up getting hired by NBC to host The Wizard of Odds. However, the show was not a hit with viewers and the network canceled it after just one season. Trebek then gained popularity as the host of High Rollers. That show featured contestants trying to win prizes by rolling dice, a format that was based on the Shut the Box game. While working on High Rollers, he also began hosting another game show called The $128,000 Question, which taped in Toronto.
After both shows went off the air, Trebek kept busy with a few other TV projects until he was approached to host the Jeopardy reboot. It, of course, became a huge hit and the rest is history.
Annual salary and net worth
So just how much money has Trebek made over the years? Well, according to Celebrity Net Worth, he is worth around $50 million and he gets paid $10 million a year to host the syndicated game show.
His net worth and annual salary are a bit lower than fellow longtime game show host Pat Sajak who has an estimated net worth of $65 million and makes $15 million a year for Wheel of Fortune.
To beard or not to beard
When Season 35 of Jeopardy premiered in Septemeber 2018, another question about Trebek was raised after the game show posted a picture of the host with a beard on its Instagram page along with the caption: “To beard, or not to beard?”
Yes, Trebek’s facial hair was a hot debate on social media with everyone buzzing about if he should keep it or shave it. Viewers were able to cast their vote and tallies immediately following the premiere showed that 67% of folks thought it should stay and 33% thought it should go.
Trebek joked about his look during the show saying, “No need to inquire how I spent my summer vacation. Things got a little out of hand.”
Trebek’s mustache and beard have been a topic of discussion in the past and for the show’s 30th anniversary in 2014, he sported his famed mustache look for the first time in 13 years. However, he soon went back to clean shaven.
