‘Jeopardy!’: Dr. Oz Earned $268,000 for Guest Host Gig
Being on Jeopardy! can pay off in a big way – especially if you’re the host. Dr. Oz earned six figures for his controversial 2021 guest-hosting stint on the popular quiz show.
Dr. Oz’s ‘Jeopardy!’ guest host salary revealed
Mehmet Oz – who earned an M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine – rose to prominence when he began appearing as a health expert on The Oprah Winfrey Show. In 2009, he began hosting his own talk show, The Dr. Oz Show. That made him famous – as well as very wealthy. Dr. Oz’s impressive net worth and earnings were recently made public in the financial disclosures he was required to make as part of his bid to become the next U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania.
Oz was paid $268,701 for his two-week Jeopardy! guest hosting gig. He donated those earnings to charity, according to the disclosure form. The organization that received that money wasn’t revealed, but Oz selected No Kid Hungry as the group that would receive a donation matching Jeopardy! contestants’ cumulative winnings during his time as guest host.
Dr. Oz also earned $23,312 from Cameo
In addition to his Jeopardy! earnings, Oz took in $23,312 from Cameo. He also donated that money to charity.
Dr. Oz’s other earnings include fees for speeches to various groups, including the American Pistachio Growers Association and the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety. Other income included more than $300,000 in royalties from Columbia University from a patent license agreement for a medical device known as a MitraClip, and $2 million for hosting the now-canceled Dr. Oz Show. He also earned $7 million from Oz Media, the company that produced the talk show.
His extensive assets include investments in Amazon, Apple, Alphabet, and Microsoft; property in Turkey, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania; a cattle farm in Florida; and the trademarks associated with The Dr. Oz Show. His total net worth is between $100 million and $500 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Dr. Oz has spent more than $5 million of his own money so far to support his bid to become the next Republican senator from Pennsylvania, the New York Times reported. The primary election is May 17.
Dr. Oz’s time as a ‘Jeopardy!’ host was controversial
Oz was one of several celebrities invited to take a turn hosting Jeopardy! following the death of long-time host Alex Trebek. The TV doctor’s time as a host was controversial. Many fans of the trivia show objected that someone known for promoting questionable medical treatments had been tasked with hosting.
“Alex Trebek’s final episodes gave us a moving, frank look at a real-life health crisis, endured with grace and no little difficulty,” Variety TV critic Daniel D’Addario tweeted. “These were challenging and honest. Dr. Oz, by contrast, has suggested that drinking green tea with turmeric can prevent pancreatic cancer.”
Over the years, Oz has come under fire for his support of alternative therapies that aren’t supported by scientific research. A 2014 study by the British Medical Journal (via The Washington Post) found that more than half of the recommendations he made on his TV show couldn’t be backed up by evidence.
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