In 1997, ABC's "The View" started out with women from eclectic walks of life hot-stoving
over current issues. Today, its influence on pop culture is nothing short of enormous,
becoming the hottest daytime program in the country. As such, the richest host of “The
View” might surprise you.
When show creator Barbara Walters wanted "The View" to include hosts with diverse opinions,
she got more than she bargained for with Star Jones. Thanks to her legal background which
included tenure as a prosecutor for the District Attorney's office in Brooklyn for five years,
Jones proved to be a feisty addition. She often quarreled with the rest of the co-hosts,
Walters and Joy Behar in particular.
Jones lasted nine seasons of "The View" before announcing publicly she would be leaving in
June 2006 in a strategy to upset ABC's plans to fire her. Jones later told CNN that she
departed on her own terms.
In February 2021, she landed another cushy gig as editor at New York-based social directory
"Marquis Who's Who," where she strives to put more minorities on the city's celebrity
A-list. She said to “The New York Times,”
"What makes this exciting for me is that rarely do you see an African-American taking on a
leadership role in identifying who is influencing American society."
That job, her legal earnings, show appearances, and product endorsements have resulted in
a purse Celebrity Net Worth estimates at $12 million.
Actor Rosie Perez was already an established star when ABC announced she would join "The
View" in 2014, making her the first Latina to join the rest of the panel at the studio
table. At the time, a stoked Perez said,
"The opportunity to connect with our nation's audience on a daily basis [...] icing on the
cake!"
Sadly, it wasn't all sweetness for Perez. Four months later, “Variety” reported
that the celebrity had problems adjusting to the show's issue-oriented content, and
had a tough time reading the teleprompter. By July 2015, “Buzzfeed” broke the story
that Perez had left the show.
Perez has had many acting roles in major films such as "Do The Right Thing," "White Men Can't
Jump," and "Fearless," which landed her a Golden Globe and Oscar nomination. She also
snagged a role in 2020’s Birds of Prey. Those roles and her ongoing choreography stints
have since been responsible for her wealth, which Celebrity Net Worth pegs at $12 million.
The child star who made a living playing Bob Saget's daughter, Candace Cameron Bure, made
an impressive stand when she became the host of "The View." The former "Full House" player
lasted two seasons on the talk show since becoming a co-host in 2015.
But the timing of her arrival couldn't have been worse. Bure told People,
"When I was asked to join the table, the show was supposed to steer towards more ever-green
topics and less about politics [...] Enter Donald Trump into the presidential race. It
changed everything."
For a celebrity who wasn't weaned on politics, she faced a tough learning curve. But spending
her downtime boning up on the issues and commuting weekly between New York and her home in Los
Angeles became too much. In 2017, an offer to star in the "Fuller House" reboot was her
easy exit from the talk show.
“Cinemablend” reported that Bure will also be in a forthcoming "Fuller House" movie
for Hallmark. That work will add to her earnings, which Celebrity Net Worth estimates at being
in the neighborhood of $14 million.
As proof that being on a reality TV show can develop a skill set one can use in everyday
life, submitted for your approval is Elisabeth Hasselbeck. The wife of former NFL quarterback
Tim Hasselbeck, and a formidable personality in her own right, got her start in showbiz
as a "Survivor" contestant and hasn't looked back. It might have been that same fighting
spirit that brought her into "The View" bullpen in 2003. After all, she lasted a decade locking
horns with the best of the lot.
“There’s a natural pattern in life, and it’s just—”
“The natural pattern is called evolution.”
“Designed by, in my belief, God.”
One of the more confrontational conservatives on the panel, Hasselbeck frequently clashed
with different-minded hosts. An “US Weekly” exclusive claimed her right-wing perspectives
were too extreme for the show's audience, so she was punted in 2013. She later wrote
in her autobiography "Point of View: A Fresh Look at Work, Faith, and Freedom,”
"I was bent over — shock, asthma, and betrayal all stealing my wind.”
Hasselbeck eventually found work at the more like-minded Fox News and has written a couple
of other books on gluten-free diets. With earnings from her TV gigs, books, and a few
real estate deals, according to Celebrity Net Worth, she's good for $16 million in the
bank.
You know you have a bit of a catty show when left and right co-hosts fight in front of
the camera. But when two people on the same end of the political spectrum hash it out,
the studio atmosphere can get even more brutal. Republican supporter Abby Huntsman found that
out the hard way when she joined "The View" in 2018, but after the umpteenth clash with
more extreme right-winger Meghan McCain, she called it quits after two seasons. A CNN report
claimed that the clashes between the two were just the tip of the iceberg in what a handful
of personnel on "The View" described as a "toxic" environment. Huntsman eventually co-hosted
with a more genial crowd on "Fox & Friends." Huntsman told “Deseret News,”
"The show is made for drama [...] It did get fiery and that will continue. Honestly, it
is a lot to sit there and have to do that every day."
Though it may have been a burden emotionally, Huntsman is not hurting financially. Celebrity
Net Worth has her making around $20 million.
Jenny McCarthy first made herself known when she sprang from the pages of "Playboy." So
when she joined "The View" in 2013, some thought that her appearances would be tame in comparison.
Almost immediately, McCarthy demonstrated that she was far from a cardboard cutout cutie,
taking on fellow panelists like Whoopi Goldberg and Barbara Walters. In an interview with
“People,” McCarthy claimed the contention wasn't so much over the hot topics brought
to the table, but Walters and Goldberg, especially Whoopi. Fired after only one season, McCarthy
lamented,
"To me, Whoopi had an addiction to controlling people's thoughts, their words, the room,
the table, your feeling, your mood [...] She had an addiction to controlling all of it
and everybody."
With her TV appearances and the nine books she's penned, she's accumulated a fortune
assessed by Celebrity Net Worth at about $25 million.
If you're a card-carrying Republican or were a supporter of George W. Bush and Donald Trump,
watch out. Cross Joy Behar's path and the unapologetic leftist will pulverize you with
all the verbal ammo at her disposal. Behar earned her battle scars being the only original
member of "The View" panel still occupying a seat, despite being fired and sitting out
two seasons in 2013. As far as Behar is concerned, conflicts with her co-hosts come with the
territory. She said to “Good Housekeeping,”
"Any conversation that talks about politics or religion is going to go off the rails [...] It
would be very unrealistic to think that there would be no acrimony, disagreements, and maybe
even hurt feelings sometimes. That's the way it is."
Surprisingly, "The View," isn't her biggest revenue stream. Rather, her savviness as a
real estate investor has hugely contributed to a nest egg Celebrity Net Worth values at
$30 million.
Raven-Symone cut her teeth as a child star on "The Cosby Show" and played a psychic teen
on "That's So Raven." However, somehow those mystical tools weren't at her disposal during
her year-long tenure on "The View," which she joined in 2015. Raven-Symone told ET,
"My version of doing it, I wanted it to be about my mind and I wanted it to be about
my opinions."
But the public was shocked over some of Raven-Symone's perspectives, which included a declaration
that she'd never hire anyone with a, quote, "ghetto name,” and siding with a cop who
assaulted a kid for using his cell phone on school property. More militant viewers circulated
a petition to ax her from the show. But in the end, Symone left "The View" on her own
terms when she jumped at Disney Channel's offer to reboot her Raven role.
Raven-Symone's showbiz output has been prolific since toddlerhood, but a lot of her loot has
come from licensing deals from all that Raven merch. As a result, Celebrity Net Worth has
Raven at $40 million.
Despite the on-air rumbles involving most co-hosts, others stood out as being far more
diplomatic on "The View" set. And only a few presided at the hot topics table with dignity
like Meredith Viera. When asked by Us Weekly about all the turbulence in front of the camera,
Viera, who spent nine seasons on the show, was eloquent in her response. She said,
"I hate to see dirty laundry exposed [...] Everybody has a side story. So my memory of it was that
[it] was a great time."
Viera already had an extensive hard-news background, having reported at CBS and working on its
signature newsmagazine "60 Minutes" for several years. All this before becoming an original
co-host of "The View" in 1997. After leaving the talk show, she became a fixture on NBC's
"The Today Show" before hosting the syndicated version of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?"
for which she won two Daytime Emmys.
Combining her efforts as a journalist and public affairs personality has Celebrity Net
Worth calculating her assets to be around $45 million.
Credit much of Whoopi Goldberg's appeal on "The View" to name recognition from previous
marquee endeavors, but audiences can't seem to get enough of the endearing co-host. She’s
occupied the seat at the table since 2007. Fortunately for diehards, that Whoopi fix
will continue to be satisfied until at least 2025, thanks to a four-year deal she inked
with ABC, according to “The Hollywood Reporter” in September 2021. For now, Goldberg claims
she's up to the challenge. She told Variety in April 2021,
"I'm there until I don't think I can do it anymore, but I'm not there yet."
“I’m just gliding along.”
Prolific in the acting trade, Goldberg is one of only 16 people on the planet to have
won the EGOT awards grand slam. She earned an Emmy for hosting "The View" and the AMC
documentary "Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel," an Oscar for "Ghost,"
two Golden Globes for "Ghost" and "The Color Purple," and a Tony for producing a remount
of "Thoroughly Modern Millie." All that sweat equity has Whoopi shining bright with a value
Celebrity Net Worth deems to be at $60 million.
When actress Rosie O'Donnell replaced Star Jones in 2006, her unfiltered anger was the
stuff of legends, having combated with pretty well everyone at the Hot Topics tabel. Her
first year alone enticed “The New York Post” to consult a psychiatrist, who said O'Donnell
greatly mistrusted men, was particularly angry at women, and craved attention.
While O'Donnell may have been one of the show's more toxic hosts, she was never fired. She
left after one season but returned in 2014 for another season. However, stress and health
issues forced her to bow out once again. It doesn’t look like another return is in the
cards either, as O'Donnell told Daily Beast,
"I don't watch it anymore because it upsets me [...] and because I think it's been dumbed-down
a lot."
From hosting her own talk show to delving into some lucrative real estate ventures,
O'Donnell is coming up rosy with wealth estimated by Celebrity Net Worth at $120 million.
For Barbara Walters, “The View” was the final crown in a sterling career. She announced
her exit in 2013. Walters said in an ABC statement,
"I do not want to appear on another program or climb another mountain [...] I want instead
to sit on a sunny field and admire the very gifted women — and okay, some men, too — who
will be taking my place."
Walters, however, hasn't totally retired, still listed as an executive producer and
co-owner of the show. Walters was a trailblazer, becoming the first woman to anchor a primetime
network news program.
Her experience provided the savviness to convince ABC that the climate was ready for a show
in which women would have their say on what was going on in America. She's certainly earned
her keep with a portfolio that Celebrity Net Worth pegs at $170 million.
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