It is common knowledge that Ryan Seacrest has successfully established his position in the industry, both as a producer, reality TV host, as well as a talk show host. While he marked his presence on the small, it was hosting the hit morning talk show, Live with Kelly and Ryan that earned him momentous recognition and a swelling fan base. And yet, after giving years of his life to the popular show, he is bidding farewell.
Ryan joined the show in 2017 as a co-host of Kelly Ripa who has been hosting the show since 2001. On the morning of Feb. 16, fans of the show were given a new piece of rather shocking information — the American Idol host who’s been co-hosting the show for nearly six years would no longer be a part of it.
It was later announced that Ryan would be replaced by Kelly’s husband, Mark Consuelos and the show will be renamed Live with Kelly and Mark. Even though no specified reasons have been shared to explain why Ryan is leaving the show, his exhausting journey from New York to Los Angeles has been implied as a possible cause. Besides the morning talk show, Seacrest is also known for hosting other shows, some of them being his regulars like American Idol. Speaking about the same, Kelly has acknowledged how much hard work Seacrest has put into doing justice to all the shows he is associated with.
“You are a gem. You are one of my best friends. The greatest part of this experience has been that you’ve gone from being a friend to a family member. You are family. We love you. We are so proud of you. I know how much of a sacrifice it’s been. I know how exhausting it’s been going back and forth [from New York to L.A.]”.
The emotional moments and farewells have sparked curiosity amongst the fans regarding Seacrest. They are interested to know more about their favorite host’s career and achievements to date, which includes his earnings from various shows as well as his total net worth. Turns out that Seacrest earned a hefty amount from every project he has been involved in.
He earned around $5 million each for the first eight seasons of American Idol. Thereafter, his income rose massively, and later, up until season 15, he was paid $15 million each season. Seacrest’s relationship with the singing competition tv series was far from over as he returned after it was revived and reprised his role as the host for season 16 to season 20 when the show premiered on ABC.
His income per season was between $10 and $12 million. Seacrest’s overall earning stands at around $200 million from American Idol. He also made a fortune from Live with Kelly and Ryan where he was paid $10 million annually. Since he was fully involved with the show for nearly five months starting in 2017, his total income amounts to $50 million.
As of 2023, Ryan’s total net worth is around $450 million. Saying so, leaving the show would cost him a hefty amount of $10 million annually but he seems to have plenty of lucrative projects lined up that will keep adding to his fortune.