Pat Sajak is worth $70 million as a TV host, actor, and game show host, and he is also a former weatherman. Sajak is best known for his tenure as the helm of the popular game show Wheel of Fortune. Pat’s annual pay for his role on “Wheel” is $14 million.
Later in the piece, we’ll explain why it isn’t Pat’s primary annual revenue source. When compared to their annual earnings from the game show itself, Pat and Vanna White benefit more from licensing their image to casino slot machines.
Contents
Pat Sajak Early Life
Patrick Leonard Sajdak (Pat Sajak) was born on October 26, 1946, in Chicago, Illinois. He is the son of Joyce Helen and Leonard Anthony Sajdak and spent his formative years in Chicago. His ancestors on both sides were Polish. Pat’s father passed away while he was young, and his mother later remarried. Sajak attended and eventually graduated from Farragut High School in 1964. He attended Columbia University in Chicago and now works as a bellhop at the Palmer House hotel.
Pat Sajak’s net worth is $70 million so everything on the wheel is bullshit to him. It’s probably why he never feels bad when anybody goes bankrupt. “Aw well ya lost $5000 🤷♂️” while basically yawning because you can find that amount of money in his couch cushions
— Robin Tran 🏳️⚧️ (@robintran04) September 9, 2021
Pat Sajak Early Career
Sajak got the job as a news anchor at WEDC after hearing about it from his broadcasting professor in college. After applying, he was given the morning shift (6 a.m.) at the station. Sajak enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1968, during the height of the Vietnam War. He was a DJ for Armed Forces Radio while he was in the military. As a DJ, he began every show with, “Good morning, Vietnam!” just like Robin Williams’ character did in the hit movie of the same name. Sajak was the afternoon host on a Nashville radio station in the early 1970s, spinning records from 3 to 5 p.m.
Sajak relocated to the Los Angeles area in the late 1970s in search of a career in the film and television industries. His meteorological talents were quickly recognized, and he was offered full-time work at KNBC-TV in Los Angeles that same year, 1977.
Wheel of Fortune
Pat was recruited to replace Chuck Woolery as host of Wheel of Fortune by game show mogul Merv Griffin in 1981. Sadly, NBC’s then-President Fred Silverman said no to hiring Sajak because he was “too local.” Because of this, Merv Griffin canceled the show and refused to start production on fresh episodes until Sajak was brought on board. For almost thirty years, Sajak has presided over broadcasts of Wheel of Fortune both during the day and in the evening on syndication.
In 2018, Sajak surpassed Bob Barker as the longest-serving host of any game show. On March 22, 2019, Guinness World Records presented him with the title. Pat Sajak will continue to host Wheel of Fortune through 2022, per his contract terms. Pat has received three Emmy Awards and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to the show.
Other Ventures
Sajak has a cameo in the 1982 comedic sequel Airline II: The Sequel. His character was a reporter for a Buffalo, New York, news station. Pat hosted The Pat Sajak Show, a late-night discussion show on CBS that lasted only a few seasons. Soon after the first episode of Wheel of Fortune in daytime aired, he departed the show. Sajak’s sidekick was former co-anchor, Dan Miller. The first episode aired on January 29, 1989, and the last one aired on April 30, 1990.
From 1984 until 1989, Sajak was a frequent guest host on both Super Password and Password Plus. He has hosted episodes of Dream House and Just Men! as a guest host. Sajak frequently filled in for Regis Philbin as the guest host on Live with Regis and Kelly. In 2003, Sajak was the anchor of two popular sports discussion shows: Pat Sajak Weekend on Fox News and The Pat Sajak Baseball Hour. It was in 2005 when Sajak decided to put his money into the upstart Golden Baseball League.
He is vice chairman of the board of trustees at Hillsdale College in the state’s far south. Sajak serves as an outside director for Eagle Publishing, a conservative press. Sajak is an avid contributor to the conservative blog ricochet.com, where he has a regular podcast and has written a number of posts. In 2010, he started contributing to National Review Online. The puzzle game Lucky Letters, released in 2007, is his most well-known work.
Pat Sajak Pop Culture
A Muppet named Pat Playjacks hosted “Squeal of Fortune” as a parody of Sajak’s show in the 1980s on Sesame Street. On the 1980s satire series SCTV and Saturday Night Live, Martin Short modeled his character Ed Grimley after Pat Sajak. Sajak made an appearance as a guest star on an episode of The Commish in 1992. In 1993, Sajak had guest appearances on both Days of Our Lives and the kids’ show Rugrats, in which he voiced a character based on himself.
In a 1986 episode of the NBC sitcom 227, Sajak and Vanna White played fictionalized versions of themselves. He had a cameo in the 2001 season of The King of Queens, as himself. Pat and Vanna appeared in a guest spot in a fourth season episode of The A-Team.
Pat Sajak Personal Life
Sajak tied the knot with photographer Lesly Brown Sajak in Annapolis, Maryland, in the winter of 1989. From 1979 to 1986, he was married to a woman who was never identified in the media. Pat and Lesly’s children are Patrick Michael James Sajak, born in 1990, and Maggie Marie Sajak, born in 1995, both of whom are the proud parents of two wonderful young people. Maggie has released three tracks and is working toward a career as a country singer.
The pair has a residence in both Severna Park, Maryland, and Los Angeles, California. Pat Sajak is a climate change denier, as he has openly confessed. His money also goes to Young America’s Foundation, an organization with the stated goal of funding conservative speakers at universities across the country.
The Sajaks attend several Churches of Christ. Pat had to have emergency surgery to unblock her intestines in November of this year. Although he was out recovering, Vanna White hosted in his stead. After three weeks, on December 5, 2019, he went back to work.
Pat Sajak Salary
It is estimated that Pat Sajak’s annual pay as host of Wheel of Fortune is $14 million as of this writing. Vanna White, on the other hand, earns a cool $10 million annually. The average monthly taping schedule for Wheel of Fortune is four days. Twice on Thursdays and twice on Fridays they record. They both show up at 8:30 am on taping days and work until lunch. Three performances are seen by the same crowd, followed by a meal break. Three further tapings are seen by a second audience.
Salary Breakdown
Each month, Pat and Vanna record for four days. Work only 48 days a year and bring in $15 million, or $10 million if you can make it through tax season. Therefore, Vanna makes $208,333 every day on the job. Pat takes home $312,500 daily on the job. Pat Sajak makes $52,083 for every performance, while Vanna White pulls in $34,722 per episode.
Casino Licensing Earnings
It may surprise you to learn that Pat Sajak and Vanna White’s “Wheel of Fortune” salaries aren’t their primary source of income. Pat and Vanna’s licensing deals for their likenesses on slot machines in casinos bring in significantly more money than the game show itself.
Historically speaking, the very first licensed entertainment property to be used on slot machines was Wheel of Fortune. The first slot machines with the Wheel of Fortune trademark were introduced to Las Vegas casinos in 1996. They became wildly popular almost immediately, and casinos all over the world began licensing them. Within a decade, slot machines bearing the Wheel of Fortune logo were said to be the most lucrative in most casinos.
Roughly twenty thousand “Wheel” slot machines may be found in casinos all over the globe. More than one billion dollars in annual gross revenue is generated by Wheel of Fortune slot machines in Las Vegas. Over $2 billion has been made by the machines thus far.
Pat and Vanna both make at least $15 million a year in royalties, licensing fees, and other compensation for the use of their faces and likenesses on slot machines.