Leslie Moonves was born on 6 October 1949, in New York City, USA into a Jewish family, and is very well known as the CEO and a Director of CBS Corporation, as well as an actor who has appeared in several TV series. His acting career began in the early ’70s, and he became involved in management in the mid-’80s.
How rich is Les Moonves? Current estimates are that Les Moonves’ net worth is a very healthy $300 million. Moonves is thought to be the second highest paid director, as his yearly salary is believed to be in the region of $60-70 million a year, however, a significant amount of his wealth was accumulated from his appearances in various television series.
Les Moonves Net Worth $300 Million
Les Moonves attended Valley Stream High School, and later studied at Bucknell University from where he graduated in 1971. He acted in college plays, and subsequently followed an acting career. Among minor acting performances, in 1976 Leslie Moonves landed the role of Pascal in the TV series entitled “Cannon”, in 1977 appeared as Bob Kemps in “The Six Million Dollar Man” and in 1989 starred as Adam in “Midnight Caller”. After that, he decided to switch careers and focused on business instead. However, from early 2004, Moonves still appeared on television, mainly in “The Late Show with David Letterman” where he and the host usually discussed current events, as well as issues related to the CBS network. Les Moonves’ business career became another important source that contributed to his net worth.
In 1985, Moonves joined Lorimar Television and was in charge of its mini-series and movies. From 1989 Moonves rose in the company and became the President of Lorimar. Later in 1993, when Lorimar Television and Warner Bros. Television merged, Moonves became the CEO of the company, and Les Moonves’ net worth increased significantly in this position. In 1995, Moonves joined the CBS Entertainment and was soon promoted to the position of a Chairman and CEO of CBS. He is currently responsible for all the operations of the company, some of which include overseeing CBS Television Network, The CW, CBS Radio, CBS Records and others.
In 2006, Moonves was an important figure who helped to bring together a CW Network by merging United Paramount Network (UPN) with the Warner Bros Television Network (The WB). Yet another important contribution to Les Moonves’ net worth is his investment in the ZeniMax Media, a company that develops and publishes video games through its subsidiaries. Moonves serves on the board of the company together with his friend Ernest Del. In addition, Moonves appeared during several ZeniMax launch parties, including Bethesda’s Fallout 3, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Rage events.
Les Moonves received public appreciation and recognition as well. In 2013, Moonves was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame alongside Ron Howard, Al Michaels, Dick Wolf, Bob Schieffer and Philo Farnsworth.
In his personal life, Les Moonves has three children from his first marriage with Nancy Wiesenfeld(1978-2004) and another child from his second marriage to a CBS show reporter Julie Chen, whom he married in 2004. Moonves owns several residences in New York City and Malibu, however, he currently resides in his house in Beverly Hills, California.
