Thomas Joseph Leykis was born on 1 August 1956, in The Bronx, New York City USA, of Ukrainian, Jewish, and Irish descent. Tom is a radio and internet personality, probably best known for being the host of “The Tom Leykis Show” from 1994 to 2009. He’s also the host of “The Tasting Room with Tom Leykis”; all of his endeavors have helped put his net worth to where it is today.
How rich is Tom Leykis? As of mid-2016, sources estimate a net worth that is at $22 million, mostly earned through success as a radio personality. His show has been nationally syndicated, and he’s considered one of the first radio hosts to popularize provocative shows. All of these have ensured the current position of his wealth.
Tom Leykis Net Worth $22 Million Dollars
Leykis attended Newfield High School and after matriculating, moved away from his family to study broadcasting at Fordham University. However, because of financial issues, he would eventually drop out of college.
Tom already had experience with radio, becoming a fill-in host at WBAB when he was younger. In 1979, he became a “sidekick” for the talk show “The Simone Phone” hosted by Mark Simone. Around this time, Tom also had the chance to host “The Graffiti Hour” which was one of the first public-access television shows. He moved around a few radio stations before going to Albany in 1981, and working for WQBK. While working there, he was also a contributor to the WABC show “The Phonebooth”, and then found a permanent hosting job in Staunton, Virginia.
In 1984, “The Tom Leykis Show” first aired as a replacement for the talk show hosted by Neil Rogers. The two would become rivals and Tom would even challenge Neil on-air. Eventually, his radio talk show would become top rated, though a few months later he would leave the station WNWS. He brought his talents to KFYI where he also became program director; he worked there for almost two years before leaving. During this time, he also had a public-access television show entitled “Backstage Pass”. These positions established his net worth.
Leykis then moved to Los Angeles, hosting a talk show program from 1988 to 1992. The radio station KFI which he worked for got an indecency fine, due to his on-air comments, but this fine was paid by listeners thanks to overwhelming support. In 1992, he was fired by KFI and had to move to Boston to work for WRKO. His tenure there was short because of a domestic incident with his wife. In 1994, he started “The Tom Leykis Show” again and it would go on to become nationally syndicated.
“The Tom Leykis Show” was originally political in nature, but soon he expanded the show to talk about other issues such as relationships and religion. The show also had a segment in which callers could talk with the host about anything. Eventually, the show was picked up by KLSX, and it would continue on its run, being heard on other stations and other cities as well. Along with this, Tom also started “The Tasting Room” which was more about lifestyle topics. After the end of “The Tom Leykis Show” radio run, he decided to move it online to his podcast network, which continues to the present.
For his personal life, it is known that Leykis has been married and divorced four times. One of his marriages was to reporter Christina Gonzales whom Tom accused of cheating. Another marriage was with a listener from Seattle and it lasted for a year. His fourth wife was Susan Drew Leykis whom he met at a Los Angeles Kings game. Their marriage would be part of controversy as Tom was accused of assaulting Susan and threatening murder. Tom has also mentioned that he is an atheist.
