David Muir’s staggering World News Tonight salary revealed — how it compares to his net worth

The ABC News anchor has hosted World News Tonight since 2014

ABC’s World News Tonight with David Muir remains at the top of the pile of primetime news broadcasts for nearly a decade, most recently continuing its streak of the most viewers for the 9th consecutive year.

The 51-year-old news anchor was already a network favorite before being promoted to the host of the evening broadcast and has since gained an even wider audience through it.

While it maintains its lead against key competitors like NBC Nightly News and CBS Evening News, it begs the question — how much does David get paid as the host?

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David Muir’s salary

David has been a part of the ABC News fold since 2003, and holds a variety of other positions with the network beyond being the host of the primetime news program.

© ABC via Getty Images
David has hosted “World News Tonight” since September 2014

He also hosts the weekly newsmagazine 20/20 with Deborah Roberts, a position he has held since 2013, and is also the lead anchor of breaking news and special event coverage for ABC News, taking over from George Stephanopoulos in 2021.

He has also helmed several international reports, key interviews and even the 2024 presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris last September. For his various ABC duties, David is reportedly paid a whopping $8 million annually as of 2025, per celebritynetworth.com.

David Muir’s net worth

© Getty Images
He anchors the newsmagazine 20/20 with Deborah Roberts

David has been a working journalist from a very young age, making his debut in the news space as a teenager, interning for his local news station thanks to the dedication of his parents.

He worked with other local stations as a student of Ithaca College and made his professional debut with WTVH-TV in his native Syracuse, staying with them from 1994 to 2000.

After a brief stint with WCVB television in Boston, he finally moved to ABC, and has been a star player for over two decades with the network. Among his many honors and assets, he also owns an impressive home in New York’s Skaneateles Lake area which he bought in 2019 for $7 million.

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David recently moderated the presidential debate with colleague Linsey Davis

Per celebritynetworth.com, David is currently one of the wealthiest active journalists in the primetime space, boasting a net worth of $25 million as of 2025.

World News Tonight’s growth

The anchor spoke with Broadcasting & Cable Magazine recently about the show’s exponential growth since his arrival. “I’m grateful the audience is responding,” he told the publication.

“I recognize that we’re in an industry where most everything is shrinking. And I think what it indicates is that there is a real hunger out there. It reminds us every single night how important it is, the job that we’re doing right now in this moment in our country.”

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A fan of the newsroom from a very young age, sitting beside dad Ronald Muir

David continued: “I love this country as much as [our audience does] and I love those stories and I love seeing the smiles or the tears at the end of the newscast. And I love that people are reaching out to one another. So there is a lot that’s dark, but there’s also still a lot that’s not. I think that people are seeing that we’re seeing that, too.”