Piers Morgan Net Worth: Firings, Controversy, and Scandal for $90 Million

Piers Morgan, one of the most famous names in journalism in the UK and worldwide, is worth a fortune thanks to his entrepreneurship and numerous appearances across media and news outlets. As of 2024, Piers Morgan’s net worth is at least $30 million, with the chance that it is as high as $90 million.

Statements surrounding his earnings are rather contradictory and controversial, making it impossible to pinpoint his exact fortune.

Morgan is an English broadcaster, writer, journalist, and a famous television personality who has carved a career for himself. His journey started in tabloid journalism, working for The Sun, and soon expanded to include different endeavors in public commentary and television.

Known for his outlandish statements, fence-sitting positions, unapologetic approach, and charisma on the screen, Morgan is a famous talk show host and reality TV judge as well. To learn more about how he earned those millions, keep reading.

Piers Morgan’s Net Worth Breakdown:

As you will see, Piers Morgan’s estimated net worth is covered by a large range. Establishing Piers Morgan’s net worth is challenging, considering that much of the data online is contradictory. For instance, we unearthed data from trusted sources that list his GMB salary at $1.4 million, while the broadcaster himself has shared a value of $30 million.

In addition to his TV salaries, Morgan has been earning a fortune from authorship and journalism. So far, Morgan has written eleven books and has contributed to major newspapers throughout his career. He also has a lot invested in real estate and has some expensive assets in his portfolio.

Based on our detailed research, we’ve managed to create a detailed breakdown of the broadcaster’s main assets and earnings:

Piers Morgan Net Worth: Early Life and Education

Piers Stefan O’Meara, the man we know as Piers Morgan today, was born on March 30, 1965, in Surrey, England. He was born and raised in a Catholic family who moved to Newick shortly after Piers’ birth. His father, Vincent Eamonn O’Meara, worked as a dentist but unfortunately passed away before Morgan was a year old.

Piers’ mother, Gabrielle Georgina Sybille, married Glynne Pughe-Morgan following her husband’s death, which prompted the surname change for the child, effectively making him Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan.

Morgan studied at Cumnor House prep school until the age of 13, after which he enrolled at the Chailey School, a secondary school based in Chailey, Lewes. He also studied at Priory School in Lewes for sixth form, followed by nine months working at Lloyd’s of London.

After this, Morgan enrolled at Harlow College to study journalism, and he subsequently joined the Surrey and South London Newspaper Group in 1985.

Morgan’s Personal Life

In 1991, Piers Morgan married Marion Shalloe, with whom he had three sons, Albert, Spencer, and Stanley. In 2008, the couple divorced, and two years later, Morgan married journalist Celia Walden, the daughter of George Walden, the former Conservative MP. In 2011, Morgan and Walden had their daughter, Elise.

How Much is Piers Morgan Worth? Climbing the Ranks in TV and Journalism

Piers Morgan always knew he wanted to be a public person working in journalism. When he completed his education, he joined South London News as one of their reporters. He later moved on to a different venture, doing some freelancing for The Sun. From this point forward, his career kept growing and he kept climbing the ranks in the industry. Let’s see how his career progressed and diversified over time.

Early Career Days

In 1988, Piers Morgan started doing some freelance journalism for The Sun. Fast forward to 1994, and he was employed full-time at The Sun, writing their tabloid column “Bizarre“. His skills at self-promotion started showing early, and he was rapidly titled Friend of the Stars, being frequently pictured with Madonna, Sylvester Stallone, David Bowie, and others.

During his time at The Sun, the young editor dropped his double-barreled name. At the famous British national newspaper, he became widely known for his lack of sympathy and prying style when it came to the privacy of celebrities.

In 1994, aged only 29, Rupert Murdoch named Piers Morgan editor-in-chief of the Sunday tabloid News of the World, which is now defunct. This made Morgan the youngest editor of a British national newspaper in 57 years in the United Kingdom.

In 1995, he left the News of the World after he published photos of Catherine Victoria Lockwood, the wife of Earl Charles Spencer (Princess Diana’s brother), while she was leaving a rehab clinic. Since this was against the code of conduct among editors, his move was considered unorthodox and unethical, so the Press Complaints Commission upheld a complaint against him.

This prompted Murdoch to say that “the boy went too far” and criticized his friend in public, having apologized to Morgan in private. The incident eventually led to Morgan leaving the company to start working at the competing tabloid, the Daily Mirror.

Morgan’s Work at the Daily Mirror and the Press Gazette

In 1996, after leaving News of the World, Piers Morgan was ready for a new challenge. He took over as the Daily Mirror’s editor, a position he kept until 2004.

Under his leadership, The Daily Mirror was rebranded and dropped the “Daily” from the masthead in 1997 (which was reversed later on). The newspaper thrived in the years he was appointed editor, but his leadership wasn’t without controversies.

In 2000, for instance, Piers Morgan was investigated after Suzy Jagger wrote an article, published in The Daily Telegraph, revealing that he acquired £20,000 ($30,400 at the time) worth of shares in Viglen soon before the Mirror’s column tipped Viglen as a good investment. He therefore breached the Code of Conduct on financial journalism, as found by the Press Complaints Commission, but kept his position nonetheless. Further inquiry by the Department of Trade and Industry in 2004 eventually cleared him of all charges.

He also had several incidents with television personality Jeremy Clarkson, who once emptied a glass of water over Morgan, and even punched him during one of their arguments.

In 2004, Morgan was fired from The Daily Mirror since he refused to apologize for the photos he published that apparently falsely showed British soldiers attacking Iraqi civilians.

“I was fired. I refuse to apologize. And I refuse to accept that they were necessarily fakes. To this day, nobody has ever been prosecuted for it. They never found out who took the pictures. They arrested somebody, a soldier, but at the last minute, rather than go through with the prosecution and the faking of the pictures, they chose him as a prosecution witness in another torture case, thereby implying that he had credibility. I will apologize if firm evidence ever materializes that they were 100 percent fake, I will apologize.” – said Piers Morgan about the incident.

In 2005, Morgan landed an even bigger role – ownership of the Press Gazette. The newspaper was a publication that put on the British Press Awards, and due to Morgan taking over, many major newspapers boycotted the awards in 2006.

Eventually, the Press Gazette went into bankruptcy and was sold.

Piers Morgan Starts His Career in TV

Before he left the Daily Mirror, Piers Morgan embarked on a new journey, joining the world of television. He presented The Importance of Being Famous in 2003, a three-part documentary series that aired on the BBC, talking about fame and how modern media covers celebrities.

He also chaired a panel of members at the annual Pride of Britain Awards and co-hosted an interview show on Channel 4 with Amanda Platell, called Morgan and Platell.

Even though the show lasted for only three series before it was dropped, this marked a successful foray into television for Piers Morgan.

In 2006, the same year he left Daily Mirror, Morgan followed up on his journey in television, joining the judging panel of America’s Got Talent. He almost instantly clicked with the audience, becoming famous for his outspokenness and sharp tongue, which eventually led to Morgan getting his own interview show titled Piers Morgan Tonight in 201o, later renamed Piers Morgan Live in 2011, which aired on CNN.

Throughout 2006, Piers Morgan appeared as one of the judges at America’s Got Talent alongside David Hasselhoff and Brandy Norwood, replacing Simon Cowell (which was Cowell’s decision).

In 2007, Morgan once again appeared as a judge for the second season of the show. He also took part in the judging panel of Britain’s Got Talent on ITV, working alongside Simon Cowell and Amanda Holden.

Other Television Appearances

At this point, Piers Morgan was already a world-famous television personality, so his success led him to get some excellent roles on TV, including:

• 2007: Comic Relief Does The Apprentice, as a celebrity apprentice
• 2007: You Can’t Fire Me, I’m Famous, on BBC One as presenter
• 2008: Piers Morgan on Sandbanks, a documentary for ITV
• 2008: The Apprentice, where he was the winner in the US celebrity version, being named Celebrity Apprentice by Donald Trump on 27 March
• 2009: Piers Morgan On…, a three-part series in which he visited Dubai, Monte Carlo, and Hollywood (the show returned for a second series in 2010)
• 2009: Piers Morgan’s Life Stories on ITV as a host, with guests including Sharon Osbourne, Cheryl Cole, and former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown
• 2010: Piers Morgan Tonight on CNN, as a host
• 2011: Piers Morgan Live on CNN, which was canceled in 2014 after poor ratings
• 2015-2021: Good Morning Britain on ITV, as a guest host and later a permanent co-host, working alongside Charlotte Hawkins and Susanna Reid
• 2016-2017: Killer Women with Piers Morgan, a TV series where he interviewed female murderers
• 2017: Serial Killer with Piers Morgan, part of the Crime & Punishment season on ITV
• 2018: Hollyoaks as a cameo

Leaving Good Morning Britain

In March 2021, Piers Morgan left Good Morning Britain following a major controversy over his remarks about the show Oprah with Meghan and Harry. The controversy included an on-air argument with Alex Beresford, during which he stormed off the set.

Morgan’s statements and controversial comments on Good Morning Britain have led Ofcom, the British TV regulator, to adjudicate often. However, his criticism of Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, led to a complaint on her behalf, as well as over 57,000 complaints from other viewers. Even though Ofcom cleared Piers Morgan over the Meghan Markle comments, he eventually left the show on March 9, 2021.

@guardianaustralia

Piers Morgan can dish it out, but…He stormed off set after his colleague called him out on his #meghanmarkle coverage. #harryandmeghan #royals

♬ Piers Morgan storms off Good Morning Britain set – Guardian Australia

On the show, Morgan shared that he didn’t believe Markle when she told Oprah Winfrey she felt suicidal in the past. And, even though he left the show, he shared a tweet saying he still doesn’t believe Markle and he believes in freedom of speech, saying, “Thanks for all the love, and hate. I’m off to spend more time with my opinions.”

This wasn’t the only controversial incident of the broadcaster on the show. In 2017, for instance, Morgan accused actor Ewan McGregor of being a “pedophile-loving hypocrite” when he canceled his appearance on the show since he didn’t agree with Morgan’s comments about the Women’s March against Donald Trump.

Piers Morgan’s Earnings from Journalism and Television

In 2008, Piers Morgan signed a golden handcuffs deal worth£2 million per year ($3.7 million at the time) with ITV. As part of this deal, he would continue to appear as a judge on Britain’s Got Talent for two more series, front a new chat show, and make some interview specials and documentaries from different countries. This deal was the first signing by Peter Fincham, the new director of television at ITV at the time.

In September 2014, Piers Morgan became the editor-at-large of the Mail Online’s website, writing several columns a week and the weekly column for the Mail on Sunday Event magazine. In December 2021, he wrote in a special section for MailOnline, stating that this was his “final diary before I head off to new televisual and literary pastures with my old boss Rupert Murdoch”.

The details of how much he earned for his work on Mail Online’s website haven’t been disclosed to the public.

During his time at Good Morning Britain, Piers Morgan earned an eye-watering sum. He reportedly earned a salary of £1.1 million (around $1.4 million) at GMB, the same as the co-presenter Susanna.

However, in 2017, when he was still with Good Morning Britain, the famous broadcaster tweeted in response to a dare, sharing that his salary on the show was around $30 million.

£22,500,000. https://t.co/4TMAS4ppDs

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) July 19, 2017

According to Forbes, his pay at the time was significantly lower, around $1.4 million, which excluded his income from Piers Morgan’s Life Stories and Killer Women with Piers Morgan.

In January 2022, Press Gazette reported that Piers Morgan would be paid over $60 million over three years as part of his deal with News Corp, which would cover his TV shows on TalkTV and his columns for the New York Post and The Sun.

However, Morgan denied these claims, sharing: “You really shouldn’t believe what you read in Press Gazette!”

As the host of Piers Morgan Tonight, the broadcaster was paid $6 million per year.

Piers Morgan Uncensored

In September 2021, after leaving his position at GMB, Morgan took a new TV role, this time at Piers Morgan Uncensored. News UK announced that its new channel TalkTV would launch in 2022 and Morgan was the very first name they signed.

Morgan became the presenter of Piers Morgan Uncensored weeknights starting on 25 April 2022, interviewing Donald Trump in his first and second episodes.

In March 2023, Piers won the Scoop of the Year Award by the British Sports Journalism Awards for the interview with Cristiano Ronaldo in November of the previous year. In June 2023, he won the TRIC award for the Interview of the Year award for this same broadcast.

In February 2024, the famous TV personality announced that Piers Morgan Uncensored would continue exclusively on YouTube and will no longer be broadcast on TalkTV. According to Social Blade, based on the channel’s video views, Morgan can expect to earn up to $1.8 million per year from YouTube.

Piers Morgan Net Worth: Other Ventures and Investments

Outside of his work on television, Piers has authored several books and invested quite a lot in real estate.

Authorship

Morgan’s bibliography is extensive, with him having published some top-selling books. These include, but are not limited to:

• Secret Lives (1991)
• Private Lives of the Stars (1991)
• To Dream a Dream: Amazing Life of Phillip Schofield (1992)
• Take That: Our Story (1993)
• Take That: On the Road (1994)
• Va Va Voom! A Year with Arsenal 2003-04 (2004)
• The Insider: The Private Diaries of a Scandalous Decade (2005)
• Don’t You Know Who I Am? (2007)
• God Bless America: Misadventures of a Big Mouth Brit (2009)
• Shooting Straight: Guns, Gays, God, and George Clooney (2013)
• Wake Up: Why the World Has Gone Nuts (2020)

Real Estate

Piers Morgan owns a number of properties including two homes in Britain: a country retreat in the East Sussex village of Newick, and a townhouse in West London. His London property was worth $5 million when he bought it from his father-in-law MP George Walden, and it is most likely worth much more today. His Sussex home in Newick is believed to be co-owned by journalist Celia Walden, his wife, and the couple spent around $900,000 to acquire it.

In Beverly Hills, Morgan owns a property he bought for $5.4 million in 2011 from Les Moonves, the former CEO of CBS.

Other Assets

In addition to millions in real estate, Morgan often splurges on luxurious assets like expensive cars and other items, including:

• an original Civil War US flag with 34 stars worth $6,500
• an Aston Martin Rapide worth at least $250,000
• Jaguar XJ L worth over $90,000

 

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What Can We Learn from Piers Morgan’s Story?

Piers Morgan is one of the most famous names in journalism and as such, his life story has many lessons to teach us all.

For starters, his story teaches us the power of diversification. Morgan has successfully diversified his career across various media platforms including print journalism, television, and even authorship. This has helped him build a name for himself, as well as a substantial net worth.

Despite facing endless controversies and setbacks, including being fired from major roles, Morgan has consistently bounced back and stood his ground. He is fierce in his stand on his version of freedom of speech, not backing down or apologizing for what he believes in, despite pushback, complaints, or moral ambiguity.

Morgan’s strong, polarizing personality has helped him build a distinct, albeit controversial personal brand, which has been a major factor in his success. Furthermore, his ability to connect with influential figures has opened many doors for him, making him the youngest national newspaper editor, a major broadcaster, and a very rich man.