Gerald Miguel Riviera better known as Geraldo Rivera is an American television personality who is famous for multiple roles as an investigative journalist, television talk show host, and also political commentator. Geraldo Riviera is very well known for his reporting of sensational issues.
Riviera is a very familiar face of regular television viewers as he used to appear on different tv shows.
He used to host a tabloid talk show called ‘Geraldo’ from 1987 to 1998 and he became even more popular through the 1986 TV special ‘The Mystery of Al Capone’s Vaults’.
He also makes frequent appearances on the Fox News program ‘The Five,’ which is an American panel talk show that discusses current politics and other relevant sensational issues.
Geraldo Rivera – Early Life
Born as the son of Lillian and Cruz Allen Rivera on July 4, 1943, in New York City, he has Puerto Rican roots through his father. His mother used to work in a restaurant and his father was a cab driver.
Gerald’s mother was Jewish while his father was a Catholic. Geraldo Riviera spent most of his childhood in New York, where he grew up in Brooklyn and West Babylon.
He received his high school education from Babylon High School. It was reported that Geraldo and his family used to be the victims of racism in their early days and later in his life it was revealed that his mother made a change in the spelling of his name so as to avoid the existing prejudices that could affect Geraldo.
After his high school education, Geraldo enrolled at the State University of New York, Maritime College in the Bronx. Later, Geraldo transferred to the University of Arizona, where he received his bachelor’s degree in business administration.
After completing his degree, Geraldo worked at different jobs but he was not stable with any. It was in 1966 that Geraldo decided to continue his studies and joined the Brooklyn Law School in order to pursue a career in law.
His career in law brought him to close association with organizations like the New York City chapter of Young Lords. His works attracted attention and made him enter the television field.
Geraldo was offered a job at WABC – TV and it was this entry into the media field that prompted him to change his name from Gerald to Geraldo.
Geraldo Rivera – Career
Rivera started his career as a reporter with WABC – TV in 1970 as a reporter for the Eyewitness News.
Just two years into his professional career, Rivera gained massive popularity, as he won the Peabody Award for his story about neglect and abuse of patients with intellectual disabilities at Willowbrook State School in Staten Island and Letchworth Village in Rockland County.
The story made him popular and Geraldo started to appear on different national programs on ABC.
After working at the agency for years, Rivera was fired from ABC for his arguments against the management for not broadcasting a story that involved Marilyn Monroe, John F. Kennedy, and his brother Robert F. Kennedy.
One of the most notable programs in the career of Geraldo Rivera was ‘The Mystery of Al Capone’s Vaults.’ Geraldo was the host of the show. The show was a two-hour live special aimed at unearthing the secret vault under the Lexington Hotel in Chicago.
The vault was owned by Al Capone, who was an American gangster and businessman who became notorious during the prohibition era.
Geraldo Rivera became most popular for his talk show hosted by him. The talk show named ‘Geraldo’ which was produced and hosted by him ran for almost 11 years.
He also hosted ‘Rivera Live’, a talk show aired on CNBC. His talk shows were often criticized and became controversial. One, things went out of hand to a level where Geraldo suffered a broken nose due to a dispute that happened on the show.
He also made appearances on popular tv series like Seinfeld, My Name is Earl, and also Phineas and Ferb.
Currently, Rivera is associated with Fox News and he had been working with the media house since November 2001. After the infamous 9/11 attack, Rivera left CNBC to join Fox News as a war correspondent.
Being involved in such sensitive topics as war, Rivera often found himself in the eye of conflicts. One such major issue was during an incident that took place in Iraq.
In one of his news reports, Rivera disclosed information about an upcoming attack and even went too far by drawing a map of the place in sand for his audience on TV. The issue was reacted upon immediately and Rivera was expelled from Iraq. He then reported the Iraq conflict from Kuwait.
Rivera’s media career was followed by different controversies and the host is still working associated with Fox News. He also made an appearance on the popular reality show ‘Dancing with the Stars’ during its 22nd season. He and his dancing partner was the first team to be eliminated from the show.
Geraldo Rivera – Net Worth
Having a successful media career for almost six decades, Geraldo Rivera is supposed to have a net worth of $20 million. He has worked with some of the most reputed media agencies and also has been a part of some hit programs.
Being at the top of his career, salary of Geraldo Rivera is estimated to be around $2.5 million per year.
Apart from his media career, Geraldo Rivera is also speculated to have gathered a huge sum through his autobiography. The book titled ‘Exposing Myself’ became a New York Times best-selling book and was published in 2018.
The royalties of the book are estimated to have added $90,000 annually to his net worth. Geraldo Rivera owns a Mansion in Cleveland. The value of the property is estimated to be around $2.8 million.
He also has a property in Edgewater, New Jersey which is a multi-million dollar waterfront vacation home.
Must Read:- Economist Jared Bernstein Says Recession Won’t Happen In 2023
Geraldo Rivera – Personal Life And Relationships
Geraldo was a resident of Middletown Township in New Jersey but as of now, he resides in Shaker Heights, Ohio. He is a person who opens adventure and is a very active sailor.
He has traveled in some of the very exotic locations like the Amazon river and has also participated in competitions like Marion-Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race on multiple occasions.
Rivera is a Republican and he is also reportedly a friend of former president Donald Trump.
Rivera has been married five times in his life. From his five wives, Rivera is the father of four children, one son, and three daughters. Currently, he is married to Erica Michelle Levy, whom he got married to in 2003.
Rivera has also admitted to having a multi-year affair with Marian Javits, who was the wife of Senator Jacob Javits. Rivera was also accused of sexual misconduct by singer/actress Betta Midler.
Even though he had been criticized and accused of different issues, the name Geraldo Rivea is still prominent in the media and television field and he continues his world as one of the most notable television hosts of the current time.
Read More:- Boogie B Loses Life To An Unclarified Rouses Shooting!
