Hoda Kotb secured the co-anchor chair after Matt Lauer was terminated. (Slaven Vlasic/WireImage)
Hoda Kotb just got promoted to the anchor desk at NBC’s ‘Today’ show, but the veteran reporter isn’t getting paid anywhere near what Matt Lauer made.
Kotb took over for the former NBC News staple after his firing over a sexual misconduct scandal and on Tuesday, Jan. 2 the organization confirmed she’d officially joined Savannah Guthrie as co-anchor. However, Page Six reported Wednesday that the nearly 20 year NBC journalist makes just $7 million compared to Matt Lauer’s purported $25 million salary, (which People magazine reported was $20 million). Yet the income reportedly puts Kotb and Guthrie in the same tax bracket.
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“Hoda isn’t complaining about the money,” an NBC insider told Page Six. “She has landed the big job she always dreamed of and most definitely deserves. Plus, Matt’s salary reflected the long time he was on the show — 25 years. If things go well, Hoda could ask for more next time if she re-ups her contract. But the figures underline the huge wage disparity at NBC News.”
While speaking to TMZ, Kotb didn’t address the $18 million pay gap.
“I never talk money,” she said. “It’s not polite.”
Yet she confirmed to People magazine that she is not making Lauer moola.
“The answer is no — that’s not happening.”
Kotb will continue to host the 10 a.m. hour with Kathie Lee Gifford as well as the first two hours of the “Today” show.
