Roger Ailes Biography: Net Worth, Age, Awards, Spouse, Height, Children, Death

Roger Ailes is a powerful and influential figure in American media and politics. He is the founder and chairman of Fox News Channel, the most-watched cable news network in the United States.

He also served as a communications advisor to several Republican presidents and candidates, shaping their public images and campaign strategies.

He is known for his conservative views, controversial management style, and ability to attract and retain loyal viewers and supporters.

He was also accused of sexual harassment and misconduct by multiple women who worked for or with him, leading to his resignation from Fox News in 2016.

File

  • Full name: Roger Eugene Ailes
  • Date of birth: May 15, 1940
  • Age: 77 years old (at the time of death)
  • male
  • Place of birth: Warren, Ohio, USA
  • Nationality: American
  • Occupation: Television executive and media consultant
  • Height: 1.73 m
  • Parents: Robert Eugene Ailes and Donna Marie Cunningham
  • Siblings: One brother, Robert Ailes Jr.
  • Spouse: Elizabeth Tilson (d. 1998)
  • Children: One son, Zachary Ailes
  • Relationship status: Married until death
  • Net worth: 100 million USD

Early life and education

Roger Ailes was born on May 15, 1940 in Warren, Ohio, an industrial town in the Midwest. He was the son of Robert Eugene Ailes, a maintenance foreman at the Packard Electric plant, and Donna Marie Cunningham, a homemaker.

He has a younger brother, Robert Ailes Jr. He suffered from hemophilia, a blood disorder that prevents blood clotting, and spent much of his childhood in the hospital.

He also endured physical and verbal abuse from his father, a strict and authoritarian parent. He attended Warren City schools and graduated from Warren G. Harding High School in 1958. He was inducted into the school’s Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame in 2009.

Ailes attended Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, where he majored in radio and television broadcasting. He was WOUB’s student station manager for two years and gained experience producing and directing a variety of shows.

He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1962 and began his career in Television in Cleveland and Philadelphia.

Personal life

Roger Ailes was married three times in his life. His first wife was Marjorie White, whom he married in 1960 and divorced in 1977.

They have no children. His second wife was Norma Ferrer, whom he married in 1981 and divorced in 1995. They also had no children.

His third and final wife was Elizabeth Tilson, a former television executive and journalist, whom he married in 1998. They have a son, Zachary Ailes, born in 2000. They lived in Garrison, New York and Palm Beach, Florida until Ailes’s death in 2017.

Ailes is a devout Catholic and regularly attends mass. He is also a Republican and supports conservative causes and candidates.

He is friends with prominent political, media and business figures such as Rupert Murdoch, Donald Trump, Rush Limbaugh and Bill O’Reilly.

He also participated in a number of philanthropic and philanthropic causes, such as donating to Hudson Valley Hospital Center, the Putnam County SPCA, and the Philipstown Little League.

Career

Roger Ailes’ career in Television spans over five decades and he has been involved in many different aspects of the industry, such as production, management and consulting.

He began his career as a production assistant for The Mike Douglas Show, a variety talk show based in Cleveland and later Philadelphia.

He became a producer on the show in 1965 and an executive producer in 1967. He won two Emmy Awards for his work on the show in 1967 and 1968.

He also met Richard Nixon, who was a guest on the show in 1967 and impressed him with his insights into Television and politics.

Ailes left The Mike Douglas Show in 1968 to join Nixon’s presidential campaign as a communications consultant. He helped Nixon improve his image and performance on Television, and devised strategies to attract voters.

He was said to be a key factor in Nixon’s victory over Hubert Humphrey. His role in this campaign was chronicled in Joe McGinniss’s book Selling the President in 1968.

In 1969, Ailes founded his consulting firm, Ailes Communications, which provided communications and public relations services to a variety of clients, such as corporations, celebrities, and politicians. .

He also produced and directed several television and theater projects, such as the Broadway musical Mother Earth and the Off-Broadway play The Hot l Baltimore.

He returned to political consulting in 1984, when he worked on Ronald Reagan’s reelection campaign. He helped Reagan prepare for debates and draft his messages.

He also worked for George H. W. Bush’s campaign in 1988 and was instrumental in creating the infamous “Willie Horton” ad, which attacked Bush’s opponent, Michael Dukakis, for his criminal record his.

He also advised other Republican candidates such as Mitch McConnell, Dan Quayle, Rudy Giuliani and George W. Bush.

In 1993, Ailes left his job as a political consultant and became president of CNBC, a cable television business news network owned by NBC.

He revamped the network’s programming and ratings and launched a new channel, America’s Talking, which featured talk shows and interactive segments.

In 1996, he was hired by Rupert Murdoch, owner of News Corporation, to create a new cable news network, Fox News Channel, that would compete with CNN and MSNBC.

Ailes became chairman and chief executive officer of Fox News, and oversaw its launch and growth. He hired and promoted conservative commentators and hosts, such as Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck and Megyn Kelly.

He also established the network’s slogan, “Fair and Balanced”, as well as its editorial direction, which favored the Republican Party and criticized the Democratic Party and the mainstream media.

He turned Fox News into the country’s most profitable and most-watched cable news network and a powerful force in American politics and culture.

Ailes also expanded his media empire by becoming chairman of Fox Television Stations, which owned and operated 28 local stations nationwide, and 20 Television Stations, which produced and distributed television programs. synthesis program.

He also founded Fox Business Network, a competitor to CNBC, in 2007 and Fox News Radio, a syndicated radio service, in 2003.

He also published two books, You Are the Message: Secrets of the Master Communicators (1988), co-authored with Jon Kraushar, and Off Camera: Private Thoughts Made Public (2001).

prize

Roger Ailes has received many awards and honors for his work in Television and media such as:

  • Two Emmy Awards for The Mike Douglas Show in 1967 and 1968
  • 2017 Television Hall of Fame
  • 2004 National Cable & Telecommunications Association Pioneer Award for Outstanding Leadership
  • Free Speech Award from the First Amendment Center in 2002
  • 2001 Broadcast Digital News Association Paul White Award
  • Barbara Olson Award for excellence and independence in journalism from The American Spectator in 2001
  • The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation Bradley Award 2013

Death

Roger Ailes died on May 18, 2017, at the age of 77, in Palm Beach, Florida.

He had fallen at home a week earlier, causing a subdural hematoma and worsening his hemophilia.

He was declared dead at the hospital. He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, and his son, Zachary. He is buried at Heaven’s Gate Cemetery in Hawthorne, New York.

Argumentative

Roger Ailes has been embroiled in a number of controversies and scandals throughout his career, mainly related to sexual harassment of women, political bias, and the dissemination of misinformation.

Some of the most notable are:

In 2012, he was accused of ordering one of his employees, Judith Regan, to lie to federal investigators about her relationship with Bernard Kerik, the former New York City police commissioner who nominated by President George W. Bush to be Secretary of Homeland Security in 2012. 2004.

Regan published Kerik’s memoir, The Lost Son, in 2001 and had a secret relationship with him. Ailes reportedly wanted Regan to cover up the incident to protect Kerik’s nomination and Giuliani’s presidential aspirations, as Giuliani had appointed Kerik police commissioner in 2000.

Regan sued Ailes and News Corporation for wrongful termination, defamation, and harassment and received a $10.75 million settlement in 2008.

In 2014, he was accused of spying on his employees and critics, using an army of private investigators, security consultants and lawyers.

He is said to have installed a surveillance system in Fox News headquarters, monitored employees’ phone calls and emails, and hired agents to dig up his enemies, e.g. as journalists, activists and politicians.

He also allegedly created a “black room” operation where he directed smear campaigns and negative publicity against his opponents.

One of them is David Brock, founder of Media Matters for America, a liberal watchdog group critical of Fox News.

In 2016, he was accused of interfering with the editorial independence and journalistic integrity of Fox News by promoting a pro-Trump agenda and suppressing negative stories about Trump and his associates. his.

He reportedly briefed Trump in advance on questions for the August 2015 Republican primary debate and advised him on how to handle the media and the public.

He also allegedly directed his hosts and reporters to avoid or downplay coverage of Trump scandals, such as the Access Hollywood tape, the Russia investigation and the Stormy Daniels case.

Social Media

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Net value

Roger Ailes had an estimated net worth of $100 million when he died.

He earns a salary of $20 million per year as head of Fox News and has a stake in the network.

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