Chris Licht net worth: CNN CEO's fortune explored in wake of ouster after just 13 months

CNN CEO and chairman Chris Licht, whose net worth is $15 million, is leaving the company after joining it 13 months ago. While CNN searches for a replacement and someone else joins as the head, executives like Amy Entelis, Virginia Moseley, Eric Sherling, and David Leavy will be looking over the operations of the channel.

The news was disclosed on Wednesday by David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, who shared a memo with the staff members and stated that the new team is well-experienced to handle everything until they can find someone else to lead them.

Zaslav said in the memo that he and Chris have known each other for a long time and that the job was not easy for Licht at a time when there was a lot of disruption and transformation. Zaslav also took responsibility for everything that happened after Licht's arrival at CNN.

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Chris Licht's earnings are a result of his successful career as a newsman and producer

Chris Licht joined Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, where he pursued his graduation in broadcast journalism and political science. He first joined the television station KNBC.

He then came to MSNBC in 2005 and was the executive producer of shows like Scarborough Country and Morning Joe. He joined as the vice president for programming at CBS News, and his work on CBS This Morning made the show popular among the audience.

Licht was the executive producer of another show titled The Late Show. He brought a few changes to the format by emphasizing the management problems that were mentioned by Stephen Colbert alongside a comedy sketch followed by a short opening credit.

Licht then wrote a book titled What I Learned When I Almost Died: How a Maniac TV Producer Put Down His BlackBerry and Started to Live His Life. He also won three Emmy Awards for his work on CBS This Morning.

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Chris Licht's controversial tenure at CNN

Chris Licht came to CNN in February last year after Jeff Zucker resigned. Speaking to his employees through a memo, he said that the public has lost faith in the media and they should now aim to regain it.

Certain changes came when Licht joined CNN, including the shutdown of the streaming service CNN+. Licht also aimed to make CNN more middle-of-the-road in terms of coverage, which many people described as right-wing. Licht's arrival at CNN also helped with the relaunch of the morning show, CNN This Morning.

Licht failed to get the support and cooperation of the employees, and the ratings of the channel had declined by May this year compared to MSNBC and Fox News Channel.