10 Things You Didn’t Know about Roger Ailes

Roger Ailes

Megyn Kelly is well-known for making headlines on a regular basis as a hard-hitting journalist and former attorney with strong opinions, but she shocked the world when she accused her boss, Roger Ailes, of sexually assaulting her this week. It all began when Gretchen Carlson filed a sexual harassment suit against the Fox News boss after her contract was not up for renewal, and it became even worse for him when Megyn Kelly opened up this week about the fact that he also sexually assaulted her a decade ago when she was a correspondent.

Right now, he is negotiating his exit from the media company and making sure to lay low and not make any statements he might regret. Did he or didn’t he? I hate – especially as a woman and as a woman with three little girls of my own – that any of us even question the fact that a woman has been sexually assaulted when she comes forward. I hate that so many people disbelieve women when they come forward to talk about what happened, and I hate that so many women in the past have cried sexual abuse when it did not happen and have caused this to even become an issue.

God forbid anything of this nature ever happens to one of my little girls and they are afraid to come forward because no one will believe them. I will believe them; and our culture is in dire need of some serious change when we feel the need to disbelieve women and to wonder if they are true – and any woman who has ever lied about sexual assault is the worst kind of woman. We don’t know if it’s true or not, though we really, really do not want to believe any woman would lie about something like this.

With that said, many people are standing up for Roger Ailes, though the rumor is that they’re being paid and rewarded for doing so. We don’t know if this is true either; we live in a nation where there is so much deception and so much lying that it’s impossible. So, let’s just list the facts; we don’t know much about Roger Ailes, so we’re about to learn more and possibly shed some light on the kind of person he might just be.

He’s 76

Roger Ailes was born in 1940 on May 15. He was born in Warren, Ohio. He was raised by his mother and his father. His father worked in a factory and his mother stayed home with him. As far as we can tell, he is an only child of his parents.

He has hemophilia

As a young child, Roger Ailes was diagnosed with Hemophilia. This is a disorder that prevents his blood from clotting, which makes it very easy for him to bleed out in case of a medical emergency. He is on medication to help correct his issue, but it’s something he has lived with his entire life.

He lived in an abusive household

Throughout his childhood, Roger Ailes grew up with an abusive father. We do not know if he was verbally or physically abusive, and we have no idea whether or not he was the subject of his father’s abuse or if it was his mother. However, we can state that children tend to repeat cycles, and that might be something people take note of during this particular time in his life.

He knew Nixon before his presidency

It was 1967 when Richard Nixon was a guest on one of Roger Ailes’ shows and they engaged in some very heated discussions. It was that moment in time that Nixon took a liking to Ailes and wanted to work with him in the future. It was probably the beginning of Ailes’ real career.

He’s been with Fox News for a long time

It was 1996 when Roger Ailes was made CEO of Fox News, and it’s been almost 20 years this October. He is now negotiating to end his reign as the CEO, and it’s something that has taken the world a bit by storm. He won’t make it to his 20-year anniversary in the job.

His wife is much younger

In a world where many men and women choose to marry people not even remotely close to their own age, this couple fits the bill perfectly. Roger Ailes was born in 1940 and his wife, Elizabeth Tilson, was born in 1960. There is a 20-year age difference between the two.

He makes big donations

He graduated from Ohio University, and he then made a sizable donation in 2007. The donation was so big to the school that they were able to double the size of the newsroom that was there when he was in college so many years ago. It was a sizable donation that many universities look for when their former students go on to become rich and famous.

He’s being accused of a horrible crime

It’s been reported that Gretchen Carlson is upset because Roger Ailes did not allow her to renew her contract with the company when he began making sexual advances toward her and she turned him down. He refutes the accusation, but she is horrified that he would do that. She believes her job was not renewed and she was fired because she would not engage in an affair with her boss.

He’s getting a big severance

The rumor at the moment is that when he leaves the network, he’s doing so with a $40 million severance package. The news is upsetting to many who believe he is being paid off for sexual assault in the workplace. However, there has been no formal announcement made at this point in time.

He’s wealthy

As of 2016, it appears that Roger Ailes’ net worth is approximately $25 million. He makes a reported $7 million per year as the head of Fox News, which actually seems a bit low to us. I’d have assumed he made substantially more in this role, but apparently not.

Photo by Getty Images

 

 

Written by Tiffany Raiford

Tiffany Raiford is a lifelong Floridian, wife to my high school sweetheart and mother of four littles (two girls and boy/girl twins...no, they are not identical and yes, I'm sure). My kids love to whine, so I love to wine. My loves include nap time, bed time, date night, travel and evenings and weekends when my husband is home because he handles all diaper changes.