If you have ever watched a news story on a dedicated news channel, you may have seen Maria Bartiromo. If you have ever read a new magazine, you have likely read some of Maria’s work or seen her name. She has made quite a name for herself as not only a magazine columnist, but also as a television journalist. Those who know of Maria, know that she is a journalist with integrity and who you can trust. If you are one of the few who don’t know much about Maria, there are several interesting things that you should know about this amazing journalist.
Like everyone in the world, she has both a personal and a professional life. She is more than just a columnist and a journalist. She is also more than just a pretty face. If you want to know more about Maria Bartiromo, you should read on.
1. Maria’s Early Life
Maria was born on September 11, 1967. Unfortunately, in 2001, Maria’s birthday became more of a day of mourning rather than a celebration after the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers. Her parents names are Vincent and Josephine Bartiromo, and they raised her in the Dyker Heights section of southern Brooklyn in New York City.
2. Maria’s Education
Maria went to high school at Fontbonne Hall Academy, which is located in Bay Ridge. She excelled in high school, and she had no problem getting into the college of her choice. After graduation, she was accepted to her dream school and she attended New York University where she was majoring in both journalism and economics. Having a double major in college was a challenge for Maria, but she did great. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in both journalism and economics. She proved that if you work hard and you apply yourself, you can achieve your goals.
3. Maria’s First Job
Maria’s first real job in journalism was when she worked with CNN Business News as a producer and assignment editor. She worked there for 5 years and she was excellent at her job. It was this job that helped to open doors for her to become the success that she is today.
4. The New York Stock Exchange
Maria replaced Roy Blumberg at CNBC after she left her job at CNN. She needed to make her mark, so she became the first journalist to report live from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. She gained a great deal of notoriety and also respect from her fellow journalists. It was definitely the turning point in her career.
5. Market Watch and Squawk Box
After Maria showed what she could do on the New York Stock Exchange floor, people took notice and she was given more offers. She began hosting and contributing to segments on Squawk Box and the Market Watch segments of the new programs.
6. On the Money With Maria Bartiromo
Maria took another huge step in her career when she was made the anchor and the managing editor of the CNBC show, On The Money With Maria Bartiromo. Not long after that, she became the host of another show called The Business of Innovation. After she proved herself as a host, she was given several more opportunities. From 2002 through 2013, she hosted the show, Closing Bell From 1998 through 2000, she hosted Market Wrap. Finally, from 1997 through 1999 she hosted Business Center.
7. Guest Spots of Television Shows
As Maria’s fame grew and as viewers began to trust her as a journalist, she was invited to appear on a variety of television shows so that the American public could get to know her even better. She has appeared in some of the most highly rated news and talk shows on television, including NBC Universal’s The Late Show With Conan O’Brien and The Tonight Show With Jay Leno. She also appeared on the incredibly popular, The Oprah Winfrey Show and Real Time With Bill Maher. She also appeared on The Colbert Report, The Caroline Rhea Show, and McEnroe. She even got a chance to guest host on Live With Regis and Kelly. It took a lot of work for her to get to this place in her career, and she certainly deserved it.
8. “Money Honey”
In the late 1990’s, Maria was nicknamed, “Money Honey.” There were two reasons for this nickname. First, Maria is a very beautiful woman, which gave her the ‘honey’ part of the nickname. She got the money part of the nickname because she was the first woman to ever report live from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Not long after, she also earned the nickname, “Econo Babe” for the same reasons as Money Honey.
9. Trademarking her Nickname
Maria may not have created her nickname, “Money Honey”, but she did capitalize on it, which was very smart on her part. After she filed the trademark applications, she used the brand name for a line of children’s learning products. She used it to create puzzles, toys, and coloring books that were designed to teach children about money and managing money. Many people were inspired by her decision.
10. Maria Loves a Parade
In 1995, Maria was given the honor of anchoring the television coverage of the Columbus Day Parade in New York City. She did such a great job that in 2010, she was given the honor of being the Grand Marshal
11. Maria’s Documentaries
Maria has appeared as herself in a few documentaries. The first was in a documentary about the lives of women on Wall Street and was released in 2003, and it was called Risk/Reward. Risk/Reward received favorable reviews and at this time is rated 7.7 out of 10 stars on IMDB.
She also appeared in a 2010 documentary called Inside Job which was narrated by Matt Damon.
12. Maria Did Some Acting
Due to her good looks, her professionalism, and her notoriety, Maria was cast in a few films. The first was in 2009, where she appeared in a remake of The Taking of Pelham 123. It was an action film about a New York City subway train that is hijacked by a group of armed men. She also appeared in a finance thriller starring Richard Gere, called Arbitrage in 2010.
13. Maria is a Best Selling Author
When Maria wasn’t acting, hosting television and news shows, or working at the parade, she was writing books. She wrote her first book in 2001. It is called Use the News; How To Separate the Noise From the Investment Nuggets and Make Money in Any Economy. Her book landed on the USA Today, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal’s Best Seller Lists. After the success of her first book, she wrote two more. In 2010, she wrote The 10 Laws of Enduring Success. In 2011, she wrote The Weekend That Changed Wall Street.
14. Maria’s Big Move
Maria signed a 5 year contract with CNBC in 2008. After her contract was up, she announced on November 18, 2013, that she would be leaving CNBC and joining the Fox News Network. While CNBC was sorry to see her go, they wished her the best and the issued a very generous and congratulatory statement regarding her departure. They were sorry to see her go, however, they did wish her the best.
15. Maria’s Amazing New Job
When Maria signed on to work for the Fox Business Network, she was given a great deal of responsibility right out of the gate. She began by anchoring a market hours program everyday. Not long after, she was told that she would also be working on the Fox News Channel.
16. Maria is an Award Winner
Maria’s hard work and achievements did not go unrecognized, therefore, she was given plenty of awards. Her first was in 1997, when she was given the Excellence in Broadcast Journalism award. She also received a Grace Award for Outstanding Documentary in 2008. She also won two Emmy Awards. The first was for Outstanding Coverage of a Breaking News Story and the other was for Outstanding Business and Economic Reporting. As if earning an Emmy Award wasn’t enough, Maria was the first journalist to be inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame in 2011. Finally, Financial Times named her on of the 50 people Who Shaped the Decade back in 2009.
17. Joey Ramone Loves Maria 4-eva
In the late 1990’s, Joey Ramone of the music group, The Ramones, developed a huge crush on Maria after seeing her on television. When his band broke up, he wrote a song called, “Maria Bartiromo.” The song was released in 2002 on the Don’t Worry About Me album. Maria really got a kick out of it and she was grateful for the recognition. Unfortunately for Joey Ramone, Maria was already a married woman at the time.
18. Maria’s Personal Life and Thoughts on Children
Even though Maria was always so busy with work, she managed to meet a man and fall in love. She met Jonathan Steinberg, who is the CEO of WisdomTree Investments. He is also the son of Saul Steinberg. The two married in 1999. Regardless of all the rumors surrounding Maria, she and Jonathan managed to keep their marriage together. Maria and Jonathan currently don’t have any children. There was a rumor going around that Maria was pregnant.
It turned out that she was not pregnant, she had just put a bit of weight on. After she started working out and lost the weight, the rumors were put to rest. The couple currently does not have any children, however, they have said that children could be in their future one day. Right now, however, they are busy focusing on their careers. If Maria does ever have children, you can be sure that they will be beautiful just like their mother.
19. The Scandal in Maria’s Life
Like every public figure, Maria became part of a scandal. This is something that happens often when you are gorgeous and famous. According to the story, Maria took a great interest in one of the guest stars on her show. This wasn’t true. According to Maria, she was interested in the guest star in a professional capacity only. Because of her fame and success, the scandals didn’t stop there. Many rumors went around about Maria having several affairs and many boyfriends.
One of the rumors about Maria was regarding the nasty divorce of the ex-Citigroup bigwig, Todd S. Thompson. The rumors were that he offered Maria rides on his private corporate private jet. It was these rumors that led to Todd’s nasty divorce from his wife Melissa. Maria has stated that her relationship with Todd was always strictly professional and nothing more. She denied all of the rumors. Todd and Melissa eventually divorced, and luckily for Maria, she was not dragged into the scandal any further.
The biggest scandal was the one that said that Maria and Jonathan were going to get a divorce. This scandal was a popular story in the media. Maria wanted to put a stop to the rumors, so she decided to go public. She held a press conference to let the public know that everything being said were all just rumors and there was no truth to any of them. Maria stands by the fact that she loves her husband and that she has always been faithful to him.
20. Maria’s Net Worth
Maria has managed to make a real name for herself. She also managed to make an excellent living. Between her work as a new anchor, her guest spots on television, her roles and movies, and her best selling books, she has made a lot of money. As of 2014, Maria’s net worth was estimated at $22 million. There hasn’t been anything published since then. There is also no information listed on how much money her husband makes. Since his is a very successful businessman, he likely makes a great deal of money. With their combined incomes, Maria and Jonathan are a very rich couple.
