By Mark Gray
6:20pm PDT, Sep 23, 2023
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Hoda Kotb was making so little when she first started working at NBC that she could barley pay her bills. The "Today" show host opened up about her early salary while discussing the "substantial pay increase" that Vanna White recently scored from "Wheel of Fortune" producers. "I am glad Vanna got her money," Hoda proclaimed. "It's time. Come on, Vanna!"
What makes this moment so much sweeter for Hoda is the fact that she was "killing" herself in the late '90s while trying to make a name for herself at NBC — while her male counterparts consistently pulled in significantly more money. Times are changing!
Keep clicking to read all about the gender pay gap Hoda once faced and what she had to do to pay her bills…
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Hoda Kotb joined NBC News in the spring of 1998 as a correspondent for "Dateline NBC" and other NBC News platforms. It's been reported that she now makes about $7 million a year as a "Today" show host, but she had to fight to get what she was due.
"I went for many, many, many years making in local news and whatnot a fraction of what my male co-anchors were making, for sure," she said on "Today."
"I actually never asked [for a raise] because… I didn't want to wake up and go, 'I'm killing myself and making a quarter of what this guy is making who rolled in hot and read the prompter,'" she added.
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Due to her financial situation as a young correspondent in New York City, Hoda Kotb would often put off paying one bill in order to pay another.
"When I first came here, I think I was the lowest paid correspondent at 'Dateline.' It was pretty clear that's the way it was," she said. "And I remember thinking to myself, 'I can't pay my bills here.' I couldn't pay my bills at the same time."
"And then your argument is 'I can't pay my bills to live here. Is this going to work for me?' After time I ended up making money, but it's a slog through," she added.
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Hoda Kotb stressed that asking for a pay raise — particularly if you're worth it — shouldn't be taboo.
"You can have grace and humility and still ask for what you deserve. Both of those things can happen at the same time," she said, adding that asking for a raise is "one of the hardest things for women to do."
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Back in April, Hoda Kotb celebrated her 25th year at NBC. During a recent chat with Jenna Bush Hager, she recalled feeling like she didn't fit in during her early days with the network.
"When I first got hired, I felt unworthy of that job, and I remembered them saying, 'Change your hair, change your clothes, change this, change that,'" Hoda recalled. "Nothing was right about me. I felt like I was putting a circle in a square trying to fit."
Hoda is now a fan-favorite at NBC.
