Maria Bartiromo
YT/ Maria Bartiromo

Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo, whose annual salary sits at $10 million (£7.9 million), has said the foundation of her wealth goes back to a single childhood lesson from her mother: learn to save before you learn to spend.

Bartiromo, 58, has spoken publicly about her mother Josephine's influence on her approach to money across multiple interviews over the years. Josephine Bartiromo grew up during the Great Depression and spent her life 'like a little squirrel, saving her nuts,' as Bartiromo told Parade.

'Every time I wanted to buy something, my mom would ask, "How are you paying for it?" She made me save up, even for something small like an ice cream cone from the Mr. Softee truck,' Bartiromo said. 'That lesson stuck with me for life.'

Her estimated net worth now stands at $50 million (£39.5 million), according to Celebrity Net Worth.

Bartiromo's Savings Advice: 401(k) Plans and Three-Bucket Rule

In a segment on Mornings with Maria in December 2024, Bartiromo laid out what she considers the most important step toward building wealth.

'The number one thing to do on your road to becoming a millionaire is very simple: join your company's 401(k) plan, put as much money in there as you can early on, and make sure you do not touch it,' she said.

Personal finance expert Rachel Cruze, co-host of The Ramsey Show, appeared on the programme and backed the advice, adding that workers should contribute enough to claim any employer match. She warned against pulling money out during downturns.

'That short-term panic can have devastating long-term consequences,' Cruze said.

Cruze recommended paying off debt, building an emergency fund covering three to six months of expenses, then directing at least 15 per cent of income toward retirement. Younger workers, she noted, often struggle because retirement feels so far off that contributions seem like 'putting money into a black hole.'

Separately, Bartiromo has described a three-part approach she follows for managing money day to day. The first bucket is for retirement, funded from every paycheck and left alone. The second covers bills. The third is 'fun money' - a small treat fund that serves as a reminder of why the discipline matters at all, she told Parade.

'Teaching kids to save, earn, and to manage money responsibly is one of the greatest gifts parents can give,' Bartiromo said.

From Brooklyn's Rex Manor to a $50M Net Worth

Bartiromo was raised in Brooklyn's Dyker Heights neighbourhood by Italian-American parents. Her father Vincent owned the Rex Manor restaurant. Her mother worked as a hostess there and, separately, as a clerk at an off-track betting parlour.

She graduated from New York University in 1989 with a degree in journalism and economics, then spent five years at CNN as a producer before joining CNBC in 1993. Two years later, she became the first journalist to report live from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on a daily basis.

After 20 years at CNBC, she moved to Fox Business Network in 2014, where she anchors Mornings with Maria and Maria Bartiromo's Wall Street on Fox Business, alongside Sunday Morning Futures on Fox News. Her $10 million (£7.9 million) annual salary makes her one of the highest-paid news anchors in the country. She has won two Emmy Awards and received the Horatio Alger Award in 2026.

She is married to Jonathan Steinberg, chief executive of WisdomTree Investments. Steinberg is the son of the late Wall Street financier Saul Steinberg, who built his fortune through leveraged buyouts in the 1960s.

Data from the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, cited by Bartiromo during the broadcast, put the median US retirement age at 62, with nearly 60 per cent of workers stepping down before 65 due to health problems, job losses or other disruptions. Only 12 per cent managed to retire at the traditional age.

'Start small, but start early,' Bartiromo said. 'It stuck with me that I needed to collect change in a jar. Become a saver.'

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