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- Pete Hegseth, Trump’s controversial pick to be the secretary of defense, made millions at Fox News.
- He’s received $4.6 million in salary income from the network since the beginning of 2023.
- He’s also made $900,000 from 41 paid speeches and hundreds of thousands more from books.
President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Defense, Pete Hegseth, has made millions of dollars per year working as a Fox News host, according to a financial disclosure made public on Monday.
Hegseth disclosed more than $4.6 million in salary income from the network. Because the disclosure covers both 2023 and 2024, he likely earned more than $2 million annually. A spokesperson for Fox News said his contract was terminated on November 12, 2024, the same day his nomination was announced.
In addition to his former day job on the conservative-leaning network, Hegseth has also had a lucrative career as a public speaker and author. His disclosure lists 41 paid speeches that he’s delivered around the country since the beginning of 2023, for which he received a total of $900,000.
Hegseth often received $20,000 or more for a single speech, whether he was speaking at a chapel in Washington state, to an anti-abortion group in Pennsylvania, or at a Heritage Foundation event in Washington, DC.
In one instance, Hegseth was paid $150,000 to deliver a single speech to the American Legislative Exchange Council in Virginia in February 2023.
Hegseth has also made hundreds of thousands of dollars, at least, from writing books.
His disclosure lists a $150,000 advance payment for his 2022 book, “Battle for the American Mind,” and $348,000 for his 2024 book, “The War on Warriors.” The disclosure also lists between $100,000 and $1 million in royalties for each book.
The defense secretary nominee owns between $15,000 and $50,000 in bitcoin and has received between $100,001 and $1 million in rental income from a Baltimore rental house he sold in 2023.
The Trump-Vance transition did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A transition spokesman previously told BI in a statement that “all nominees and appointees will comply with the ethical obligations of their respective agencies.”
Hegseth is likely to face the most bruising confirmation battle of any of Trump’s nominees. He has faced accusations of sexual assault and drinking on the job, which he has denied. He has also voiced opposition to women serving in combat roles in the military, though he recently recanted that position.
