What is Larry Elder's Net Worth and Salary?

Larry Elder is a conservative radio talk show host, author, and former attorney who has a net worth of $6 million. Larry Elder is known for hosting the nationally syndicated program "The Larry Elder Show." As a writer, he has penned non-fiction books, and has a syndicated column through Creators Syndicate. Notably, Elder ran as a Republican candidate in the unsuccessful California gubernatorial recall election of Gavin Newsom in 2021.

Early Life and Education

Larry Elder was born on April 27, 1952 in Los Angeles, California as the middle child of three brothers. His father, Randolph, was a former United States Marine Corps sergeant who opened a café in LA's Pico-Union neighborhood in the early 60s. Elder's mother, Viola, was a former clerk for the United States Department of War. As a teen, Elder went to Crenshaw High School, and also took advanced honors courses at Fairfax High School. After graduating from the former in 1970, he attended Brown University, where he obtained his BA in political science. Elder went on to earn his JD from the University of Michigan Law School in 1977.

Career Beginnings in Law

Following his graduation from law school, Elder joined Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, a law firm in Cleveland, Ohio. A little later, he founded a legal executive search firm called Laurence A. Elder and Associates. Elder stepped down from operating the firm in 1987, and relinquished his ownership in 1995.

Radio Career

Elder began his longest-running gig in 1994, when he started hosting his own weekday evening talk show, "The Larry Elder Show," on the Los Angeles station KABC. The program ran until 2008, and then had a second run from 2010 to 2014 that ended when Elder was fired. Subsequently, Elder joined the lineup of CRN Digital Talk Radio Networks.

Larry Elder / Charley Gallay/Getty Images

Television Career

Elder began his television career in 1988, when he began co-hosting the show "Fabric" on the Cleveland PBS member station WVIZ. Later, in 1997, he co-hosted the PBS show "National Desk" with fellow conservative commentators Fred Barnes and Laura Ingraham. Elder found success in 2000 for hosting a special on KCAL-TV News called "Making Waves – LAUSD." Between 2000 and 2001, he also hosted the syndicated court show "Moral Court."

Writing Career

As a writer, Elder penned op-eds for local newspapers in Cleveland in the late 80s. In the late 90s, he began writing a nationally syndicated column through Creators Syndicate. Additionally, Elder penned a weekly column for the Los Angeles Daily News until 2012. He has also authored non-fiction books, many of which contain hateful, erroneous, or otherwise harmful ideas about culture and politics. His titles include "The Ten Things You Can't Say in America" and "A Lot Like Me: A Father and Son's Journey to Reconciliation: A Memoir."

2021 California Gubernatorial Recall Election

In the summer of 2021, Elder announced his candidacy to replace incumbent California Governor Gavin Newsom in the upcoming recall election. Regarded as the Republican frontrunner, he refused to participate in debates with fellow Republican recall candidates. While the election was underway in September, Elder made false claims that the voting process was being rigged. Moreover, four days prior to election day, a website subsidized by his campaign stated without any evidence that there had been election fraud. Ultimately, Elder lost, as Newsom defeated the recall effort with resounding success.

Political Views

Elder's political views are staunchly rightwing. He has promoted abolishing the IRS, reducing government by 80%, ending welfare, and eliminating corporate taxes. Elder also opposes the minimum wage and public-sector labor unions. He has asserted that thousands of California teachers are "incompetent" and deserve to be fired. Moreover, Elder is a fervent supporter of Donald Trump. Following Joe Biden's election as President of the United States in 2020, he spread false claims that the election was fraudulent.

Over the years, Elder has become notorious for making numerous sexist and misogynistic statements about women. He has claimed that "women know less than men about political issues, economics, and current events," and has repeatedly mocked women for their appearances. Elder has also championed the discrimination of pregnant female employees, and has denied the existence of a gender wage gap. Among his other draconian views, he opposes abortion, LGBTQ rights, and the Black Lives Matter movement. Elder has also regularly propagated misinformation on subjects such as climate change and COVID-19.

Personal Life and Sexual Abuse Allegations

Elder was engaged to his longtime radio producer Alexandra Datig from 2013 to 2015. After the engagement was called off, Datig accused Elder of abuse. She alleged that he had demanded she have the words "Larry's Girl" tattooed on herself, and that he waved a gun at her as a threat. Before this incident, Elder had revealed that he had been accused of sexual assault two previous times.

Real Estate and Financial Problems

In September 2018, Larry listed his two-acre property in the Hollywood Hills for $5.2 million. He bought the home in April 2000 for $1.65 million. After languishing on the market for over a year, he listed the home for rent at $25,000 per month before eventually pulling the listing altogether.

Financial and legal documents show that Larry took out a $2.3 million mortgage on this home in May 2007. A month later he paid $3.6 million for a different Hollywood Hills home, using a $2.9 million mortgage. Los Angeles County records show that this mortgage came with a sky-high interest rate of 7%. In 2009 County records revealed that the second property had gone into default with his debts totaling $3 million by this point. His creditors eventually sold this home at auction in May 2010 for $2.4 million, accepting a $600,000 loss. Meanwhile, Elder also reportedly entered financial straits on the first home, with that $2.3 million mortgage landing in default. Thankfully, by 2014 he had managed to resolve the issues with a loan modification agreement. In his load modification agreement contract, Larry declared the following:

"I am experiencing a financial hardship. As a result, (1) I am in default under the Loan Documents or my default is imminent, and (2) I do not have sufficient income or access to sufficient liquid assets to make the monthly mortgage payments now or in the near future."

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