Stuart Varney

Stuart Varney (born July 7, 1949) is an American talk show host and conservative political commentator who works for Fox News and the Fox Business Network. Born in the United Kingdom, he worked as a journalist before joining Fox News in January 2004 as a business contributor, such as on Your World with Neil Cavuto.

Stuart Varney
Stuart Varney on the set of Varney & Co. in 2014
Born (1949-07-07) July 7, 1949[1]
Derbyshire, England[2]
NationalityAmerican
Citizenship
  • United States
Alma materLondon School of Economics
Occupation
  • Talk show host
  • political commentator

Early life
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Varney was born in Derby, Derbyshire, England. After secondary school, Varney spent a year working in Nairobi, Kenya, before graduating from the London School of Economics.[2]

Journalism career

After working as a reporter for Radio Hong Kong, he began his broadcast journalism career at KEMO-TV (now KOFY-TV) in San Francisco.[3] He was then recruited to join the Manhattan bureau of the newly formed 24-hour news network CNN, which launched on June 1, 1980. He hosted the CNN shows Business Day, Business Asia,[2][3] and Moneyline with Willow Bay. In 2001, he left CNN[4] to host CNBC's "Wall Street Journal Editorial Board with Stuart Varney."[2]

He joined Fox News's business team in January 2004, and joined Fox Business Network as an anchor when the network launched in October 2007.[2]

Fox Business Network

Varney currently co-hosts Varney & Co. on the Fox Business Network, which airs from 9:00 a.m. to noon ET every weekday. The show is also co-hosted by Susan Li and Ashley Webster. He is also a regular panel member on the Fox Business program Cashin' In.

Varney has appeared on and guest-hosted "Your World with Neil Cavuto." Varney joined Fox News in 2004.

Prior to joining FNC, Varney served as the host of CNBC's "Wall Street Journal Editorial Board with Stuart Varney." Before that, he was a co-anchor of CNN's "Moneyline News Hour." Varney helped launch CNN's business news team in 1980 and hosted many of their financial programs including, "Your Money," "Business Day" and "Business Asia."

Notable commentaries

In an interview on June 5, 2013 on Fox News, Varney said "We hand down $79 billion dollars every January on these so-called poor people." "You’re not being mean to poor people?" host Gretchen Carlson asked Varney, who responded, "I am. I am being mean to poor people. Frankly, I am." This exchange of words gained brief popularity when it was cited on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Comedy Central, with journalists from The Washington Post reporting on his comments afterwards.[5][6]

On the July 19, 2011 edition of Fox News' Your World with Neil Cavuto, Varney criticized the view that America's poor are "starving and living in squalor," citing a Heritage Foundation report on how the ownership of household appliances demonstrates how well-off America's poor really are.[7][8][9][10] Varney concluded by saying, "The image we have of poor people as starving and living in squalor really is not accurate. Many of them have things; what they lack is the richness of spirit. That's my opinion."

In 2013 Varney generated controversy for his commentary on Pope Francis, who had criticized the wealth gap and denounced unfettered capitalism as a system which "rules rather than serves."[11][12] Varney stated, "I go to church to save my soul. It’s got nothing to do with my vote. Pope Francis has linked the two. He has offered direct criticism of a specific political system. He has characterized, negatively, that system. I think he wants to influence my politics."[13][14]

In a December 2018 interview, Republican congressman Louie Gohmert repeated a false conspiracy theory about George Soros that he "turned on fellow Jews and helped take the property that they owned." Varney did not address Gohmert's comments, moving the segment on. Varney later distanced himself from the remarks, calling them "unsubstantiated and false allegations".[15][16][17]

On August 30, 2019, Varney claimed that President Donald Trump had never lied to the American public in conversation with Republican presidential candidate Joe Walsh on Varney & Co.[18]

Personal life

Varney has lived in the United States since 1974. In November 2015, Varney became an American citizen.[19]

As of 2010, he lived in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, with his wife Deborah and their six children.[2] On October 29, 2014, The New York Post reported that Varney was served with a divorce complaint by his wife of 21 years. The complaint alleges that Varney conducted a nine-year adulterous affair with a woman from Orlando, Florida.[20]

References
  1. "Oregon Magazine's pompous Man of the Year, and recipient of the Bottle of Hunt's Ketchup Award is Stuart Varney of the FOX TV network". Oregon Magazine. August 24, 2012. Archived from the original on December 18, 2014. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  2. Rohan, Virginia (May 12, 2010). "British voice of American business". The Record. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
  3. "Stuart Varney". Fox News. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
  4. "Resignation at CNN; Renewal at Fox". Retrieved 2018-10-17.
  5. "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart: COM: May 14, 2015 1:04am-1:37am". May 14, 2015. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
  6. Erik Wemple (May 14, 2015). "Daily Show's Jon Stewart buries Fox News on coverage of poverty, President Obama". The Washington Post.
  7. Thompson, Derek. "30 Million in Poverty Aren't as Poor as You Think, Says Heritage Foundation".
  8. "Fox Cites Ownership Of Appliances To Downplay Hardship Of Poverty In America". 22 July 2011.
  9. Hiltzik, Michael. "Heritage Foundation: America's poor actually live pretty durn well!". latimes.com.
  10. Sheffield, Rachel. "Air Conditioning, Cable TV, and an Xbox: What is Poverty in the United States Today?". The Heritage Foundation.
  11. Love, Maryann Cusimano (November 21, 2014). "Five myths about Pope Francis". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2014-11-23. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  12. "EVANGELII GAUDIUM". Holy See. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  13. scarce (2013-11-27). "Stuart Varney Admonishes Pope Francis". Crooks and Liars.
  14. "Fox's Varney Attacks Pope Francis' Comments On Inequality As "Neo-Socialism"". Media Matters for America. December 3, 2013. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  15. "Rep. Louie Gohmert falsely says George Soros helped take property from fellow Jews".
  16. Rupar, Aaron (2018-12-06). "Republican congressman spreads anti-Semitic Soros conspiracy theory with impunity on Fox Business". Vox. Retrieved 2018-12-09.
  17. Wilstein, Matt (2018-12-06). "Fox Business Network Apologizes for Louie Gohmert Spreading Anti-Semitic George Soros Conspiracy". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2018-12-09.
  18. Hutzler, Alexandra (2019-08-30). "Fox Business Host Tells Trump 2020 Challenger That President Has Never Lied: 'He Exaggerates And Spins'". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 2019-08-30. Retrieved 2019-08-31.
  19. Varney & Co. [@Varneyco] (18 November 2015). "Stuart is officially a United States citizen" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  20. Italiano, Laura (October 29, 2014). "Stuart Varney slammed with divorce complaint". New York Post. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
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