Alex Trebek Net Worth And Salary: 'Jeopardy' Host Earned $10M Per Year

Alex Trebek died at the age of 80 on Sunday after a battle with pancreatic cancer, leaving behind a massive fortune.

Trebek had an estimated net worth of $75 million at the time of his death, according to Celebrity Net Worth. He earned $10 million a year as the host of the long-running game show “Jeopardy!,” The Washington Post reported.

Trebek started his career as a journalist and sports announcer. Soon, he would transition to hosting a live music show called “Music Hop,” per Business Insider. The Ontario, Canada native moved to the U.S. in the 1970s and hosted shows such as “The Wizard of Odds” and “High Rollers” before getting his big break in the game show “Jeopardy!” in 1984.

“Jeopardy!” has won 39 Daytime Emmy Awards as well as a Peabody Award. Trebek, who hosted over 8,000 episodes of “Jeopardy!” in 37 seasons, claimed the record for hosting the most episodes of a single game show, beating "The Price is Right" host Bob Barker in the process.

Aside from “Jeopardy!,” Trebek also hosted "To Tell the Truth" and "Classic Concentration" at the same time.

“Jeopardy!” was averaging 10 million viewers per night in 2015, which prompted Sony Pictures Television to extend Trebek’s contract at that time. The show's producers considered making backup plans should the longtime host decide to retire, CNN reported. But this did not push through as Trebek went on to host “Jeopardy!” until the time of his death.

Among those who were considered as his replacement were CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, NBC's "Today" show co-host Matt Lauer and NBC Sports anchor Josh Elliott.

Though some outlets said his annual salary was $10 million, Celebrity Net Worth estimated Trebek's yearly earnings as “Jeopardy!” host to be $18 million, which means he gets paid $391,000 per recording day or $78,000 per episode. “Jeopardy!” had 46 days of taping a year, which means around five episodes were shot per day.

Based on this estimate, Trebek earned more per episode than fellow longtime hosts Vanna White and Pat Sajak from “Wheel of Fortune."

On the personal side, Trebek was married twice and shared two children with his second wife, Jean Currivan. The award-winning host became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1998.

Trebek announced last year that he was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer. On Sunday, he "passed away peacefully at home early this morning, surrounded by family and friends," a “Jeopardy!” spokesperson told TMZ.

Fans and celebrities all over the world mourned over Trebek's passing and paid tribute to the iconic host through social media. It remains to be seen how his demise will affect “Jeopardy!” moving forward.