You can be hard pressed to find a duo of a game show more popular than Pat Sajak and Vanna White. As I’m sure you know, Pat and Vanna are like the program “Wheel of Fortune.”
With this writing, “Wheel of Fortune” is the third-largest American game show ever in 47 years. The show only follows “Jeopardy” in 53 years and “The Price is Right” in 59 years. But! Perhaps most importantly, Pat and Vanna hold the record for the longest-running television broadcasters, in their 40s.
While Sajak is handling the handling tasks, White may be the grass that shakes the drink. For forty years, Vanna has been attracting audiences as she just makes the characters appear on the Wheel of Fortune board in style and grace.
But how did Vanna White really become the world’s most famous and well-paid literary master?
Early life
Vanna White was born Vanna Marie Rosich on February 18, 1957 in Conway, South Carolina. His biological father abandoned his family after his birth, and White’s mother eventually married a man named Herbert Stackley White, Jr. He eventually took Herbert’s surname as his own. She left South Carolina in the late 1970’s to do modeling and modeling work in Los Angeles.
Fun fact: Vanna’s first appearance at the game show was not as hostage, but as a contest for “Price Is Right.” It is unclear whether he went home with the show.
Wheel of Fortune
The match began on January 6, 1975. The first host was Chuck Woolery. Woolery was replaced in 1981 after seeking a higher salary that Merv refused. When Woolery’s contract was not renewed, Marv selected NBC Los Angeles local meteorologist Pat Sajak as the new host.
“Wheel of Fortune” was coined by playmaker Merv Griffin in the mid-1970s while on a family trip spending his days playing the word hangman game. With the help of management at his production company, they hooked up with a hangman to build what became of the “Wheel of Fortune.”
The first host of the Wheel of Fortune was Susan Stafford. Stafford worked in the exhibition from early 1975 until October 1982 when he resigned as a humanitarian worker.
A replacement interview was conducted and more than 200 beautiful and talented LA models were tried at the gym. Finally, the choice falls on two women:
Vicki McCarthy and Vanna White in the middle of Playboy. As you know, Vanna got a gig.
Vanna White’s salary
At the time of writing, Vanna White has already appeared in more than 6,000 episodes of Wheel of Fortune. She is wearing more than 5,700 dresses in the program. Pat tries to match her tie with her dress every night.
For her translation work, Vanna White’s salary…
Fortune wheel tapes four days a month, six shows a day. They recorded two Thursdays and two Fridays. On recording days, they both arrived around 8:30 a.m. and started shooting at noon. One audience watches three programs, followed by a lunch break. The second audience enters to watch three more tapings.
That’s 48 working days a year to earn $ 10 and $ 14 million a year, respectively. That means Vanna earns $ 208,333 a working day. Pat earns $ 291,666 a working day. Separating it per program, Pat Sajak earns $ 48,611 per show and Vanna White earns $ 34,722 per show.
But Not All!
Believe it or not, Wheel of Fortune is actually not a major source of income for Vanna and Pat every year. Wheel of Fortune was the first amusement park that licensed its intellectual property to be used in a casino gambling machine. The first Wheel-themed slot machines at Las Vegas casinos in 1996. Today there are more than 20,000 wheelbarrow machines in casinos worldwide. They are the most popular gaming machines in the world and generate over $ 2 billion in revenue each year.
To obtain licenses for their names and surnames, Vanna and Pat each received an estimated $ 15 million a year.
So, between hosting the “Wheel of Fortune” and licensing her gaming machines for the show, Vanna White’s annual revenue is often high.
