John Avlon is a leading journalist, senior political analyst and lead at CNN. He is the former managing director of the Daily Beast as well as associate editor of the New York Sun.
Besides being a journalist, he is also a prolific writer who has published a number of books such as Independent Nation: How Centrists Can Change American Politics (2004), Winged Nuts: How Lunatic Fringe Hijack America (2010), and Farewell to Washington: The Founding Father’s Warning to Future Generations (2017).
John Avlon Bio
John Avlon was born on January 19, 1973, to John Jeffrey – a real estate executive/lawyer – and Dianne Alexander. He is of Greek descent with immigrant grandparents.
He received his early education at Milton Academy in Milton, Massachusetts, and then his bachelor’s degree at Yale University. After graduating, he earned an MBA from Columbia University.
After college, he worked as a speechwriter for Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. At this young age, he was already preparing for the Mayor’s State of the City Addresses to the Congress on Homeland and Security as well as the United Nations General Assembly on Counter Terrorism, that was 1991 to 2001.
Avlon has also lectured at Yale University, NYU, the Citadel, the Kennedy School of Government, and the Department of State’s Guest Journalist Program. In 2008, he was promoted to director of speechwriting and deputy director of policy for Giuliani’s 2008 presidential campaign.
He became a senior fellow of the Manhattan Institute, as well as a member of the advisory board of the Citizens Union of New York, the Bronx Academy of Letters, and the Theodore Roosevelt Association.
Due to his speech writing skills, he joined the Daily Beast immediately launched in 2008, initially starting as a columnist. In no time, he rose through the ranks to political editor, editor-in-chief, and then general manager. In 2013, he was named editor-in-chief, and in September 2014, unique visitors to the Daily Beast website hit an all-time high of 21 million. Its social media community was elevated by up to 300% while readership increased by 60%.
In May 2018, he left the Daily Beast and moved to CNN where he is currently a senior political analyst and anchor.
John Avlon is a prolific writer with many books, articles and essays to his stable writing. No wonder, one of his books – Independent Nation: How Centrists Can Change American Politics – was deemed the best political book written about centrist American voters. Former President Bill Clinton hailed his second book “Wingnuts” and his anthologies were hailed as the largest collection of newspaper articles ever compiled by The Washington Post.
In 2012, he won the National Society of Newspaper Columnists’ Best Online Publication award for his column with The Daily Beast. In 2017, Mediaite named him one of the most influential in news media.
Another thing John Avlon got involved in is political activism. It is to this end that he founded the American political organization No Labels which seeks to combat the partisan dysfunctions of American politics.
Wife – Margaret Hover and family life
John Avlon is happily married to Margaret Hoover, political talk show host, gay rights activist and author of American Individualism: How a New Generation of Conservatives Can Save the Republican Party. She is the great-granddaughter of President Hubert Hoover.
The CNN man met Margaret Hoover during Rudolph Giuliani’s presidential campaign in 2008. They dated for a year and finally exchanged marital vows on November 7, 2009.
Both are blessed with two beautiful children – a son, Jack Avlon and daughter Toula Lou. They cherish every moment spent with them. Avlon always takes time to celebrate its children. He celebrated his daughter’s first day of preschool and he took an entire day off to celebrate his son’s birthday.
Salary and Net Worth
Being a senior political analyst and anchor at CNN, he is entitled to a huge salary. Although there is no record of how much he earns, some sources claim he can earn an average salary of $66,000 per year at CNN.
Avlon’s net worth is believed to accrue on his high salary as a journalist and columnist. The actual figure is not yet known.