Sean Hannity's education and career: from NYU dropout to Fox News host
Sean Hannity's education journey is far from the traditional journalism ladder. After dropping out of two major universities in New York, he went on to become the face of Fox News without a degree. The conservative talk show host told the New York Times in 2017:
I just wasn't that interested in school. It bored me to tears.
Source: Getty Images
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Key takeaways
- Sean Hannity does not have a college degree after dropping out of New York University and Adelphi University.
- Hannity left school to work in the construction business before he started hosting a volunteer radio talk show in the late 1980s.
- The conservative media personality has worked for Fox News Channel since its launch in 1996.
Sean Hannity's profile summary
Full name | Sean Patrick Hannity |
Date of birth | December 30, 1961 |
Age | 63 years old (as of November 2025) |
Place of birth | New York City, New York, United States |
Current residence | Florida, United States |
Heritage | Irish-American |
Ex-wife | Jill Rhodes (1993 to 2019) |
Fiancée | Ainsley Earhardt (2024 to date) |
Children | Patrick Hannity Jr., Merri Kelly Hannity |
Parents | Lillian Flynn, Hugh Hannity Jr. |
Siblings | Therese Hannity, Mary-Jo Hannity, Coleen Hannity |
Profession | Radio and TV host, author |
Political party | Conservative Party |
Social media |
Where did Sean Hannity go to college?
The conservative television presenter Sean Hannity grew up in New York in an Irish-American household alongside his three older sisters. He attended local schools, including Sacred Heart Seminary and St. Pius X Preparatory Seminary in Uniondale, from which he graduated in 1980.
The conservative talk show host enrolled at New York University but dropped out. He later went to New York-based Adelphi University to study economics and political science. He only spent two years of college at both universities.
After quitting academics, he moved to Rhode Island, where he started a house-painting and wallpaper business with his sister, according to the New York Times. The only degree Sean Hannity has is an honorary degree, which he received in 2005 from Liberty University in Virginia.
Source: Original
Sean Hannity's media career started on college radio
Hannity relocated to Santa Barbara, California, in the mid-1980s to work in the construction industry as a house painter and general building contractor. In 1989, he joined the volunteer college station KCSB-FM at UC Santa Barbara.
UCSB cancelled his show less than a year later for homophobic remarks made on air. Hannity told CBS News in 2004 that having his show taken off the air fueled his determination to pursue a talk show career.
That was the moment where I said, 'This is what I've got to do,' when they took away that microphone… I wasn't good at it. I was terrible. But the fact that they took that opinion away from me, I said, 'I want to do this, I want to pursue this.'
Hannity started looking for radio hosting jobs elsewhere and found one at WVNN-AM in Huntsville, Alabama. He later moved to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1992 to work at WGST-AM. Sean returned to New York in 1997 to host a national show on WABC-AM/770.
Sean's nationally syndicated radio talk show, 'The Sean Hannity Show', launched on September 10, 2001, a day before the devastating 9/11 terror attacks. The show is currently syndicated by Premiere Networks, a subsidiary of iHeartMedia.
Source: Facebook
Sean Hannity's success at Fox News
With a proven record to attract listeners, Sean started working with the newly formed Fox News Channel in 1996 as co-host of Hannity & Colmes alongside the liberal Alan Colmes. After Alan's departure in 2009, he formed the solo political commentary show Hannity.
Hannity has consistently ranked among the top-rated shows on cable news across the US. Sean has established himself as a key figure and prominent conservative voice that resonates with the core Fox News audience. His close relationship with POTUS Donald Trump has also been a huge highlight of his career.
Source: Getty Images
Hannity is a New York Times bestselling author
Without a college degree, Sean Hannity has released four New York Times bestselling books. He told CBS News in 2004 that nobody in his family would have thought he would publish anything.
He published his first book, a political commentary titled Let Freedom Ring: Winning the War of Liberty over Liberalism, in 2002. His second book, Deliver Us from Evil: Defeating Terrorism, Despotism, and Liberalism (2004), argues against terrorism abroad and liberalism in the US.
In 2010, Hannity published Conservative Victory: Defeating Obama's Radical Agenda, which argued against then-POTUS Obama's policies. In his latest book, Live Free or Die: America (and the world) on the Brink (2020), the New York native expresses his conservative viewpoint on the state of the US and the world.
Source: Getty Images
Sean Hannity has a nine-figure net worth
The long-term host of Hannity on Fox News has an estimated net worth of $250 million in 2025. By 2020, Sean Hannity was making $43 million per year and appeared on Forbes' Celebrity 100 Earnings. His annual earnings from Fox were estimated at $25 million. Away from his illustrious media career, Hannity is also a real estate investor.
Who at Fox has a law degree?
Several Fox network employees have law degrees, including:
- Shannon Bream: JD from Florida State University, hosts Fox News Sunday
- Emily Compagno: JD from the University of San Francisco School of Law, co-hosts Outnumbered
- Laura Ingraham: JD from the University of Virginia, hosts The Ingraham Angle Show
- Jonathan Turley: JD from Northwestern University, legal analyst
- Gregg Jarrett: JD from UC Hastings College of the Law, legal and political analyst.
Source: Getty Images
Conclusion
Sean Hannity's education history, or lack of it, did not get in the way of his rise in American conservative media. The TV host is now based in Florida after announcing a permanent departure from his native New York in early 2024. He hosts his Fox News show and his national radio program from the Sunshine State.
READ MORE: Breaking down Jimmy Failla's net worth: comedy, radio, and television
Briefly.co.za highlighted facts about Jimmy Faila's fortune. He started as a New York City cab driver without a bank account while pursuing stand-up comedy around the city.
Failla started working with Fox News in 2016 as a writer and now hosts Fox News Saturday Night with Jimmy Failla. He also hosts the nationally syndicated radio talk show Fox Across America.
Source: Briefly News
