Bill O’Reilly was born as William James O'Reilly Jr. on September 10, 1949. He is the son of William James O’Reilly Sr. and Winifred Angela Drake O'Reilly. He spent his early childhood in a small apartment in New Jersey before his family moved to Long Island, New York, when he was two years old.
As a child, O’Reilly showed academic promise and attended St. Brigid parochial school. He later enrolled at Chaminade High School in Mineola, New York—a Catholic preparatory school. He was both a strong student and an active athlete, playing sports such as baseball and hockey during his school years.
After completing high school in 1967, O’Reilly attended Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York, a decision influenced by his father. At Marist, he contributed to the college newspaper, The Circle, and also played football as a punter with the National Club Football Association. During his junior year, he studied abroad at Queen Mary College, University of London, before graduating in 1971 with a degree in history.
Pursuing a career in media, he earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University in 1976. During this time, he gained experience as an intern at local newspapers and magazines. Later, he attended Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, where he completed a Master of Public Administration in 1996.
Bill O’Reilly began his professional career soon after college, joining WNEP-TV in Scranton, Pennsylvania, as a reporter. His work quickly gained attention, and he was subsequently hired by WFAA-TV in Dallas, Texas, as an investigative reporter. His impactful reporting earned him a Dallas Press Club Award.
O’Reilly’s growing reputation brought him to KMGH-TV in Denver, Colorado, where his reporting on airline hijackings (skyjackings) earned him a Regional Emmy Award. These early journalistic accomplishments laid a strong foundation for his future career in national media.
In the early 1980s, O’Reilly worked with multiple prominent stations, including WFSB in Hartford, Connecticut, KATU in Portland, Oregon, and WHDH-TV in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1980, he joined WCBS-TV in New York, where he anchored a program called the 7:30 Magazine. His investigative work exposing corruption among local officials earned him a second Regional Emmy Award in 1981 and a subsequent promotion to the CBS News network.
He later worked with ABC News, contributing to programs like Good Morning America. These roles enhanced his national presence and opened the doors for a significant tenure at Fox News Channel, where he cemented his place in American media.
| Net Worth 2021: | 85 million |
