Sean Hannity Net Worth: Controversial Fox News Host Linked To $90 Million In Shady Property Deals
Sean Hannity’s net worth includes nearly $100 million worth of real estate that he helped buy, sell, or manage with the help of Trump attorney Micheal Cohen, whose office was recently raided by the FBI, The Guardian is reporting. What’s more, Hannity seems to have benefited from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) – something that he didn’t disclose to his viewers when he interviewed HUD chairman Ben Carson.
The Fox News host found himself pulled into the Michael Cohen controversy last week after it was revealed in court that he was one of the clients of Donald Trump’s embattled attorney. Hannity has consistently defended Trump and Cohen, and criticized the investigations against both men, without disclosing that he, himself, is a client of Cohen. That’s not a crime but in journalism, it’s a standard practice for a reporter to disclose any ties between a subject and himself or his network whenever reporting. Failing to do so is considered unethical, according to Yahoo News.
Hannity has always insisted that his involvement with Cohen was limited to “discussions about buying property.”
“I’ve said many times on my radio show: I hate the stock market, I prefer real estate. Michael knows real estate.”
The revelation that Michael Cohen offered legal advice to Sean Hannity was shocking, even to Fox loyalists. “This is bad,” one Fox staffer said. “It violates every rule of journalism.” https://t.co/MIRZfWceGx
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) April 23, 2018
As it turns out, Hannity has amassed a real estate empire worth nearly 100 million dollars.
According to a review of publicly available records, Hannity is the “hidden” owner behind multiple shell companies, each using variations of the same set of letters (the initials of his children). Those shell companies have spent $90 million on property in the past decade alone.
Some of the 870 properties Hannity owns, via shell companies, were acquired in 2013, after a minor foreclosure crisis forced families from their homes. At the time, Hannity was quick to blame then-president Barack Obama for the crisis, while not disclosing that he was scooping up those foreclosed properties for his empire.
In another failure to disclose important facts, it appears that some of the properties Hannity has purchased were done so with unspecified “help” from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. A 2016 presidential candidate, Dr. Ben Carson, is now the head of that agency. Hannity had Carson on his show last year and failed to disclose the fact that he (Hannity) had benefited financially from the agency that his guest heads.
Hannity’s real estate attorney, Christopher Reeves, said in a statement that there’s any significance in Hannity’s real estate holdings.
“I doubt you would find it very surprising that most people prefer to keep their legal and personal financial issues private. Mr Hannity is no different.”
As of this writing, neither HUD nor Fox News has commented on these issues.
Editor’s note: Sean Hannity has released a statement regarding his real estate holdings:
“It is ironic that I am being attacked for investing my personal money in communities that badly need such investment and in which, I am sure, those attacking me have not invested their money. The fact is, these are investments that I do not individually select, control, or know the details about; except that obviously I believe in putting my money to work in communities that otherwise struggle to receive such support.
I have never discussed with anybody at HUD the original loans that were obtained in the Obama years, nor the subsequent refinance of such loans, as they are a private matter. I had no role in, or responsibility for, any HUD involvement in any of these investments. I can say that every rigorous process and strict standard of improvement requirements were followed; all were met, fulfilled and inspected.
The LLC’s are REAL companies that spend real investment money on real properties.”
