Here's How Much Whoopi Goldberg Makes as a Host on 'The View'

Whoopi Goldberg continues to stir controversy with her opinions on the popular talk show The View. With this, fans and followers of the show may no doubt be curious about Goldberg's net worth and how much she earns from her role as host on The View.

Goldberg co-hosts and moderates the reality talk show, along with Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, Sara Haines, Alyssa Farah Griffin, and Ana Navarro. The standup comedian has been part of the variety panel since 2001 and joined as Rosie O'Donnell's replacement. Since then she has added millions to her $60 million net worth through earnings from the TV show.

In 2016 her annual paycheck was estimated between $5 million to $6 million, according to Parade. The legendary host and Oscar winner now commands a salary of $8 million in accordance with her lengthy association with the chat show, suggests We Got This Covered. 

According to Marca, Goldberg's debut on The View in 2001 took the ratings to a new level, with her premiere episode being watched by 3.4 million viewers. This was estimated as a significant 7 percent increase over her previous host Rosie O'Donnell's debut. In a 2019 exclusive with The New York Times, however, Goldberg stated that she sees her role in The View as simply "a job." Explaining it further, she said, “In a way, I am playing a role. These are not conversations that I’m having with my friends. If they were, we’d be doing it differently. My friends and I can talk about things in-depth in a different way than you can on television.” 

Goldberg, whose real name is Caryn Elaine Johnson, started her entertainment career as a standup comedian in the 70s. Reminiscing about her moniker "Whoopi," she told The New York Times, "When you're performing on stage, you never really have time to go into the bathroom and close the door. So if you get a little gassy, you've got to let it go. So people used to say to me, 'You're like a whoopee cushion.' And that's where the name came from." 

According to Parade, Goldberg was the highest-paid actress in Hollywood during the 90s due to the phenomenal success of the Sister Act movie franchise. The first film made approximately $230 million worldwide which allowed Goldberg to charge a salary between $7 million to $12 million for the sequel, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit. Her other notable role is the Oscar-winning medium Oda Mae Brown in 1990's Ghost, which caused a tsunami at the box office and had a worldwide collection of approximately $505 million. It still continues to be listed among the top 100 highest-grossing movies of all time. 

The political activist is also credited for her revolutionary work on Broadway. She was the creator of The Spook Show—a series of character-themed monologues which ran from 1984 to 1985. The show also aired on HBO in 1985 as Whoopi Goldberg: Direct From Broadway, and it earned Goldberg her first Grammy. She is also credited as a producer on the project through her company, Whoop Inc.

Goldberg continues to write for film and talk shows and is also a renowned nonfiction and children's books author. Her earnings doubled after she co-founded Whoopi & Maya, a company dealing in medicinal cannabis products for menstruating women. Goldberg currently resides in a $2.8 million, 23-room mansion in West Orange, New Jersey, which she purchased way back in 2009.