Awkward moment Karl Stefanovic discusses Australia's richest people - after his huge pay gap with co-host Sarah Abo is revealed in similar list
Karl Stefanovic experienced an awkward moment during a segment on Thursday's Today show about Australia's richest people.
The veteran presenter, 50, was discussing The Financial Review Rich List when reporter Jayne Azzopardi said Gina Rinehart topped the list with a whopping $38.1 billion.
' New South Wales has been named as the wealthiest state. It is home to 81 Rich Listers,' Jayne told co-hosts Karl Stefanovic and Sarah Abo.
'However, Gina Rinehart's wealth dropped by $2billion!'
Karl then revealed his theory as to why her fortune slightly dipped.
From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop.
'You see, she gives so much away to charity,' Karl said.
In a bizarre moment, Karl then trailed off about his own friendship with Rinehart and her love of good quality meat.
He said he had personally dined with the Aussie heiress and said she served only the finest cuts.
'Her steak - have you eaten her meat? She's got delicious meat, some of the best steak I have ever had. That will surprise no one, that I have eaten really expensive steak,' Karl boasted.
Sarah then asked Karl what one of Gina's prize steaks was worth, but he remained tight-lipped.
The segment follows reports that disputes over pay parity in TV Land could be set to erupt again following a bombshell report revealing the salaries of Australian television's brightest stars.
The Australian's inaugural TV Rich List report claimed that Nine star Karl is currently being paid an eye-watering $2million more than his co-host Sarah.
The report has collated the 35 highest salaries among TV stars on Australia's three commercial networks - Channel Seven, Nine and Network 10.
It revealed he was the highest paid small screen star, bringing home a formidable $2.8million annually, making almost three times as much as Sarah, 39.
This is in stark contrast to his Today counterpart who comes in at tenth place with a salary of $800,000.
It was also reported that his salary is almost as much as sitting chief executive Matt Stanton ($1.6 million) and his predecessor Mike Sneesby ($1.5 million) combined.
It appears that Nine has the deepest pockets out of the three commercial networks, with six of its stars making the top ten.
The Block host Scott Cam trailed close behind Stefanovic on $2.4million, while Lego Masters star Hamish Blake sits third on $2million.
The top ten Nine contingent is rounded out by newsreaders Alison Langdon ($1.2million), Peter Overton ($1 million) and Sarah.
Meanwhile Seven's highest paid star, Gold Logie winner Larry Emdur, sits in fourth place on $1.6million, while Sunrise host Natalie Barr came in fifth on $1.3million.
While there is quite a considerable gulf in salary between Karl and Sarah, the former has been in the Today chair for almost two decades while his co-host joined in 2023.
Karl wears a few different caps at Nine, having worked as a reporter on 60 Minutes as well as helming the short-lived series, This Time Next Year.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
43 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Sydney Sweeney to sell soap made with her bathwater
Sydney Sweeney, the American actress, will sell soap infused with her used bathwater because her fans 'wouldn't stop asking' for it. The 27-year-old said she was flooded with requests after appearing in an advert last year that showed her soaking in the tub. In the advertisement, filmed for Dr. Squatch, a men's personal care company, Sweeney bathes and tells viewers: 'Hello, you dirty little boys. Are you interested in my body… wash?' Speaking as she announced her new Sydney's Bathwater Bliss soap, she said: 'When your fans start asking for your bathwater, you can either ignore it or turn it into a bar of Dr. Squatch soap. 'It's weird in the best way, and I love that we created something that's not just unforgettable, it actually smells incredible and delivers like every other Dr. Squatch product I love.' The product will be a mix of soap made with sand and pine bark extract, with 'a touch of Sydney's real bathwater', Dr. Squatch said. In a post on Instagram, the company wrote that it had created the soap because 'y'all wouldn't stop asking for it'. Sweeney told GQ magazine that comments from fans wanting to consume her bathwater were likely to have been influenced by a scene from the 2023 film Saltburn, in which Barry Keoghan's character drinks the leftover bathwater of Jacob Elordi's character. 'Honestly, it probably has been a huge catalyst for it,' she said. During filming for the Dr. Squatch advertisement, Sweeney said the crew 'had a tub for me. And I actually got in there and I took some soap, and we had a nice little bath and they took the water. So it's my real bathwater'. Describing the soap, she said, 'It's super soft... it's marbly and has blues and a little bit of brown in it'. The actress, who grew up near Spokane, Washington, said she wanted Sydney's Bathwater Bliss to 'lean towards my home roots, so there's this really outdoorsy scent of, like, pine and earthy moss and fir. So it smells super manly'. The soap, priced at $8 (£6), will have a limited run of 5,000 bars and will go on sale on June 6. The announcement received a mixed reception on social media, with one X user describing it as 'genius marketing'. But another said: 'If you buy this soap, you should be placed on a watchlist because something is wrong with you.' Sweeney, who once apologised for having 'great' cleavage and 'correct opinions', is a rising star, with credits including the HBO series Euphoria and Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. In 2023, she starred in the romantic comedy Anyone But You and a year later had a prominent role in Sony's Spider-Man spin-off Madame Web.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Hugh Jackman takes swipe at ex-wife after divorce announcement
Hugh Jackman has broken his silence following his divorce from Deborra-Lee Furness with what appears to be a swipe at his former wife. The Australian actor shared a video of himself performing a complicated skipping routine on stage to NSYNC's break-up anthem 'Bye Bye Bye' on Tuesday (27 May). Sharing the clip to his 34.1 million Instagram followers from his one-man show Hugh Jackman: Love from New York with love, the star captioned the video: 'FINALLY.' The post comes just hours after Furness posted a brutal statement revealing their split, where she said she is 'navigating the traumatic journey of betrayal'.
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Debutant Kahli Johnson shines in comfortable win for Matildas over Argentina
It felt rather appropriate, all things considered, that Tom Sermanni marked his 150th in charge of the Matildas by making Kahli Johnson the 237th player to represent Australia. Because while the 2010 Asian Cup may have provided the 70-year-old with his crowning achievement, his is a more than three-decade legacy built upon the stories and achievements of those who he has given an opportunity. So many of the pathways that are found in the women's game in Australia wouldn't exist without his guidance, and of the current golden generation alone, the likes of Sam Kerr, Caitlin Foord, Steph Catley and Katrina Gorry were all given intentional debuts under his charge. It became even more fitting when Johnson headed home the 38th-minute goal that kickstarted the Matildas to a 2-0 win over Argentina at Melbourne's Marvel Stadium on Friday evening, a game lacking in much of the way of fireworks but in which the hosts never looked in danger of falling. Kaitlyn Torpey put the result beyond doubt in the 69th minute, the winger's second international goal blessed by the footballing gods when her shanked attempt to send in a cross from the right floated right over the head of Abigaíl Chaves and inside the far post. But it's Johnson who people will be talking about after tonight. The 21-year-old took a leap into the unknown during the middle of the A-League Women season, moving from Western United to newly launched Canadian competition the Northern Super League and has kicked on with three goals in six games for the Calgary Wild. Now, having scored a goal every other game in Canada, she's become a senior international, with a goal under her belt, and the latest in a long line of players whose stories include Sermanni. The ball to find Johnson was delivered with pinpoint accuracy by Charli Grant, who galloped down the flank before sending in a perfectly weighted cross for her teammate – who replays showed may have strayed just into an offside position – to send across the face of Chaves. Though not all that much older than Johnson, the defender is something of a grizzled young veteran in the current setup given she is still only 23 years old but she is now in her fourth year in the national setup, with 34 appearances in green and gold under her belt. Probably helped by not needing to do much defending – Argentina would fail to register a shot on target until the 80th minute – the Spurs flanker was one of the Matildas best on the evening. So, too, was Johnson, who flashed intent early on when she won the ball on the left and whipped in crosses in the sixth and seventh minutes and who put a shot just wide in the 49th in search of a brace. Given the chance to start as the nine once more, clearly being positioned by Sermanni as the heir-apparent for Kerr, Holly McNamara showed off her determined, angry worth as well: sending a volleyed attempt from a Grant cross wide in the first half and fizzing an effort outside the post in the 61st. Clare Wheeler got in on the act, too, firing off a 72nd minute attempt that Chaves did incredibly well to get down and keep out. Sign up to Moving the Goalposts No topic is too small or too big for us to cover as we deliver a twice-weekly roundup of the wonderful world of women's football after newsletter promotion Indeed, with the likes of Kerr, Gorry, Ellie Carpenter and Hayley Raso all absent from this squad and the Arsenal trio of Catley, Foord and Kyra Cooney-Cross staying on the bench after their late arrival into camp after winning the Champions League, Friday was an evening for the unheralded and rising members of the squad. It almost had to be, given that Football Australia has indicated a new coach will be coming in next month, rendering these games as something of an audition. But it was also a celebration of an underappreciated legend in Sermanni, delivered in fitting fashion.
