Table of Contents
Kelly Evans (American Journalist)
Kelly Evans’ salary stands as a testament to what two decades of disciplined, expert financial journalism can build. As the anchor of CNBC’s The Exchange and co-anchor of Power Lunch, Evans has become one of the most trusted and recognized voices in American business news. She broadcasts daily from CNBC’s headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, delivering market analysis and economic coverage to millions of viewers across the United States.
Born on July 17, 1985, in Hartford, Connecticut, Evans grew up in Lexington, Virginia, where her academic and athletic drive first became apparent. She graduated magna cum laude from Washington & Lee University with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Journalism — a credential that laid the foundation for a career built on precision and credibility. That academic excellence translated directly into professional opportunity. She began her journalism career at The Wall Street Journal in 2007, covering real estate and economics, writing widely-read columns, and reporting for the Global Economics bureau.
Evans joined CNBC in February 2012. What followed was a steady and well-earned rise through some of the network’s most prominent programs, including Worldwide Exchange, Closing Bell, and Squawk on the Street. In a career highlight that underlines her authority beyond financial reporting, she served as a moderator for the 2012 Republican Primary debate in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
This article covers Kelly Evans’ career timeline, her estimated salary and net worth, her educational background, and her personal life — including her marriage to fellow CNBC reporter Eric Chemi. All figures and facts are drawn from publicly available, verified sources.
| Full Name | Kelly Evans |
| Date of Birth | July 17, 1985 |
| Place of Birth | Hartford, Connecticut, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Profession | Broadcast Journalist, News Anchor, Author |
| Employer | CNBC (NBCUniversal), Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey |
| Education | B.A. in Business Journalism, Washington & Lee University, Lexington, Virginia — Magna Cum Laude |
| Career Start | The Wall Street Journal — Economics and Real Estate Reporter (2007) |
| Current Role | Anchor, CNBC’s The Exchange (M–F, 1PM–2PM ET); Co-Anchor, CNBC’s Power Lunch (M–F, 2PM–3PM ET) |
| Notable Work | Moderator, 2012 Republican Primary Debate (Myrtle Beach, SC); Closing Bell Co-Anchor; The Exchange Newsletter Author |
| Marital Status | Married to Eric Chemi (CNBC Sports Reporter); married April 22, 2017 |
| Children | Six children; names and ages not publicly available |
| Estimated Net Worth | $6 million (estimated; not officially confirmed) |
| Salary | Estimated $3 million annually (not officially confirmed) |
| Father | Dave Evans |
| Mother | Not publicly available |
| Siblings | One sibling (name not publicly available) |
| Raised In | Lexington, Virginia, Rockbridge County, United States |
Who is Kelly Evans?
Kelly Evans is an American journalist and broadcast anchor serving as host of CNBC’s The Exchange and co-anchor of Power Lunch. Born July 17, 1985, in Hartford, Connecticut, she graduated magna cum laude from Washington & Lee University and began her career at The Wall Street Journal in 2007 before joining CNBC in 2012.
Early Life and Education
Kelly Evans was born on July 17, 1985, in Hartford, Connecticut, making her a native of the northeastern United States. She did not spend her childhood in Hartford, however. Her family raised her in Lexington, Virginia, a small city nestled in Rockbridge County near the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is a detail that matters — Lexington is also home to Washington & Lee University, the institution where Evans would later build her academic foundation.
Her father has been publicly identified as Dave Evans. Her mother’s name has not been made available to the public. Evans grew up alongside at least one sibling, though that sibling’s name and details remain private.
Childhood and Family Background
Evans developed a competitive edge early. As reported across multiple biographical sources, she was an active multi-sport athlete during her school years in Lexington. She attended Rockbridge County High School, where she earned eight athletic letters across three sports — lacrosse, cross country, and track. That combination of academic focus and athletic discipline would define her approach to everything that followed.
After graduating from Rockbridge County High School, Evans enrolled at Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia — a private liberal arts institution with a strong academic reputation. According to her publicly available biography, she graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Journalism. She was recognized as a George Washington Honor Scholar and served as co-captain of the university’s women’s lacrosse team. Her academic record established the credibility and analytical rigor that would later distinguish her journalism career.
Kelly Evans Career Timeline and Achievements
Kelly Evans began her professional journalism career at one of the most respected financial publications in the world. Over the years that followed, she built a reputation not through rapid reinvention, but through consistent, expert coverage of economics, markets, and business news. According to her official CNBC biography, she currently serves as anchor of The Exchange and co-anchor of Power Lunch, both broadcasting from CNBC’s headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
Early Career — The Wall Street Journal
Evans launched her journalism career at The Wall Street Journal, where she joined the reporting staff as an economics and real estate correspondent. She was assigned to the Global Economics bureau — a role that placed her at the center of some of the most consequential financial stories of that period. Her work there was not limited to reporting. She wrote two widely-read columns: “Ahead of the Tapes” and “Heard on the Street,” both recognized within financial journalism circles for their analytical depth and market insight.
Beyond print, Evans also hosted the daily News Hub program on WSJ.com, an early indicator of the on-air presence she would develop further in the years ahead. During this period, she made guest appearances on Fox News, CBS, and other networks — steadily expanding her visibility beyond the pages of the Journal.
One career moment from this period stands apart. Evans served as one of the moderators for a Republican Primary debate held in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina — a high-profile assignment that demonstrated her credibility extended well beyond financial reporting. She also moderated a James Carville versus Ann Coulter debate at the 25th annual Washington and Lee Mock Convention, held at her alma mater. These were not typical assignments for a business journalist. They reflected the breadth of her professional standing at a relatively early stage of her career.
CNBC Career and Current Role
Evans joined CNBC in February 2012. Her first assignment placed her in London, England, at CNBC Europe’s headquarters, where she co-anchored Worldwide Exchange. She held that post for approximately one year before returning to the United States.
Back on home soil, she stepped into one of the network’s most prominent anchor chairs — co-hosting Closing Bell following the departure of Maria Bartiromo. It was a significant role, and Evans held it for several years. During the same period, she contributed to additional CNBC programs including Squawk on the Street and Squawk Box, building a daily presence across the network’s business-day programming.
CNBC subsequently moved Evans into a new flagship program. She became the anchor of The Exchange, a newsroom-based program designed for the modern investor, airing Monday through Friday from 1PM to 2PM ET. She also took on the role of co-anchor for Power Lunch, which follows immediately after, airing from 2PM to 3PM ET. According to her official CNBC profile, both programs broadcast from the network’s headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
Beyond on-air work, Evans is the author of The Exchange newsletter, published through CNBC. The newsletter features her commentary on significant market stories and macroeconomic developments, extending her analysis beyond the broadcast day.
Major Achievements and Career Highlights
Several moments across Evans’ career stand out as markers of professional distinction. She graduated magna cum laude from Washington & Lee University — an academic achievement that set the tone for the precision she would bring to financial journalism. She was among the moderators for a nationally televised Republican Primary debate, a rare distinction for a journalist whose primary beat is business and economics.
Her progression at CNBC — from London-based co-anchor to the host of two simultaneous flagship programs — reflects a career built on sustained credibility rather than moment-to-moment visibility. As reported across multiple biographical sources, few anchors on any American business news network maintain the same daily on-air commitment that Evans does through The Exchange and Power Lunch combined.
Net Worth and Salary
Estimating the salary of a senior network anchor involves significant uncertainty. CNBC, like most major television networks, does not disclose individual anchor compensation publicly. According to Celebrity Net Worth, one of the more frequently cited sources on media compensation, Evans earns an estimated annual salary of approximately $3 million. Other biographical sources place her estimated annual earnings in a considerably wider range — from $50,000 to $250,000 per year. The variance between these figures is substantial, and it reflects the challenge of estimating private compensation without verified data.
These figures are estimates based on publicly available information. Neither Kelly Evans nor CNBC has officially confirmed her salary.
Net Worth Estimate
Evans’ net worth, like her salary, is a subject of considerable variation across sources. Celebrity Net Worth estimates her current net worth at approximately $6 million, a figure attributed to nearly two decades of work at the top of American financial journalism. Other sources place the estimate between $2.5 million and $3 million.
Her income sources are not limited to her anchor role alone. Her work as a columnist at The Wall Street Journal, her years co-anchoring multiple CNBC programs, and her authorship of The Exchange newsletter all contribute to a professional profile that extends beyond a single salary line.
Her husband, Eric Chemi, is also a CNBC reporter. As reported by multiple biographical sources, his estimated net worth sits at approximately $2.5 million, accumulated through his career in finance and journalism. The couple represents one of the relatively rare instances of two senior figures at the same major financial news network building parallel careers simultaneously.
Personal Life and Family
Kelly Evans has built a notably private personal life alongside one of the more demanding on-air schedules in American business television. Despite her daily visibility on CNBC, she has consistently kept the details of her home life away from public attention. What is known comes from verified biographical sources and occasional references made by her colleagues on air.
Husband — Eric Chemi
Kelly Evans is married to Eric Chemi, a sports business reporter who, like Evans, works at CNBC. The two met through their shared professional environment at the network — a detail that makes their relationship one of the more notable partnerships in American financial media.
According to multiple biographical sources, Evans and Chemi married on April 22, 2017, in a private ceremony. The wedding was not widely publicized in advance. In fact, it was Evans’ CNBC colleague and Closing Bell co-anchor Bill Griffeth who publicly congratulated her on air, offering many viewers their first awareness that the wedding had taken place. The moment was understated and in keeping with how Evans has generally approached her personal life — with discretion.
Eric Chemi brings a background that is unusual for a television journalist. He holds a degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) — one of the most competitive academic institutions in the world. His professional path before journalism was equally unconventional. He began his career as a hedge fund trader at Fortress Investment Group, then moved into proprietary trading at JPMorgan. From finance, he transitioned into media, joining Bloomberg TV and Businessweek as head of data and research. He later joined CNBC, where he currently covers sports business — reporting on the intersection of athletics, economics, and industry.
His analytical background in both finance and data has drawn comparisons to Evans’ own approach to economic reporting. Together, they represent a household with deep roots in financial literacy, journalism, and institutional credibility.
Children
Kelly Evans and Eric Chemi are parents to six children together, according to Wikipedia and multiple corroborating biographical sources. It is one of the more striking personal details about Evans — anchoring two daily programs on a major national network while raising a large family is, by any measure, an extraordinary balancing act.
The couple’s first child, a son, was born on July 5, 2018. Evans was open about her pregnancy during that period, and the birth was acknowledged publicly by her CNBC colleagues. A second pregnancy was reported in September 2019. Beyond these details, Evans has chosen not to share the names or ages of her children publicly, and that boundary has been consistently respected across credible biographical sources.
As reported by multiple outlets, Evans has at times broadcast from a home studio during maternity leave periods — a reflection of both her professional commitment and the practical realities of her schedule. The names, birth dates, and individual details of her children beyond the firstborn remain not publicly available, and this article does not speculate beyond what has been verified.
Early Family Background
Evans was born to her father, Dave Evans, the only parent whose name has been publicly identified. Her mother’s name has not been made available in any verified public source. She grew up in Lexington, Virginia, alongside at least one sibling, whose name and details have similarly not been disclosed publicly.
Her upbringing in a small Virginia city, far from the major media centers of New York and Washington, makes her eventual rise to one of CNBC’s most prominent anchor chairs a more remarkable trajectory. The discipline she demonstrated as a multi-sport athlete at Rockbridge County High School and as a magna cum laude graduate of Washington & Lee University appears to have carried forward into both her professional and personal life.
FAQ: Everything You Need to Know About Kelly Evans
Key questions answered about the CNBC anchor and her public life
Born on July 17, 1985, in Hartford, Connecticut, she graduated magna cum laude from Washington & Lee University with a Bachelor's degree in Business Journalism. She began her career at The Wall Street Journal in 2007 before joining CNBC in February 2012. She is also the author of The Exchange newsletter, published through CNBC.
The couple married on April 22, 2017, in a private ceremony. Eric Chemi holds a degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Before joining CNBC, he worked as a hedge fund trader at Fortress Investment Group and as a proprietary trader at JPMorgan. He and Evans both currently work at CNBC's Englewood Cliffs headquarters.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, her estimated annual salary is approximately $3 million. Other third-party sources place the estimate in a wider range of $50,000 to $250,000 per year. The significant variance reflects the difficulty of estimating private network compensation without verified data. All figures are third-party estimates only.
Other biographical sources estimate her net worth between $2.5 million and $3 million. This figure has been built over nearly two decades of work in financial journalism, including her time at The Wall Street Journal and her long-running career at CNBC. All figures are third-party estimates and have not been officially confirmed by Kelly Evans.
Their first child, a son, was born on July 5, 2018. A second pregnancy was reported in September 2019. The names and ages of all six children have not been made publicly available. Evans has consistently maintained privacy around her children and family life, and credible biographical sources respect that boundary.
She serves as anchor of The Exchange, airing Monday through Friday from 1PM to 2PM ET, and co-anchor of Power Lunch, airing Monday through Friday from 2PM to 3PM ET. She joined CNBC in February 2012, initially working at CNBC Europe's London headquarters before returning to the United States in 2013.
She was recognized as a George Washington Honor Scholar and served as co-captain of the university's women's lacrosse team. Before university, she attended Rockbridge County High School in Lexington, Virginia, where she earned eight athletic letters across lacrosse, cross country, and track.
As reported across multiple biographical sources, she is of white ethnic background. Evans has not made any formal public statement regarding her ethnicity, and any claims beyond this on unofficial third-party websites should be treated as unverified.
Gallery
