Contessa Brewer: The MSNBC Anchor Who Became CNBC’s Gaming and Casino Reporter
Contessa Brewer spent eight years anchoring on MSNBC before joining CNBC in 2017. At CNBC she became the network’s specialist on casinos, gaming, and insurance, and a regular fill-in anchor. She is a National Emmy Award-winning journalist whose career has included breaking news, hurricanes, presidential elections, and, more recently, the business of legalized gambling.
Early Life and Education
Brewer was born on March 16, 1974, in Parsonsfield, Maine, and graduated from Sacopee Valley High School in Hiram, Maine, in 1992. She went on to Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, where she graduated magna cum laude and was a member of the Honors Program and a Remembrance Scholar, an honor given to Syracuse students who carry on the memory of the victims of the 1988 Pan Am Flight 103 bombing. She also earned a Certificate in Contemporary Europe after studying politics in Strasbourg, France.
Local News in Reno, Palm Springs, and Milwaukee
Brewer began her career in local television in Reno, Nevada, followed by Palm Springs, California, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Working her way through three markets gave her daily reporting and anchoring experience before she moved to national television.
Eight Years at MSNBC
Brewer joined MSNBC in September 2003. Over the next eight years she became one of the network’s daytime anchors, hosting “MSNBC Live” weekdays at noon. She also hosted “Caught on Camera,” a long-running weekend primetime program built around surveillance and amateur footage of news events. Her reporting at MSNBC covered presidential elections, debt ceiling fights, government shutdowns, natural disasters, terror attacks, and celebrity news. She left the network on August 26, 2011.
In the spring of 2005, she also spent time as a news reader on the MSNBC simulcast of “Imus in the Morning,” and according to her Wikipedia entry, Don Imus made disparaging remarks about her on the air during that period.
WNBC and NBC News
Alongside her MSNBC work, Brewer was a weekend anchor at WNBC, NBC’s flagship station in New York, and a correspondent for NBC News. After leaving MSNBC, she also contributed reports to CBS News and its streaming network CBSN.
Joining CNBC in 2017
Brewer joined CNBC full time in 2017 as a correspondent and fill-in anchor, based at the network’s global headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Her specialty areas are casinos, the gaming industry, and the insurance industry, and she appears throughout CNBC’s Business Day programming. She has also covered hurricanes, including Harvey, Irma, and Maria, as well as the 2016 presidential election and later major business and political stories, and has filled in as an anchor on CNBC programs.
Covering Gambling and Prediction Markets
Gaming has become one of Brewer’s most prominent beats at CNBC, as legalized sports betting and prediction markets have expanded. Recently, she interviewed NBA Commissioner Adam Silver on “Squawk Box,” where Silver said the league wants access to prediction market data to detect insider trading and wants to maintain control of the market, calling integrity the first concern for every league.
Audiobooks
Beyond her on-air work, Brewer has narrated several audiobooks.
Personal Life
Brewer lives in New York and gave birth to twin boys in 2013. Her official bios say she lives with her husband, their sons, and a dappled dachshund. She is also an avid runner, according to aggregator profiles. Her husband’s name isn’t given in her official bios, and aggregator claims about who he is conflict, so no name is included here.
Net Worth and Salary
Brewer has not publicly disclosed her net worth or salary, and CNBC does not publish on-air compensation. Aggregator sites publish estimates that conflict with each other: one lists her salary at roughly $100,000, another at $68,000 to $102,000, and a third at $45,000 to $110,500, with net worth estimates ranging from $1 million to $5 million. None cites a source.
Treat all of these as unverified estimates rather than reported figures.
Quick Facts
| Category | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Contessa Brewer |
| Born | March 16, 1974, Parsonsfield, Maine |
| Education | Syracuse University, S.I. Newhouse School (magna cum laude); Certificate in Contemporary Europe (Strasbourg, France) |
| Employer | CNBC (since 2017) |
| Current role | Correspondent and substitute anchor; casinos, gaming, and insurance beat |
| Previously | MSNBC (2003–2011), including “MSNBC Live” and “Caught on Camera”; WNBC; NBC News; CBS News/CBSN |
| Early career | Reno, NV; Palm Springs, CA; Milwaukee, WI |
| Recognition | National Emmy Award winner |
| Family | Twin sons (born 2013) |
| Estimated salary | Conflicting aggregator figures, about $45,000–$110,500 (unverified) |
FAQ
What does Contessa Brewer do at CNBC?
She’s a correspondent and fill-in anchor who covers casinos, the gaming industry, and insurance, and appears throughout Business Day programming.
Where did Contessa Brewer work before CNBC?
She worked at MSNBC from 2003 to 2011, and also at WNBC, NBC News, and CBS News, after starting in Reno, Palm Springs, and Milwaukee.
What was “Caught on Camera”?
It was a long-running MSNBC program that Brewer hosted, featuring video footage of news events.
When did Contessa Brewer join CNBC?
She joined CNBC full time in 2017.
From Daytime Anchor to Gambling Beat Specialist
Contessa Brewer’s move from MSNBC’s daytime anchor chair to a niche beat at CNBC shows how a general news background can be put to work on a fast-growing industry. With sports betting and prediction markets reshaping how Americans think about gambling, her specialty has put her at the center of one of the biggest business stories of the moment.
