XM Radio's Dr. Laura Is Selling Her Luxury Home In Santa Barbara To Downsize: Here's How She Made Her $50 Million Fortune

XM Radio’s “Dr. Laura” Schlessinger has given herself some sage advice – sell your home. The conservative counseling queen has hosted her two-decade show from her sprawling coastal home in Santa Barbara, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. “During commercial breaks, I’m staring at ships going by,” she told The Wall Street Journal. It’s very relaxing.”

A Purposely Built Broadcasting Base

However, at 78, the veteran advice guru specializing in marriage, family and child counseling has decided to downsize and is listing her palatial pile for $23 million. Schlessinger was torn about parting with the property – an 8,800-square-foot, six-bedroom main house plus a one-bedroom guesthouse that Schlessinger converted to her broadcasting studio – where she and her late husband, Lewis Bishop, lived for many years after buying it in 2005 for $6.137 million. After a previous transaction fell through in 2021 for a similar price to its current listing, Schlessinger decided to take it off the market. 

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An Avid Sailor

Schlessinger, a keen sailor, revealed that part of the reason for selling her home is to be able to send her sailing crew to Europe to race. “I can’t do that and maintain this house,” she said. Schlessinger was in private practice in the 1970s when she started doing radio segments. This snowballed into a career that has lasted decades and made her a fortune, resulting in her induction into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018. As evidenced by her love of sailing, the media therapist believes in living life to the fullest.

“I don’t understand retiring,” she said. “I will wait until I’m dead.”

A $50 Million Fortune

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Schlessinger is worth $50 million. Her media career began in a low-key way in 1975 when she was called into a Los Angeles radio show hosted by Bill Ballance. Her assertive, forthright personality was an instant win with listeners. By 1979, she was hosting her own radio show on KWIZ in Santa Ana, California. Her program became the second-highest-rated radio show in the United States during its peak in the 1990s when her annual salary was $15 million. She was surpassed only by Rush Limbaugh. Her bestselling books include “Ten Stupid Things Women Do to Mess Up Their Lives” (1994) and “How Could You Do That?!” (1996). She also hosted a short-lived TV show.

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Business Moves

Although Schlessinger started on regular broadcast radio, she formed her own production company, Take The Day, in 2005 and moved to satellite radio in 2010, where she hosts her popular “Dr. Laura Program.” In addition, she hosts two podcasts; “Dr. Laura’s Call of the Day” and “Dr. Laura’s Deep Dive.” 

According to Inside Radio, in early 2024, Dr. Laura announced that Crossover Media Group, the content production and ad-sales rep firm, had bought an equity stake in Take On The Day. The financial aspects of the deal were not made public. However, it follows a multiyear advertising-sales and production partnership between the two organizations.

Making the relationship official makes sense for both parties. According to insideradio.com, CMG produces and/or sells advertising on over 300 podcasts, encompassing true crime, news, sports, lifestyle and entertainment, delivering more than 50 million monthly impressions.

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