# Neil Cavuto
**Neil Cavuto** (born 1958 in Westbury, New York) is an American television news anchor, executive, and business journalist who was the first anchor hired by [Fox News](https://www.edgepedia.org/fox-news) in 1996 and remained with the network until December 2024.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/neil-cavuto/) • [2](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2024-12-19/fox-news-anchor-departs-in-cost-cutting-move) He anchored *Your World with Neil Cavuto* on Fox News Channel and *Cavuto: Coast to Coast* on Fox Business Network, and served as senior vice president and managing editor of business news for both channels.[3](https://www.foxnews.com/media/neil-cavuto-looks-back-15-years-fox-business-network-take-stock-country.amp)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1958, Westbury, New York[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/neil-cavuto/) |
| Fox tenure | Joined Fox News in July 1996, the year of its launch, as anchor and managing editor of business news; left December 19, 2024, after 28 years[4](https://www.foxnews.com/story/neil-cavuto) • [5](https://www.fox5vegas.com/2024/12/20/neil-cavuto-veteran-fox-news-business-anchor-leaving-network-after-28-years/) |
| Executive role | Senior vice president and managing editor of business news for Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network[3](https://www.foxnews.com/media/neil-cavuto-looks-back-15-years-fox-business-network-take-stock-country.amp) |
| Earlier career | New York bureau chief of PBS' *Nightly Business Report* (from 1984); CNBC anchor from its 1989 launch, hosting *Market Wrap*, *Power Lunch*, and *Business Insiders*[6](https://www.tvweek.com/in-depth/2009/12/neil-cavuto-foxs-high-priest-o-2/) • [4](https://www.foxnews.com/story/neil-cavuto) |
| Notable moments | Cut away from a White House press briefing airing unsubstantiated election-fraud claims on November 9, 2020; on-air rebuke of Trump in August 2019[7](https://apnews.com/article/1a4337a89c8abd952a814c60fa269b3c) • [8](https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/08/30/neil-cavuto-fox-news-trump-work-you/) |
| Health | Multiple sclerosis since the late 1990s; survived cancer and open-heart surgery; said in 2022 that the COVID vaccine saved his life[9](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ppj7Jd8PADA) • [10](https://www.axios.com/2022/02/22/fox-business-host-neil-cavuto-covid-vaccine-saved-life) |
| Departure | Left in a cost-cutting move after being offered a new contract, probably at a lower salary; Will Cain was named his 4 p.m. replacement[2](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2024-12-19/fox-news-anchor-departs-in-cost-cutting-move) • [1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/neil-cavuto/) |
## Early life and education
Cavuto was born in Westbury, New York, and his sales-manager father moved the family through Georgia, Florida, Connecticut, and [Rhode Island](https://www.edgepedia.org/rhode-island).[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/neil-cavuto/) • [11](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2002/07/16/the-volatile-market-of-foxs-rising-anchor-neil-cavuto/6f11b0ba-efd9-4fee-8663-7f12c29f8e4a/) He attended [St. Bonaventure University](https://www.edgepedia.org/st-bonaventure-university) and originally set out to be a priest, later earning a graduate degree in public affairs from [American University](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-university).[11](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2002/07/16/the-volatile-market-of-foxs-rising-anchor-neil-cavuto/6f11b0ba-efd9-4fee-8663-7f12c29f8e4a/) • [6](https://www.tvweek.com/in-depth/2009/12/neil-cavuto-foxs-high-priest-o-2/) He was also a White House intern during the Carter administration.[6](https://www.tvweek.com/in-depth/2009/12/neil-cavuto-foxs-high-priest-o-2/)
## Career before Fox
Cavuto's first journalism jobs were at the *Indianapolis Star* and *Investment Age* magazine.[11](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2002/07/16/the-volatile-market-of-foxs-rising-anchor-neil-cavuto/6f11b0ba-efd9-4fee-8663-7f12c29f8e4a/) After stints at *Investment Age* and ESPN's *Business Times*, he joined PBS' *Nightly Business Report* in 1984 as its New York bureau chief.[6](https://www.tvweek.com/in-depth/2009/12/neil-cavuto-foxs-high-priest-o-2/)
He moved to CNBC on the first day of its 1989 launch and co-anchored the network's initial broadcast on April 17, 1989.[11](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2002/07/16/the-volatile-market-of-foxs-rising-anchor-neil-cavuto/6f11b0ba-efd9-4fee-8663-7f12c29f8e4a/) • [1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/neil-cavuto/) There he anchored and hosted more than three hours of live daily programming, including *Market Wrap*, CNBC's highest-rated program at the time, as well as *Power Lunch* and *Business Insiders*, while contributing to NBC's *Today Show* and *NBC News at Sunrise*.[4](https://www.foxnews.com/story/neil-cavuto) His financial reporting has covered stories including the 1987 stock market crash, the AT&T breakup, and the [Union Carbide](https://www.edgepedia.org/union-carbide) chemical disaster in India.[4](https://www.foxnews.com/story/neil-cavuto)
## Fox News career
[Roger Ailes](https://www.edgepedia.org/roger-ailes), then president of CNBC, was appointed CEO of Fox News by [Rupert Murdoch](https://www.edgepedia.org/rupert-murdoch) in 1996 and recruited Cavuto to the fledgling network two blocks away.[12](https://www.foxbusiness.com/features/neil-cavuto-roger-ailes-changed-the-way-you-think-of-the-media) • [11](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2002/07/16/the-volatile-market-of-foxs-rising-anchor-neil-cavuto/6f11b0ba-efd9-4fee-8663-7f12c29f8e4a/) Cavuto was named anchor and managing editor of business news in July 1996 and was later promoted to vice president of business news while continuing to anchor.[4](https://www.foxnews.com/story/neil-cavuto) Ailes, explaining the hire, said: "I wanted somebody who could grow. He wasn't the best known [at CNBC], but he was the best writer, the best on-air presence, the most likable."[11](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2002/07/16/the-volatile-market-of-foxs-rising-anchor-neil-cavuto/6f11b0ba-efd9-4fee-8663-7f12c29f8e4a/)
**Programs.** Cavuto anchored the daily one-hour *Your World with Neil Cavuto* on Fox News Channel, the weekend *CAVUTO Live*, and, from the Fox Business Network's launch on October 15, 2007, *Cavuto: Coast to Coast*.[4](https://www.foxnews.com/story/neil-cavuto) • [3](https://www.foxnews.com/media/neil-cavuto-looks-back-15-years-fox-business-network-take-stock-country.amp) He also oversaw business coverage across the network, including programs such as *Bulls & Bears*, *Forbes on Fox*, and *Cashin' In*, and from January 2007 anchored *The Cavuto Money Report* on Fox News Radio.[4](https://www.foxnews.com/story/neil-cavuto) • [13](https://www.leadersmag.com/issues/2012.3_jul/PDFs/LEADERS-Neil-Cavuto-FOX-News-Channel-FOX-Business-Network.pdf) In 2002 his 4 p.m. program averaged 686,000 viewers, up 170 percent for the year, outdistancing [Lou Dobbs](https://www.edgepedia.org/lou-dobbs)' *Moneyline* (507,000) and CNBC's *Business Center* (280,000).[11](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2002/07/16/the-volatile-market-of-foxs-rising-anchor-neil-cavuto/6f11b0ba-efd9-4fee-8663-7f12c29f8e4a/)
**Debate moderation.** In November 2015 Cavuto co-moderated the fourth Republican primary debate in [Milwaukee](https://www.edgepedia.org/milwaukee) on Fox Business Network alongside [Maria Bartiromo](https://www.edgepedia.org/maria-bartiromo) and Gerard Baker, editor-in-chief of *The Wall Street Journal*.[14](https://time.com/4107636/transcript-read-the-full-text-of-the-fourth-republican-debate-in-milwaukee/) The debate drew praise from [Republican National Committee](https://www.edgepedia.org/republican-national-committee) chairman Reince Priebus, and even Donald Trump, then a frontrunner, called the moderators "elegant" and the questions "really, really on point."[15](https://time.com/4107825/reince-priebus-fox-business-cnbc-debate/)
## Trump criticism and the 2020 election
Cavuto, described by a 2018 profile as striking "a tone of bemused reason" on Fox, was a recurring target of President Trump's criticism.[16](https://www.kpbs.org/news/2018/05/18/foxs-cavuto-trump-skeptic-genial-workhorse) In August 2019, after Trump complained that Fox "isn't working for us anymore," Cavuto delivered an on-air response: "just because you're the leader of the free world doesn't entitle you to a free pass, unfortunately, just a free press."[8](https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/08/30/neil-cavuto-fox-news-trump-work-you/) He told viewers that fact-checking Trump meant being "all but dead to him and his legion of supporters," saying he was told he was "either with him totally, or I am a never-Trumper fully."[8](https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/08/30/neil-cavuto-fox-news-trump-work-you/) A 2019 profile described him as a "center-right Reaganesque conservative" whose show, like other Fox programs, featured criticism of socialist and left-wing economic policy ideas.[17](https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-year-neil-cavuto-fox-news-affable-trump-critic-got-angry/)
On November 9, 2020, Cavuto ordered his show to cut away from a news conference held by White House press secretary [Kayleigh McEnany](https://www.edgepedia.org/kayleigh-mcenany) as she began to air unsubstantiated allegations of election fraud.[7](https://apnews.com/article/1a4337a89c8abd952a814c60fa269b3c) Court filings in the [Smartmatic](https://www.edgepedia.org/smartmatic) lawsuit later revealed that Fox management criticized him for the decision, and that a Fox executive complained Cavuto was damaging the network's brand.[18](https://apnews.com/article/baf7c625d669511dfd30deef126f5864) • [7](https://apnews.com/article/1a4337a89c8abd952a814c60fa269b3c) He continued fact-checking Trump on air through 2024, including cutting off a Trump rally in February 2024 to correct his claims.[19](https://www.mediamatters.org/neil-cavuto?page=0)
## Health
Cavuto has lived with multiple sclerosis since the late 1990s and has spoken publicly about surviving cancer and undergoing open-heart surgery.[9](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ppj7Jd8PADA) In his 2004 book *More Than Money* he wrote about surviving cancer and his multiple sclerosis diagnosis.[6](https://www.tvweek.com/in-depth/2009/12/neil-cavuto-foxs-high-priest-o-2/) In February 2022, after a bout of COVID-19, he said the vaccine had saved his life.[10](https://www.axios.com/2022/02/22/fox-business-host-neil-cavuto-covid-vaccine-saved-life)
## Departure from Fox
Cavuto hosted his final Fox show on December 19, 2024, leaving after 28 years with the network.[5](https://www.fox5vegas.com/2024/12/20/neil-cavuto-veteran-fox-news-business-anchor-leaving-network-after-28-years/) The *Los Angeles Times* reported that he chose to leave after being offered a new contract, probably at a lower salary, as part of cost-cutting in the television news business.[2](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2024-12-19/fox-news-anchor-departs-in-cost-cutting-move) Fox announced a new programming slate for 2025, with his shows anchored by rotating guest hosts in the interim, and in January 2025 named [Will Cain](https://www.edgepedia.org/will-cain) as his 4 p.m. replacement.[20](https://nz.news.yahoo.com/neil-cavuto-leaving-fox-news-171607636.html) • [1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/neil-cavuto/) Cavuto is the author of two books, More Than Money: True Stories of People Who Learned Life's Ultimate Lesson and Your Money or Your Life.[2](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2024-12-19/fox-news-anchor-departs-in-cost-cutting-move) • [1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/neil-cavuto/) • [21](https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/contributor/stephen-battaglio/) • [22](https://www.foxnews.com/story/neil-cavutos-bio)
## References
1. [Neil Cavuto – Anchor, Executive, Journalist, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/neil-cavuto/)
2. [Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto departs in cost-cutting move, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2024-12-19/fox-news-anchor-departs-in-cost-cutting-move)
3. [Neil Cavuto looks back at 15 years of Fox Business Network, Fox News](https://www.foxnews.com/media/neil-cavuto-looks-back-15-years-fox-business-network-take-stock-country.amp)
4. [Neil Cavuto, Fox News](https://www.foxnews.com/story/neil-cavuto)
5. [Neil Cavuto, veteran Fox News business anchor, leaving the network after 28 years, Fox 5 Vegas (AP)](https://www.fox5vegas.com/2024/12/20/neil-cavuto-veteran-fox-news-business-anchor-leaving-network-after-28-years/)
6. [Neil Cavuto: Fox's High Priest of Business Journalism, TVWeek](https://www.tvweek.com/in-depth/2009/12/neil-cavuto-foxs-high-priest-o-2/)
7. [Dominion voting case exposes post-election fear at Fox News, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/1a4337a89c8abd952a814c60fa269b3c)
8. [Fox News's Neil Cavuto rebukes Trump for slamming network: 'We don't work for you', The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/08/30/neil-cavuto-fox-news-trump-work-you/)
9. [Why Neil Cavuto is Leaving Fox News After 30 Years on the Air, YouTube (Facts Verse)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ppj7Jd8PADA)
10. [Fox Business host Neil Cavuto says COVID vaccine saved his life, Axios](https://www.axios.com/2022/02/22/fox-business-host-neil-cavuto-covid-vaccine-saved-life)
11. [The Volatile Market Of Fox's Rising Anchor Neil Cavuto, The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2002/07/16/the-volatile-market-of-foxs-rising-anchor-neil-cavuto/6f11b0ba-efd9-4fee-8663-7f12c29f8e4a/)
12. [Neil Cavuto: Roger Ailes Changed the Way You Think of the Media, Fox Business](https://www.foxbusiness.com/features/neil-cavuto-roger-ailes-changed-the-way-you-think-of-the-media)
13. [Fueling FOX Business: An Interview with Neil Cavuto, LEADERS Magazine](https://www.leadersmag.com/issues/2012.3_jul/PDFs/LEADERS-Neil-Cavuto-FOX-News-Channel-FOX-Business-Network.pdf)
14. [Transcript: Read the Full Text of the Fourth Republican Debate in Milwaukee, Time](https://time.com/4107636/transcript-read-the-full-text-of-the-fourth-republican-debate-in-milwaukee/)
15. [RNC Chair Praises Fox After Republican Debate, Bashes CNBC, Time](https://time.com/4107825/reince-priebus-fox-business-cnbc-debate/)
16. [Fox's Cavuto: Trump Skeptic, Genial Workhorse, KPBS Public Media](https://www.kpbs.org/news/2018/05/18/foxs-cavuto-trump-skeptic-genial-workhorse)
17. [The Year Neil Cavuto, Fox News' Affable Trump Critic, Got Angry, The Daily Beast](https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-year-neil-cavuto-fox-news-affable-trump-critic-got-angry/)
18. [Fox News thrives two years after court settlement, but 2020 election coverage fight goes on, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/baf7c625d669511dfd30deef126f5864)
19. [Neil Cavuto, Media Matters for America](https://www.mediamatters.org/neil-cavuto?page=0)
20. [Neil Cavuto is leaving Fox News after 28 years amid 'evolving' shifts in business, Yahoo (USA TODAY)](https://nz.news.yahoo.com/neil-cavuto-leaving-fox-news-171607636.html)
21. [Stephen Battaglio, Hachette Book Group](https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/contributor/stephen-battaglio/)
22. [Neil Cavuto's Bio](https://www.foxnews.com/story/neil-cavutos-bio)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Broadcasting and journalism › Broadcast organizations and stations › Broadcasters as people › Broadcast journalists and news presenters › American broadcast journalists and news presenters › Fox News journalists and anchors*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license