Stuart Varney

{{Infobox person

| name = Stuart Varney

| image = Stuart Varney.JPG

| alt =

| caption = Varney in 2014

| birth_name = Stuart A. Varney

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1948|07|07|df=y}}{{cite news|title=Oregon Magazine's pompous Man of the Year, and recipient of the Bottle of Hunt's Ketchup Award is Stuart Varney of the FOX TV network.|url=http://www.oregonmag.com/oregon-magazines-man-of-the-year-and-recipient-of-the-bottle-of-hunts-ketchup-award-is-stuart-varney-of-the-fox-tv-network/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141218015504/http://www.oregonmag.com/oregon-magazines-man-of-the-year-and-recipient-of-the-bottle-of-hunts-ketchup-award-is-stuart-varney-of-the-fox-tv-network/|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 18, 2014|accessdate=February 29, 2020|work=Oregon Magazine|date=August 24, 2012}}

| birth_place = Derby, Derbyshire, England

| death_date =

| death_place =

| citizenship = {{ubl|United Kingdom|United States}}

| occupation = {{hlist|Talk show host|political commentator}}

| known_for =

| alma_mater = London School of Economics

}}

Stuart A. Varney (born 7 July 1948){{Cite web|url=https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=217I1elINomtnWegBoSk1A&scan=1|title=Index entry|accessdate=12 June 2021|work=FreeBMD|publisher=ONS}} is a British-American talk show host and conservative political commentator who works for Fox News and the Fox Business Network. Born in the United Kingdom, he worked as a journalist before joining Fox News in January 2004 as a business contributor, such as on Your World with Neil Cavuto.

Early life

Varney was born in Derby, Derbyshire, England. After secondary school, Varney spent a year working in Nairobi, Kenya, before graduating from the London School of Economics.{{cite web|last=Rohan|first=Virginia|date=May 12, 2010|title=British voice of American business|url=http://www.northjersey.com/arts-and-entertainment/british-voice-of-american-business-1.959893|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304065120/http://www.northjersey.com/arts-and-entertainment/british-voice-of-american-business-1.959893|archivedate=March 4, 2016|accessdate=October 15, 2010|work=The Record}}

Journalism career

After arriving in Hong Kong, he became a broadcaster for Radio Hong Kong. During this time, he would help cover various events and had a short stint working as a voice actor for a dubbing firm founded by Matthew Oram, a fellow Radio Hong Kong broadcaster. He continued to work for Radio Hong Kong before he began his broadcast journalism career at KEMO-TV (now KOFY-TV) in San Francisco.{{cite web|title=Stuart Varney|url=http://www.foxnews.com/bios/talent/stuart-varney/|publisher=Fox News|accessdate=October 15, 2010}} He was then recruited to join the Manhattan bureau of the newly formed 24-hour news network CNN, which launched on June 1, 1980. He hosted the CNN shows Business Day, Business Asia, and Moneyline with Willow Bay. In 2001, he left CNN{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/15/business/resignation-at-cnn-renewal-at-fox.html|title=Resignation at CNN; Renewal at Fox|work=The New York Times |date=15 March 2001 |access-date=2018-10-17|language=en}} to host CNBC's "Wall Street Journal Editorial Board with Stuart Varney."

He joined Fox News's business team in January 2004, and joined Fox Business Network as an anchor when the network launched in October 2007.

=Fox Business Network=

Varney currently co-hosts Varney & Co. on the Fox Business Network, which airs from 9:00 a.m. to noon ET every weekday. The show is also co-hosted by Lauren Simonetti, Susan Li and Ashley Webster. He is also a regular panel member on the Fox Business program Cashin' In.

Varney has appeared on and guest-hosted "Your World with Neil Cavuto."

On August 30, 2023, Fox Business announced that Varney would be a moderator of the second GOP Primary Debate alongside Dana Perino.{{Cite web |last=Mastrangelo |first=Dominick |date=2023-08-30 |title=Stuart Varney, Dana Perino to moderate second GOP debate on Fox Business |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/media/4179102-stuart-varney-dana-perino-to-moderate-second-gop-debate-on-fox-business/ |access-date=2023-08-30 |website=The Hill |language=en-US}}

=Notable commentaries=

In an interview on June 5, 2013 on Fox News, Varney said "We hand down $79 billion dollars every January on these so-called poor people." "You’re not being mean to poor people?" host Gretchen Carlson asked Varney, who responded, "I am. I am being mean to poor people. Frankly, I am." This exchange of words gained brief popularity when it was cited on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Comedy Central, with journalists from The Washington Post reporting on his comments afterwards.{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/COM_20150514_080400_The_Daily_Show_With_Jon_Stewart#start/480/end/540|title=The Daily Show With Jon Stewart: COM: May 14, 2015 1:04am-1:37am|date=May 14, 2015 |accessdate=2016-03-15 }}{{cite news|title=Daily Show's Jon Stewart buries Fox News on coverage of poverty, President Obama|newspaper=The Washington Post|author=Erik Wemple|date=May 14, 2015}}

On the July 19, 2011 edition of Fox News' Your World with Neil Cavuto, Varney criticized the view that America's poor are "starving and living in squalor," citing a Heritage Foundation report on how the ownership of household appliances demonstrates how well-off America's poor really are.{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/07/30-million-in-poverty-arent-as-poor-as-you-think-says-heritage-foundation/242191/|title=30 Million in Poverty Aren't as Poor as You Think, Says Heritage Foundation|first=Derek|last=Thompson|website=The Atlantic |date=19 July 2011 |publisher=}}{{cite web|url=https://www.mediamatters.org/research/2011/07/22/fox-cites-ownership-of-appliances-to-downplay-h/148574|title=Fox Cites Ownership Of Appliances To Downplay Hardship Of Poverty In America|website=Media Matters for America |date=22 July 2011|publisher=}}{{cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-mh-heritage-foundation-americas-poor-20140925-column.html|title=Heritage Foundation: America's poor actually live pretty durn well!|first=Michael|last=Hiltzik|website=Los Angeles Times|date=25 September 2014 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.heritage.org/poverty-and-inequality/report/air-conditioning-cable-tv-and-xbox-what-poverty-the-united-states|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170204010122/http://www.heritage.org/poverty-and-inequality/report/air-conditioning-cable-tv-and-xbox-what-poverty-the-united-states|url-status=unfit|archive-date=4 February 2017|title=Air Conditioning, Cable TV, and an Xbox: What is Poverty in the United States Today?|first=Rachel|last=Sheffield|website=The Heritage Foundation}} Varney concluded by saying, "The image we have of poor people as starving and living in squalor really is not accurate. Many of them have things; what they lack is the richness of spirit. That's my opinion."

In 2013 Varney generated controversy for his commentary on Pope Francis, who had criticized the wealth gap and denounced unfettered capitalism as a system which "rules rather than serves."{{cite news|last1=Love|first1=Maryann Cusimano|title=Five myths about Pope Francis|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/five-myths-about-pope-francis/2014/11/21/bbd7fa30-7027-11e4-ad12-3734c461eab6_story.html|access-date=December 17, 2014|newspaper=Washington Post|date=November 21, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141123031124/http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/five-myths-about-pope-francis/2014/11/21/bbd7fa30-7027-11e4-ad12-3734c461eab6_story.html |archive-date=2014-11-23}}{{cite news|title=EVANGELII GAUDIUM|url=https://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html|accessdate=December 17, 2014|publisher=Holy See}} Varney stated, "I go to church to save my soul. It’s got nothing to do with my vote. Pope Francis has linked the two. He has offered direct criticism of a specific political system. He has characterized, negatively, that system. I think he wants to influence my politics."{{cite web|url=http://crooksandliars.com/scarce/stuart-varney-admonishes-pope-francis|title=Stuart Varney Admonishes Pope Francis|author=scarce|date=2013-11-27|publisher=Crooks and Liars}}{{cite news|title=Fox's Varney Attacks Pope Francis' Comments On Inequality As "Neo-Socialism"|url=http://mediamatters.org/video/2013/12/03/foxs-varney-attacks-pope-francis-comments-on-in/197108|accessdate=December 17, 2014|publisher=Media Matters for America|date=December 3, 2013}}

In a December 2018 interview, Republican congressman Louie Gohmert repeated a false conspiracy theory about George Soros that he "turned on fellow Jews and helped take the property that they owned." Varney did not address Gohmert's comments, moving the segment on. Varney later distanced himself from the remarks, calling them "unsubstantiated and false allegations".{{Cite web|url=https://www.vox.com/2018/12/6/18128993/louie-gohmert-soros-conspiracy-theory|title=Rep. Louie Gohmert falsely says George Soros helped take property from fellow Jews|last=|first=|date=6 December 2018|website=|access-date=}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.vox.com/2018/12/6/18128993/louie-gohmert-soros-conspiracy-theory|title=Republican congressman spreads anti-Semitic Soros conspiracy theory with impunity on Fox Business|last=Rupar|first=Aaron|date=2018-12-06|website=Vox|access-date=2018-12-09}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/fox-business-apologizes-for-louie-gohmert-spreading-anti-semitic-george-soros-conspiracy|title=Fox Business Network Apologizes for Louie Gohmert Spreading Anti-Semitic George Soros Conspiracy|last=Wilstein|first=Matt|date=2018-12-06|work=The Daily Beast|access-date=2018-12-09|language=en}}

Personal life

Varney has lived in the United States since 1975. In November 2015, Varney became an American citizen.{{cite tweet|user=Varneyco|author=Varney & Co.|number=666994555372224512|date=18 November 2015|title=Stuart is officially a United States citizen.}}

He has six children and eleven grandchildren.