Hegseth earned $6 million from television, books and speaking fees

Pete Hegseth, the military veteran chosen by President-elect Donald J. Trump to be secretary of defense, has earned nearly $6 million as a Fox News broadcaster, author and paid speaker in recent years, according to a new financial filing.

During the four-hour hearing Mr. Hegseth in the Senate on Tuesday, those well-paid roles have sometimes been an albatross for him. Some senators on the Armed Services Committee criticized him for his past public comments, often made on Fox News, about issues such as women in combat and the role of military lawyers. He was also repeatedly asked about reports that he abused alcohol, a topic he has discussed — sometimes seriously, often jokingly — in television appearances and on podcasts.

The vast majority of the income of Mr. Hegseth’s earnings over the past two years was $4.6 million as a Fox employee, according to filings covering 2023 and 2024.

If he became the Minister of Defense, his income would drop drastically. As the highest civilian position in the Pentagon, the post is paid about $246,000 in 2024.

With income from Fox, Mr. Hegseth reported earning at least $600,500 in royalties related to writing several books. One title, “War Against Warriors,” released in 2024, generated an advance of $348,000. (Since an author’s payouts are often spread over multiple years, it’s hard to discern the exact amount he took home from an individual book.)

Mr. Hegseth also earned $765,000, according to the report, from paid speaking engagements over a two-year period. Groups that have recruited him include Turning Point USA, a conservative student organization; Heritage Foundation, think tank; American National Rifle Association; and the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Organization.

Most of those groups paid fees between $10,000 and $25,000, according to the postings.

Also included are details of the financial holdings of Mr. Hegseth’s wife, Jennifer Rauchet, who was a producer at Fox News. Among them are stakes in various financial funds and stakes in roughly two dozen blue-chip stocks, including Amazon, Apple, Walmart and military contractor Northrop Grumman.

The report discloses information about other assets and liabilities without specifying whether they refer to Mr. Hegseth, his wife or their dependent children.

They include Bitcoin holdings of at least $15,001, a rental house in Baltimore and bank accounts totaling at least $67,000 in cash. They also recorded two mortgages, one on a personal residence for between $1 million and $5 million and the other on a rental property between $100,001 and $250,000.