Jean Sherman Chatzky (born September 7, 1964) is an American journalist, personal finance columnist, author, and media entrepreneur. She served as the financial editor of NBC's Today show, is AARP's personal finance ambassador, and is the founder and CEO of HerMoney Media.
Early Life and Education
Chatzky was born in Michigan and raised in Wisconsin, Indiana, and West Virginia. Her father was a college professor. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Pennsylvania, where she also minored in marketing.
Career
Chatzky began her journalism career in 1986 at Working Woman magazine, rising from editorial assistant to assistant editor. In 1989, she left journalism to work in equity research at Dean Witter Reynolds, where she learned to read financial statements. She returned to journalism in 1991 as a reporter and researcher at Forbes, then joined SmartMoney in 1992, rising from staff writer to senior editor. In 1998, she joined Money magazine.
In 1995, Chatzky was tapped to become the financial editor of NBC's Today show, a role she held for 25 years. She has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Live with Regis and Kelly, and The View, and has contributed to CNN, MSNBC, and other outlets.
In 2018, she launched HerMoney Media, a multimedia company focused on personal finance for women, which includes the podcast HerMoney with Jean Chatzky. In January 2022, she and journalist Soledad O'Brien began hosting Everyday Wealth, a weekly radio program and podcast sponsored by Edelman Financial Engines.
In 2015, Chatzky partnered with Time for Kids and the PwC Charitable Foundation to launch Your $, a financial literacy magazine reaching approximately 2 million schoolchildren monthly.
Books
Chatzky is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling author. Her books include:
- The Rich and Famous Money Book (1997)
- Talking Money (2001)
- The Ten Commandments of Financial Happiness (2005)
- Pay It Down!: From Debt to Wealth on $10 a Day (2006)
- Make Money, Not Excuses (2008)
- The Difference: How Anyone Can Prosper in Even The Toughest Times (2009)
- Not Your Parents' Money Book (2010)
- Money Rules: The Simple Path to Lifelong Security (2012)
- AgeProof: Living Longer Without Running Out of Money or Breaking a Hip (2017, with Dr. Michael F. Roizen)
- Women with Money: The Judgment-Free Guide to Creating the Joyful, Less Stressed, Purposeful (and Yes, Rich) Life You Deserve (2019)
Awards and Recognition
Chatzky received the Clarion Award for magazine columns from the Association for Women in Communications (2002). Her radio show received a Gracie Award from the American Women in Radio and Television (2012). She was twice nominated as part of a writing team for National Magazine Awards in Personal Service. In 2003, the Chicago Tribune named her one of the best magazine columnists in the country. In 2009, the Consumer Federation of America awarded her the Betty Furness Consumer Media Service Award.
Personal Life
Chatzky married Eliot Kaplan in 2009. She has two children from a previous marriage to Peter Chatzky. She is a resident of Briarcliff Manor, New York, and serves on the advisory committee for the Nora Magid Mentorship Prize at the University of Pennsylvania.
