Cyril Hanouna, star host of C8, has built a real empire. The salary and colossal fortune of the PAF troublemaker make the media fantasize.
From columnist to star host, Cyril Hanouna has established himself in a decade as an essential face of French television. Born in 1974, this son of a Tunisian doctor started on the Comedy channel! before joining France 4 then Virgin Radio. But it’s with Touche pas à mon poste! on D8 (now C8) which he experienced a meteoric rise from 2010.
The success of TPMP is based on its irreverent tone and its interaction with the public. The show quickly brings together more than a million fans every evening. Building on this success, Hanouna has also launched other talk shows like Balance ton post and other concepts in the first part of the evening. If his detractors denounce a populist drift, he is adored by thousands of “fanzouzes”, as by his boss Vincent Bolloré. It must be said that the audiences for “Baba” are a blessing for C8 which generates 15% of its turnover thanks to its broadcasts.
Cyril Hanouna produces his programs himself via his company H2O, and receives a commission on the advertising revenue generated. Les Echos, in January 2020, assured that TMPM cost around 80,000 euros per broadcast at C8, for average net revenues of 200,000 euros. Great profitability which prompted Bolloré to break the bank to keep Hanouna in 2015, by dropping €250 million over five years to H2O.
The salary of the “godfather of the PAF” remains a sensitive subject. In his own show, which advocates total transparency, Hanouna has always refused to give his emoluments. “I find it indecent and what’s more I find it true, we are paid too much for what we do,” he assured. The host-producer would receive a salary of 40,000 euros per month for TPMP, or a total of 480,000 euros per year. A figure comparable to that of great animators like Michel Drucker, but which has never been confirmed.
At the end of 2023, on France 2, the program Complément d’investigation looked in more detail at Cyril Hanouna’s lifestyle in a highly commented issue. A luxurious lifestyle that he also seeks to keep secret so as not to tarnish his image as a star close to people. Cyril Hanouna’s personal fortune is however estimated by a journalist interviewed at 85 million euros, excluding assets. Because when he is not in front of the cameras, the host of Touche pas à mon post is said to cultivate a certain taste for beautiful things, particularly yachts.
Cyril Hanouna would indeed be on his third in six years. In particular, he owns a superb one, from the Lamborghini brand, registered in the United Kingdom, estimated at 3 million euros and whose cruise costs at least 20,000 euros per week. But you will have little chance of seeing him photographed on board, according to one of his former employees: when he is enjoying his boat near the French coast, Cyril Hanouna would prefer to stay in the cabin, for fear of being trapped by the paparazzi .
The presenter also owns several properties including a villa in Cannes purchased for 6 million euros. A fan of big cars, he drives a Lamborghini and Range Rover. Today, Cyril Hanouna’s total fortune is estimated between 50 and 100 million euros, while in 2017, Challenges magazine estimated the star host’s total assets at around 20 million euros. A great progression in just 5 years.