Another season of Survivor, another season of marveling at Jeff Probst. The 49th season of the long-running American iteration of the CBS show premiered on September 24. 2025 also marks 25 years since the American Survivor premiered back in May of 2000, and the 49th time Jeff, one of the most popular competition hosts on TV, returns to the jungle and says "the tribe has spoken." And it's not hard to believe that over two decades into his TV career, the host has made a pretty penny from the show.
Jeff, now 63, began his career in media working as a producer and narrator of training videos before landing a stint with Access Hollywood as a reporter. It was then he caught series creator Mark Burnett's eye for his candor and warmth as an interviewer, believing that a fresh face would help kickstart the new iteration of Survivor.
© Getty ImagesSince its 2000 premiere, Jeff has been the host of the show for every one of its seasons. While he briefly left in 2009 due to burnout, he quickly returned in time to film Survivor: Samoa, the 19th season. By Survivor: Nicaragua, which was season 20, he was promoted to executive producer and showrunner, allowing him to become more hands-on with the filming process and execute some of his own decisions with the show as well.
Jeff is an undeniable part of the Survivor legacy, but how much does he earn for his work on the show? While there is no exact number on his paycheck, Celebrity Net Worth reports through collated sources that as a host and EP, he earns up to $8 million a year, including two seasons of Survivor filmed each year. Variety reported back in 2016 he was making up to $4 million per season, which checks out.
© CBS via Getty ImagesThe show is entering a brand new era with its 49th season and coming milestone 50th trip to the wilderness, Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans, set to premiere in spring 2026 and feature fan favorite returnees like Cirie Fields, Coach Wade, Ozzy Lusth, and Mike White. Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, the Emmy-winning host noted that he did see season 50 as a reinvention of sorts.
© Getty Images"We went into it with a bit of trepidation, I will admit, but the excitement of saying, 'Okay, let's see where the fans want the game to go'," he noted. "That's how we had to look at it, because CBS was super clear with me in that, 'If you make this a contest for the fans to vote, then you have to use their votes. You can't change what they decide.' So we were walking into our own experiment in a way."
© CBS via Getty Images"If the fans decide, 'We don't really like idols. We're not so much into the twist. We want them to have food. We want them to have supplies.' Then we know, okay, this is the kind of game fans want. On the flip side, if the fans said, 'Forget it, don't give them anything and throw everything at them,' then we know they want that kind of game and that determined how 50 was going to be built, and then it's going to be up to the players."
