Maury Povich Reveals He Was ‘Dead Broke’ at 44 Before His TV Success

As kids, we were all constantly asked by parents, relatives, and others the innocent but loaded question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” While many of us had a quick answer when we were young, such as veterinarian, singer, actress, or astronaut, it often got more difficult to answer as we grew up.

Some of us began the career we wanted, but a lack of financial stability made us question whether we should try a different path. Maury Povich falls into this category. While the famed journalist always knew what he wanted to do, realizing he wasn’t making enough money to live well into his 40s made him question his career choice. Things soon changed dramatically, though, after a certain media mogul came into his orbit.

Povich Had No Financial Stability Until ‘A Current Affair’ Took Off

“I was dead broke at 44. I mean, really dead broke,” Povich told former Canadian hockey player Sean Avery on the Monday, April 7, episode of his On Par podcast. “At 44, I had just come back — how about this. Starting out in Washington, D.C., where I was a kind of a minor celebrity, trying to say, ‘Can I make it somewhere else?’ And I worked in five cities in the next seven years, kind of like an itinerate hockey player, right? Bouncing around all over.”

Fortunately for Povich, his life would radically change after Rupert Murdoch entered his life. “A couple of years later, this wild, crazy Australian [Murdoch] buys the television stations. And in a second, I’m off to New York to do this crazy tabloid show called A Current Affair. And the rest is history.”

“That showed ended up being the biggest show for the next five years in syndicated television,” he added.

Povich Surprised Dad After Years of Struggle

Despite the rest being history, Povich’s parents had spent half a decade worried for their son’s future, and it took them a while to realize he’d finally gotten things together. “I was almost, like, 50, before I made any money, any scratch,” Povich said. “My parents, they were so worried. My father was so worried that money just burned through me, that there was a hole in my pocket.”

Years later, when he was doing The Maury Povich Show, he decided to do something special for his dad. “He’s originally from Maine, so he’s going to Maine for the summer and I sent a plane to pick him up,” Povich recalled.

“In Washington, they picked me up at Teterboro, and Connie [Chung] up at Teterboro. And he’s there, and he’s got all his newspapers spread out in his Gulf Stream [RV],” he said. “I walk on there and he says — I’m so happy I did this before he died. He’s almost 90, and he says, ‘I’m not going to worry about you anymore.'”

“I think everybody should get to the point where their parents don’t have to worry about them anymore,” Povich concluded.