Jersey native Stephanie Ruhle, seen here hosting The 11th Hour, has a brand-new morning show, f on MS NOW. Photo: Courtesy of MS NOW
Wall Street banker-turned-TV anchor Stephanie Ruhle’s Jersey hustle delivers ratings. After four years hosting The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle, she’s moving from weeknights at 11 pm to a new two-hour morning show on MS NOW, Money, Power, Politics with Stephanie Ruhle, debuting today at 9 am.
“In many ways, I’m sad to leave The 11th Hour,” Ruhle told New Jersey Monthly in an interview a few days before her final episode. “I love our show, I love our audience, I love late night,” she said. “I love the irreverent vibe of it all. The good news is we’re not going to lose that sort of irreverence. I think we need that on morning TV. Right now, there are lots of folks out there who feel disconnected from the media, or they want to tune out because they’re overwhelmed by news.”
Money, Power, Politics aims to help viewers learn about the most important issues of the day. It has carried over elements of The 11th Hour—the show’s Nightcap roundtable, marquee guests and thoughtful analysis—and will introduce audience involvement, including a call-in segment.
“When I see people on the street, they say, ‘You’re asking the questions on your show that I’m screaming at my TV about!’ I don’t want people to scream at their TVs. I want them to be part of the show,” Ruhle says.
Ruhle, who recently turned 50, grew up in Bergen County’s Park Ridge. She and her husband, Andy Hubbard, have three children and split their time between Manhattan and Long Beach Island, where they’ll soon decamp to their vacation home for the summer. Ruhle will continue to anchor her show while she’s in New Jersey, including for a number of live broadcasts.
Ruhle with her family in Long Beach Island. Photo: Eric Hance Photography
After graduating from Lehigh University in 1997, Ruhle initially pursued a career in banking. But even as she rose through the ranks—she was previously a managing director for Deutsche Bank—she always dreamed of working in television. In 2011, while speaking at a White House event, she was asked what she wanted to do next. Taking a leap, she revealed her interest in broadcasting.
A panelist at the event offered to introduce Ruhle to Andy Lack, then head of Bloomberg Television. When they met, she asked Lack to take a chance on her, offering to work for the lowest salary in the organization if he gave her a chance to anchor a show and taught her how to be on TV. He agreed, and the rest is history.
After five years at Bloomberg TV, Ruhle followed Lack over to MSNBC, where she first co-anchored a business-focused show with her friend and colleague Ali Velshi. In 2022, she moved into the anchor position at The 11th Hour—a role that Velshi will now be taking over.
Photo: Courtesy of MS NOW
Ruhle believes that her background in business helps viewers make sense of what’s happening today.
“Even if you don’t care about politics and never vote, you care about the world around you,” she says. “We want to make a show for people that want to be informed and engaged.”
Does she believe that the country is deeply politically divided? Not so much.
“I think for the most part, people are Jersey-style. We’re practical, right?” she says with a laugh. “We want to live in a safe town. We want to be financially secure, and socially free, and we want our kids to go to a good school. We want to have jobs and we want to be able to afford healthcare. That doesn’t mean one side is good or one side is bad. It means: Let’s understand what’s happening in the world.”
Money, Power, Politics with Stephanie Ruhle airs on MS NOW weekdays from 9 am to 11 am ET.
