CBS News Business Analyst, Host of 'Jill on Money'

Jill Schlesinger | Biography 2021

Jill released her book 'The Dumb Things Smart People Do with Their Money: Thirteen Ways to Right Your Financial Wrongs,' in 2019

• By Reena Chikanbanjar
• Update : August 08, 2021

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Jill Schlesinger is a CBS News business analyst and a host of the 'Gracie Award’-winning talk show 'Jill on Money.'

Who is Jill Schlesinger?

Jill Schlesinger is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP). After serving nearly one-and-a-half decades as CFP at a regional investment advisory firm, Jill joined CBS Interactive in 2009. At CBS Interactive, she covered the economy, market, and investment matters for CBSMoneyWatch.com as an editor-at-large. 

In 2013, she became a business analyst for CBS News and started giving her insightful analysis on the business, market, and investment issues for multiple shows of CBS radio and television networks. In addition, she has been hosting the syndicated radio show and podcast named Jill on Money for more than a decade. She is also the host of the podcast CBS Eye on Money that first aired in June 2021.

Early Life and Education

Jill Schlesinger was born on 9 December 1966 in Scarsdale, New York, to Albert E. and Susan Schlesinger. Her father was a president of an investment firm, and her mother worked as a real estate saleswoman. She has one sibling named Kim.

In 1987, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations and Affairs from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.

Career

After graduating from Brown University, Schlesinger started as a commodity trader on Wall Street, New York City. She then served as the co-owner and chief investment officer of an independent regional investment advisory firm from January 1995 to March 2009. During her 14 years of tenure at the firm, she assisted her clients in attaining their financial goals and managed more than $650 million for individual clients as a Certified Financial Planner (CFP). 

After leaving the firm, she joined CBS Interactive in April 2009 as an Editor-at-Large. There, she produced written and video content related to the economy, markets, and investing for CBSMoneyWatch.com. 

In April 2013, she became the business analyst for CBS News and started covering economic, business, and financial issues for CBS News Radio and Television Network. While covering such issues, she focused on interpreting the complicated business, market, and financial news in simple words to make it easier for the general audience to understand the issues. 

She had frequently appeared as CBS News business analysts in CBS's various television shows such as CBS News Sunday Morning, CBS This Morning, CBS This Morning: Saturday, CBS Evening News with Norah O'Donnell, and Face the Nation. 

Podcast and Radio

Apart from CBS News business analyst, Schlesinger has been hosting a podcast and the nationally syndicated radio show Jill on Money since her early years on CBS. She also invites guests each week to talk about the insightful analysis of various financial issues.

In June 2021, Schlesinger started hosting another podcast CBS Eye on Money, in which she guides on making smart money decisions. The podcast airs twice a week, every Tuesday and Thursday mornings.

Book

On 5 February 2019, Schlesinger published her first book titled 'The Dumb Things Smart People Do with Their Money: Thirteen Ways to Right Your Financial Wrongs.' Her book provides practical advice on making better financial plans by correctinmany people's biggest mistakes with their finances.

Awards and Recognition

For her outstanding coverage on financial issues, Schlesinger was listed in the 'Top 10 LinkedIn Influencers of 2015.' The following year, she was ranked number five in the 'LinkedIn Top Voices 2016.'

Jill also received the ‘2018 Personal Finance Reporting Award' from the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) and National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE). The same year, she won the 'National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) Special Achievement Award.'

Her podcast and nationally syndicated radio show Jill on Money earned her a shared 'Gracie Award' for 'Best National Talk Show' in 2018 and 2021. 

As a part of CBS News Sunday Morning, Schlesinger was nominated for the shared 'News & Documentary Emmy Award' for 'Outstanding Business and Economic Reporting in a Regularly Scheduled Newscast' in 2011. She was also nominated for the shared 'Daytime Emmy Award' for 'Outstanding Morning Program' along with the cast members of CBS This Morning in 2019.

Personal Life

Schlesinger married Ronald Steven Fuchs on 21 April 1991 at the Westbury Hotel in New York at 25. Their marriage only lasted for a year. They got divorced because of financial reasons. During an interview on the Financial Grownup with Bobbi Rebell podcast, she said that Fuchs threatened to sue her for alimony after around a year of marriage. She went on to say that she felt it was the cost of marrying the wrong person for a year. 

On the podcast, Schlesinger also stated that her father advised her to pay her earned money to Fuchs and move on in her life for her own freedom. Unfortunately, her father died in November 2013.

Second Marriage & Sexual Orientation

In the mid-1990s, Schlesinger came out as lesbian and experienced discrimination while getting a job because of her sexual preference. She then became a frequent speaker on workplace issues for LGBTQ workers in the financial service industry, among other topics. 

Schlesinger married Jacqueline LiCalzi, managing director and global head of regulatory relations at an investment banking company, Morgan Stanley. Since 2012, the duo has been donating to the Peconic Land Trust that works on protecting Long Island's natural landscapes and cultural heritage.