Ali Velshi is a Canadian TV host and anchor who is currently a Chief Business Correspondent for NBC News and anchor of MSNBC Live. He also co-hosts Velshi & Ruhle along with Stephanie Ruhle on MSNBC.

Velshi came to fame for his 12-year-long tenure on CNN. His natural talent for presenting news in a different style, bringing a unique mix of information and perspective, has made him popular.

Early life and education of Ali Velshi

Ali was born on 29th October 1969 in Nairobi, Kenya. He belongs of Gujarati Indian descent. His parents raised him in Toronto in a Muslim household. His father is Murad Velshi, the first man of Indian heritage elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and his mother is Mila, who grew up in South Africa.

Canadian TV journalist Ali Velshi is smiling for the picture

Velshi graduated from Northern Secondary School. Moreover, the school even elected him as the school president. Then, he earned his bachelor’s degree majoring in religious studies from Queen’s University in Kingston in 1994. While at Queen’s, he highlighted by organizing a protest against Preston Manning and Canada’s Reform Party.

Before starting his career, he landed a part-time job at a clothing store. But it seemed like his aim was to be a great Journalist. 

Ali Velshi’s broadcasting career from CNN to Al Jazeera and MSNBC

As a general assignment reporter, Velshi got his start from  CFTO, a Toronto-based flagship network.  Then, he worked as a business anchor and reporter for Cable Plus 24,  then CityTV, and Report on Business Television, where he hosted The Business News.

Ali Velshi at CNN office

Velshi moved to the U.S. in 2001 and joined CNNfn, where he hosted many business-related hit shows like Insights, Street Sweep, Your Money, Business Unusual and The Money Gang until the network was closed in December 2004.

Afterward, he was reassigned to the CNN network as a business anchor and reporter for the morning show Daybreak.  A reality show, The Turnaround, made him travel across America in 2005, where he met low-profiled to high-profiled people in business.

While at CNN, he served as an anchor for various programs like American Morning, Energy Hunt and others. Moreover, coverage of tragic events in 2008 propelled him to popularity. He started the year reporting from the now-destroyed Islamabad, Pakistan-based Marriott Hotel following the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. He reported day and night from the areas stricken by Hurricane Gustav and Ike.

Ali’s Hurricane reporting began in 2005 when he reported live from the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina and reported from the middle of a flooded street in Atlantic City during Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

Ali Velshi presenting his show

Velshi left CNN for Al Jazeera in April 2013 and hosted a weekly 30-minute prime-time show, Real Money with Ali Velshi. In May 2015, the show re-launched Ali Velshi on Target, which was focused on prevailing political and economic affairs.

After the shutdown of Al Jazeera America in April 2016, Ali joined MSNBC. He co-hosts the business show Velshi & Ruhle with Stephanie Ruhle. He serves as a chief business correspondent for NBC News and anchors the daytime news show MSNBC Live.

Award-winning reporter Ali Velshi is also an author

Ali Velshi held the honor of Queen’s University Alumni Achievement Award in 2010. He returned to his alma mater in 2016 to receive an honorary doctorate of laws during the celebration of the university’s 175th anniversary. 

Ali Velshi giving a speech in a graduation function at Queens University in 2016

For his in-depth reporting for How the Wheels Came Off, CNN’s show about the near-collapse of the U.S. Auto Industry, he earned National Headliner Award for Business and Consumer Reporting in 2010. His special reporting on various influential issues has earned him three nominations for Emmy Awards.

Ali is also a financial author. He has penned two books, Gimme My Money Back: Your Guide to Beating the Financial Crisis, released in 2009 and How to Speak Money: The Language and Knowledge You Need Now, published in 2011. It has been assumed that MSNBC pays him an attractive salary, but the amount has not been disclosed. To date, he has amassed a net worth of $500,000.

Ali Velshi married twice.

Ali Velshi married a New York-born hedge-fund manager, Lori Wachs, in 2009. Wachs is his second wife. But, no details of his first wife came to light yet.

Ali Velshi and wife Lori Wachs

They co-parent Lori’s two children from her previous relationship. Likewise, his second wife, Lori.