Who Is Jeff Halperin? Husband Of Kari Lake, Net Worth In 2022

Jeff Halperin is the husband of Kari Ann Lake, a former news anchor and American politician. Lake gained fame for working at the Phoenix television station KSAZ-TV for over 22 years. The politician stepped down from her anchor role in March last year, and a couple of months later, on June 1, 2021, she announced

Jeff Halperin is the husband of Kari Ann Lake, a former news anchor and American politician.

Lake gained fame for working at the Phoenix television station KSAZ-TV for over 22 years.

The politician stepped down from her anchor role in March last year, and a couple of months later, on June 1, 2021, she announced her campaign for governor. She is currently the Republican party's nominee in the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election. 

The politician has been married to her husband, Jeff Halperin, whom she wed in 1998 and was married to Tracy Finnegan, an electrical engineer, with whom she later divorced. Lake has two children and is known for her many party switches. She is one of the most steadfast and headstrong conservative Republicans in recent memory.

Her erroneous statements and tendency to make up facts have made her one of the most controversial politicians currently active/

Quick Facts About Kari Lake

Age:53
Net Worth:$3 Million
Profession:Politician, Former News Anchor
Spouse:Jeff Halperin
Children:2
Date of Birth:August 23, 1969
Place of Birth:Illinois, U.S.
Alma Mater:University of Iowa
Poltical Party:Republican
Years Active:1991 - Present

Who Is Jeff Halperin? 

Jeff Halperin is the husband of politician Kari Lake and is the owner of a company called ZenHD.

ZenHD is a full-service production company that was created on March 2000 and had been running under Jeff Halperin since then.

The company covers all aspects of broadcast, internal, and web production, with its tagline "from concept to completion." The company has touted its ability to provide on-site and remote editing capabilities and has several HD formats.

The company and Halperin are bilingual, with the other language being Spanish.

Before founding and working in ZenHD, Halperin was a News Photographer for WNYT from January 1998 to January 2000. He has also worked as a News Editor and News Photographer, alongside being a Photojournalist for NBC from 1994 to 1998.

He started his career in NBC soon after he graduated from Creighton University with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and History.

Jeff Halperin Is The Husband Of Kari Lake

Jeff Halperin has been married to Kari Lake since 1998, who was born in Illinois on August 23, 1969.

Lake was born to Larry A. Lake, a teacher and football and basket coach from Richland Center, Wisconsin. Her mother, Sheila A. Lake, born McGuire, was a nurse from Appleton, Wisconsin.

Though she was born in Illinois, and her parents are from Wisconsin, Kari Lake grew up in Iowa and was raised in Eldridge.

While in Eldridge, Iowa, she studied at and graduated from the North Scott Senior High School.

Following her high school graduation, she attended the University of Iowa, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication and journalism.

How Much Is Jeff Halperin's Net Worth?

As of 2022, Jeff Halperin's net worth is approximately $3 million.

She amassed her net worth through her multi-decade work in media. Lake started working in Davenport, Iowa, at KWQC-TV, as an intern in May 1991 while studying at university.

The future politician later became a production assistant. However, she joined WHBF-TV in Rock Island, Illinois, in 1992 and started working as a daily reporter and weekend weathercaster.  

Then, Lake was hired by KPNX in Phoenix, Arizona, in August 1994 to be the weekend weather anchor.

She later became the evening anchor at KPNX but then relocated to Albany, New York, to work for WNYT in the summer of 1998.

At WNYT, Lake replaced fellow television journalist Chris Kapostasy.

A year later, Lake returned to Arizona and became an evening anchor for Fox 10 Phoenix's KSAZ-TV. 

While at KSAZ-TV, Lake interviewed two presidents: President Barack Obama in 2016 and President Donald Trump in 2020.

In recent years, Lake has become a leading Trump supporter and pro-Trump politician in Arizona after retiring as a local TV anchor.

Her last couple of years working in the media saw her sharing false and unverified information on social media.

These improper actions prompted criticism and led to her acquiring a reputation as one of Trump's provocateurs.

Lake opposed the Red for Ed movement in 2018, which sought more funding for education through strikes and protests.

According to Lake, the movement was a big push to legalize illegal substances.

She later apologized for her erroneous statement by saying she made an incorrect conclusion.

According to her station's regional human resources director, Lake took an unexpected month-long leave from the station just leaving her position.

In July 2019, Lake was caught promoting her account on the web platform Parler, which is known to be a hotbed of Alt-right views. The politician also shared COVID-19 misinformation on Twitter and Facebook in April 2020.

Lake's statements and actions have made her a divisive figure among colleagues in her last years at the station, and many hoped she would either stop or leave. She announced her departure from KSAZ in March 2021, one day after the television news industry site, FTVLive, published a video clip of Lake at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando.

The website questioned whether Lake was a journalist or movement member at the conference.

A couple of months after her departure, in June 2021, she announced her campaign for governor.

Kari Lake And Her Political Career

Kari Lake has had one of the most interesting and disturbing political careers in recent memory.

Lake was a Republican Party member until November 3, 2006, when she changed her registration to become independent. She lasted as an independent until she registered as a Democrat on January 4, 2008, after Obama won the Iowa Democratic presidential caucuses.

On January 31, 2012, Lake returned to being a Republican Party member.

According to Lake, she left the Republican Party in 2006 as a reaction to the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. In 2004, Lake supported John Kerry and Barack Obama for president in 2008.

She has also made several donations to Democratic presidential candidates throughout her career. 

The former TV anchor filed paperwork in June 2021 to seek the Republican nomination for governor of Arizona in the 2022 election.

Four candidates, including Lake, sought the Republican Party nomination:

  • LakeKarrin Taylor Robson, a former real estate developer and Arizona Board of Regents member 
  • Paola Tulliani Zen, and
  • Scott Neely. 

Lake and Robson were the front-runners of the four candidates, leading in polling and fundraising.

A fifth Republican candidate, an ex-congressman Matt Salmon, dropped out of the race after trailing in polls and endorsed Robson instead.

The tide of the batter changed when Lake received Donald Trump's endorsement in September 2021.

The primary was seen as a fight for dominance between Republicans aligned with Trump and establishment Republicans.

The following people supported Robson:

  • Mike Pence, the former Vice President
  • Doug Ducey, the incumbent Arizona governor, and
  • Chris Christie, the former New Jersey governor

Lake had raised $1.4 million by the end of 2021 from 12,000 sources.

However, Lake faced criticism for centering her campaign around promoting the false claim that the 2020 presidential election nationwide was "rigged and stolen,", especially in Arizona.

According to Boris Epshteyn, a former Trump aide who promoted Trump's efforts to overturn the election results, Lake's victory in the Republican primary, despite being "outspent 10-to-1," was due to her stance.

The former news anchor won the Republican primary in Arizona on August 2, 2022, in all counties.

Kari Lake And Her Controversial Claims

Republican politician Kari Lake has made many controversial claims in her career, which have landed her on fire.

In August 2021, Lake led anti-mask rallies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

She also called on Arizona State University students to go against their college's mask mandates.

Lake said that if she were elected governor, there would be no toleration of any vaccine and mask mandates related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A couple of months later, in November 2021, Lake told a group of Republican retirees that she was taking hydroxychloroquine, a medication for malaria, to prevent COVID-19 infection.

The former news anchor stated that, as governor, she would work to have hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin, known to have no effect on COVID-19, produced in the state to make it easier for people to get what she called "lifesaving drugs."

Lake has repeatedly questioned the science behind COVID-19 vaccines and said she had not been vaccinated.

Besides COVID-19, she has also faced criticism for her remarks about Drag Queens.

After Lake posted remarks critical of the LGBT community, especially drag queens performing in front of children, Rick Stevens, a professional who performs under the name Barbra Seville, published photos and text messages that showed a professional relationship and personal friendship with Lake.

According to Stevens, the drag queen has performed at Lake's home and in front of Lake's then 9 or 10 years old daughter, at Lake's invitation. Lake retorted to Steven's claims by calling them "defamatory lies." 

A large point of contention for Lake was that they had been friends. She also denied that Stevens had ever been in her home.

Lake has since threatened litigation against both Stevens and outlets that pursued the story.

Lastly, Lake has been under fire for some anti-semitic associations.

The former news anchor once endorsed Jarrin Jackson, a far-right online streamer, in his campaign for State Senate in Oklahoma.

The media subsequently scrutinized Jackson for making antisemitic comments.

Lake denounced Jackson's comments and said she had been fooled by his resume, which stated he was a Combat Veteran in Afghanistan.

However, she left some support for Jackson by claiming that it is impossible to dig into everything someone has said in their life and that only if the reported comments are true would she rescind her endorsement.

Some FAQs

How Many Children Does Kari Lake Have?

She has two children

When Did Jim Halperin and Kari Lake Get Married?

Jim Halperin and Kari Lake got married in 1998

How Many Times Has Kari Lake Been Married?

Kari Lake has been married twice

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