CNBC's Maria Bartiromo: From Disco Queen to Business News Diva

If Maria Bartiromo were not the anchor of CNBC39s most successful business programs would she beA running a large Italian restaurant in BrooklynB an actress perhaps starring in a Francis Ford Coppola movieC managing a major Wall Street investment firm or public companyD teaching at a high school in the BronxE a handson interior decoratorWith her unique background and talents Maria could have been successful in any of these careers She recently joined the board of Pencil a charitable organization that supports New York City schools and she served as Principal for a day at Taft School in the Bronx It was she says quotan eyeopening experiencequot far different from her childhood attending the Fontbonne Academy an allgirls Catholic High School in Brooklyn At Taft students pass through metal detectors and the school offers babysitting for the students39 young children She sensed the students39 quotcommitment to learning and desire for success although they need to understand it takes hard work and help from organizations such as Pencil There are opportunities to take lessons from business and apply them to public education and I39m eager to contribute morequot Maria grew up hanging out with her Dad at Rex Manor a large Italian restaurant and catering hall he owned in Bay Ridge Brooklyn near her home On Mondays she joined him while he did the books fascinated by the organization of receipts charges negotiations with vendors and his explanations of how to determine profit and loss In her teens she was coat check girl while her sister Theresa hosted and her brother Patrick waited tables but quotMondays doing books with Dad was the seed that was plantedquotAs a child she had taken jazz ballet and step classes so it was only natural that on nights off from working at Rex she became a selfdescribed quotDisco Queenquot reminiscent of John Travolta39s dance partner Stephanie in Saturday Night Feverquot Although Maria insists she loved Brooklyn and her life at Rex Manor she shared Stephanie39s burning desire to escape Brooklyn Even as she checked coats and discoed all night Maria knew she was destined for more and Manhattan beckonedFor Maria Manhattan was only a few subway stops away at New York University where she enrolled as an economics and business major and later at the urging of her mother switched to journalism major with business minor As a freshman she commuted home every night to Brooklyn quotI was somewhat sheltered in high schoolquot she admits and was comfortable staying close to home But I was studying in the library until 9 or 10 and then taking the subway It was crazy and NYU was so huge it was tough to make friends if you weren39t living on campusquot She soon moved into a new dormitory on University Place quotwhich was like moving into a sophisticated Manhattan apartment in a great neighborhoodquot Maria now commutes again from her East Side apartment where she lives with her husband of four years Jonathan Steinberg to Englewood Cliffs where CNBC has its studios She also spends much of her workday on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange where she was the first person ever to broadcast liveShe was at the Exchange when the first plane hit the World Trade Center tower and she dashed outside and looked up just as the second plane hit She remembers the chaos and literally running for her life as the towers collapsed She returned to the Exchange where she continued to report until forced to evacuate Her competence as a news reporter and her status as the quotpin up girlquot of business news seem to destine Maria for higher profile opportunities We talked about those opportunities at our lunch at Michael39s joined in the front room by Matt Rubel of Cole Haan William Lauder Joel Hollander of Infinity Radio Joe Armstrong Gil Schwartz of CBS and disappointed New York magazine suitor Michael Wolff Author Ken Auletta stopped by to assure Maria I39m an okay guy even though I39m not Italian before joining writer Warren Hoge while Ken39s wife literary agent Binky Urban dined with Michael Hershey at another tableDirector Francis Ford Coppola recently asked Maria to read for a part in his new movie Megalopolis and she believes the reading went well but quotthere is a separation between entertainment and journalism I39ve established real brand equity in business and I don39t take that lightly I like to broaden my scope to general news when that39s the story but I would never throw away my business strengthquot She does admit though quotit was thrilling just to read for Francis and follow his directionquot Maria smilingly acknowledges she39s flattered by the attention she receives and her nickname quotMoney Honeyquot but her viewers and fans are aware she worked hard and earned her success beginning as an intern while at NYU for WMCA Radio39s Barry Farber As a senior she interned at CNN for Showbiz Today staying on without pay after graduation and then switching to CNN business news when they offered a paying jobAlthough she had originally hoped to work at a broadcast network she recognized that business news was in its infancy and CNN offered the chance to experience all aspects of news production After five years she was working with Lou Dobbs and was promoted to line producer which would have shifted her from field producing to studio work To explore the possibility of doing onair field reporting she put together a reel of stories she39d produced CNBC39s Roger Ailes offered her a job combining producing and onair work and her timing was impeccable The markets were just beginning to takeoff in 1993 and after filing a daily report for two years she began covering the stock market a role she continues to perform every morning along with her daily afternoon program and Special Report every Monday at 9 PM ETSo what would Maria be doing if not reporting business news The career that might truly attract her the most would be interior decorating quotThere are few things I love morequot she exclaims quotthan getting on a ladder redecorating and organizing the housequot She and her husband enjoy spending time at home together watching 24 Law ampamp Order SVU and now have set a new Friday night date watching Joan of Arcadia She and Jonathan would like to have children but quotI see the way my life is at the Exchange at 7 AM and still working Mondays until 10 and other nights until 7 I39m focused on my career which is my number one priorityquot Fortunately for CNBC and Maria39s many viewers and fans she won39t be switching anytime soon to interior decorating although perhaps CNBC should consider a new redecorating business show for Maria called quotTrading Office Spacesquot

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CNBC's Maria Bartiromo: From Disco Queen to Business News Diva

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