The Untold Truth Of Eric Bolling

In a cable television landscape full of conservative pundits, it can be hard to make a name for yourself. There are standouts, of course, including commentators Bill O'Reilly, Lou Dobbs, and Rush Limbaugh. One thing all of these men have in common, in addition to their right-wing leanings, is their penchant for scandal. You might remember that O'Reilly was forced out of Fox News amid a sexual harassment scandal. Dobbs' show was canceled in 2021 after misinformation he reportedly spread forced Fox to fight a nearly $2 billion lawsuit. The late Limbaugh weathered many personal and professional storms, most notably his arrest for "prescription drug charges" in Florida, per The New York Times.

And then there's Eric Bolling. Like Dobbs, Bolling landed on Fox thanks to his deep understanding of the financial world, but quickly took an interest in politics. Just like O'Reilly, Dobbs, and Limbaugh, scandal eventually followed.

Below, we break down everything you need to know about Bolling, from his time both on and off the Fox News set — and so much more in between.

Certain professional athletes find a calling beyond the field with a career in broadcasting. You may not realize it, but Eric Bolling is technically among this group. After a successful baseball career at Rollins College, Bolling was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates just as he began "a fellowship at Duke University's School of Public Policy," according to his alma matter's magazine. Obviously, the path towards punditry was already in motion, but that didn't stop Bolling from pursuing the big leagues first.

Detailing his trajectory to the pros, which sadly ended at age 22, Bolling told the Chicago Magazine in 2016, "I did very well at Loyola Academy and then I got a scholarship to Rollins College in Florida and in senior year, the Pittsburgh Pirates came to dedicate our new stadium. ... I hit a home run on my first at-bat and they drafted me that year. I was only there for a portion of the first year because I ended up blowing my rotator cuff out." Bolling went on to detail how his shoulder injury was too severe to fix, thus ending his MLB dreams.

Dejected, Bolling returned to his native Chicago and began a long and confusing job hunt. Eventually he landed a job in marketing with Mobil Oil, which sparked his interest in commodities trading. A chance encounter with a CNBC reporter led to his initial TV appearance, which then led to a regular gig on "Fast Money," commentating on financial news.     

Eric Bolling eventually left his first TV home, CNBC, for Fox Business. Having spent a good deal of time making a fortune trading oil and gas futures on Wall Street, Bolling's deep interest in and understanding of the financial market positioned him perfectly for a full-time gig in the high-pressure world of Fox News' financial division. It might surprise you to learn then, that Bolling once gave up literal millions to read to his son Eric Chase's preschool class.

Speaking with Benzinga News in 2010, Bolling detailed how one day, while he was reading "Spider and the Fly" to son's class, some investments he'd made in natural gas took a seriously bad turn. "I'm sitting down and we started reading ... and my phone is buzzing off the hook, and I can only think it's one of two things," he said. "It's either really good because the market turned around and I'm right, or really bad, really really really bad, because the people wouldn't bother me unless it was something really bad."

Still, Bolling claimed the chance to spend a little time with his son was worth the outrageous amount of money (approximately $2 million) he lost that day. "It was a bloodbath when I got to the trading floor, an absolute bloodbath. But you know what, I will never forget the look on his face while I was reading that book."

Eric Bolling's successful stint at Fox News came to a tabloid-worthy end in 2017 when HuffPost broke the story that he had allegedly sent illicit photographs to female staff members.

Bolling was suspended in August 2017 when three of his female colleagues came forward with the allegations. The news continued to worsen for Bolling when a former regular on his soon-to-be canceled show, Caroline Heldman, claimed he'd harassed her on set. Bolling reportedly called her "Dr. McHottie" and offered to "fly [her] out to New York" for both work and "fun." In a since-deleted Facebook post she further detailed an unsettling incident in which Bolling had given her a tour of his office. "In the brief time I was there, let me know that his office was his favorite place to have sex," she wrote.

Bolling stayed mostly mum on this issue, with his attorney stating, "Mr Bolling recalls no such inappropriate communications, does not believe he sent any such communications, and will vigorously pursue his legal remedies for any false and defamatory accusations that are made." 

Within weeks of the allegations going public, however, Bolling exited Fox News. Although the network said in a statement that it had "agreed to part ways amicably" with Bolling, The New York Times pointed out that just months earlier, Bolling had "renewed a long-term contract" with the cable news giant. As such, the outlet characterized Bolling as "the latest personality forced out of Fox News in the wake of a sexual harassment scandal that has engulfed the network."

Eric Bolling's life changed irrevocably in 2017 when his son, Eric Chase Bolling, died of an apparent overdose while away at college. Eric Chase was found unresponsive with a mix of cocaine, marijuana, opioids, and Xanax in his system, per People. Those close to Eric Chase detailed how he'd spent the day doing various drugs before falling asleep with a female companion, with no indication that anything was wrong.

Eric broke the news via Twitter, writing, "Adrienne and I are devastated by the loss of our beloved son Eric Chase last night. Details still unclear. Thoughts, prayers appreciated."

Eventually, Eric Chase's autopsy showed that he had had accidentally overdosed "from a combination of cocaine and fentanyl," according to The Denver Post. Almost immediately, the elder Bolling committed himself to fight the growing opioid epidemic. Part of that initiative involved lobbying politicians, including then-President Donald Trump, as well as founding the Eric Chase Foundation, which is dedicated to solving the problem.

Eric Bolling was in the headlines a lot in the months following his abrupt departure from Fox News. Just when it seemed like things had quieted down, Bolling found himself in the midst of yet another scandal when he publicly feuded with Bill O'Reilly.

O'Reilly sparked the beef when he told The New York Times that he believed the death of Bolling's son, Eric Chase Bolling, was directly connected to the reporting on his father's sexual harassment scandal. 

Bolling was quick to fire back. "I believe it is beyond inappropriate for anyone to bring in the tragic death of my son Eric Chase Bolling," Bolling said, per Emily Steel, one of the NYT reporters who spoke with O'Reilly. "My parting from Fox News was in no way connected to the tragic news of my son's passing," he continued. "The coroner has in fact indicated to us that they believe it was an accident."

To O'Reilly's credit, he eventually apologized to Bolling in a tweet reading, "Apologies to Eric Bolling and prayers for him and his family. The message I tried to send was that allegations harm kids. Nothing more." Bolling graciously accepted the apology.

If you keep up with your Fox News hosts then it should come as little surprise to you that Eric Bolling is thick as thieves with former president Donald Trump. Bolling was an adamant supporter of throughout his Trump presidency, and the pair evidently grew closer in 2017 following the death of Bolling's son, Eric Chase Bolling.

In a July 2020 interview with Trump, Bolling revealed that the then-president reached out to him directly several times to check on his and his wife's wellbeing after their son's death. "I don't think people see the heart that Donald Trump has," Bolling declared. But Bolling had been singing Trump's praises long before that, too. 

Following his ouster from Fox News, Bolling put his newfound free time to use towards a good cause. Never wanting another parent to experience the loss he had, Bolling began campaigning for stricter laws surrounding prescription drug abuse. In doing so, he praised Trump's administration for being "very strong on the enforcement side of it," but told The Hill in 2018 that he intended to advise the president that "they also have to treat the recovery side of it as well" by putting money towards better recovery facilities and working to remove the stigma surrounding addiction. Bolling also said that he had already been working directly with Trump on this initiative, and that he would continue to do so in the coming days. 

After spending so much time at Fox News and growing close to President Trump, Eric Bolling was a natural guess at who might be the next big name in politics. For years, rumors swirled that Bolling was planning to run for congress in his native South Carolina. When the time came, he would be running on the GOP ticket against Nancy Mace. Representative Mace is a republican congresswoman who has been openly vocal about Trump — someone to whom Bolling is extremely loyal, per Politico.

Despite the speculation, Bolling formally announced he would not run in the spring of 2021. "While it's too soon after the passing of my son to get into politics, the overwhelming support I've received indicates this is not the end of my opportunities politically, in South Carolina," Bolling said in a statement, per Politico. While I am not planning to run for Congress in this cycle, it is clear to me that President Trump remains very strong in this district." Bolling added that he was planning to focus on other professional projects for the time being.

So, while 2021 might not have been the right time to throw his hat into the ring, Bolling hasn't exactly decided against it at some point in the future either.

For years, Eric Bolling was one of the most prominent names at Fox Business and Fox News. After a messy exit in 2017, Bolling took a bit of time to figure out his next move, occasionally popping up as a commentator on various networks. Things took a very sharp turn for Bolling one day in 2020 when he lost his temper while on a live segment for the BBC's Forbes | Daily News.

Per Forbes, the trouble started when Bolling criticized the MLB for pulling an all star game out of Atlanta because of voting rights issues in Georgia. Bolling reportedly claimed that the economic loss would disproportionately hurt people of color. Another guest on the show, Aisha Mills did not like that one bit. "How dare you try to act like you are somehow a proponent of Black people and businesses just to make a point and to try to create a wedge," she said, per Forbes. "It's ignorant and it's just disrespectful."

That did not sit well with Bolling who got up and stormed off set during the live segment. That's disgusting. I'm done," Bolling said prior to bailing on the discussion. "That's disgusting. I am nowhere near anything you are painting me to be, and the problem with American politics is exactly that. Because I'm white, you think I'm racist? That's BS. I'm done."

Bolling briefly returned but stomped off again when Mills refused to apologize. 

Eric Bolling gets a bit of a bad rap. After all, he's stormed offset, left a high paying job amid sexual harassment allegations, and publicly feuded with Bill O'Reilly. Thankfully for Bolling, the news about him isn't all bad. In fact, one of Bolling's colleagues even credits the controversial pundit with saving his life.

On a 2011 episode of "The Five," Bob Beckel detailed how Bolling and Roger Ailes (the late CEO of Fox News) saved his life during a work lunch. "I couldn't breathe at all," the political analyst explained. "The boss of bosses here at Fox, Roger Ailes, stood up and gave me the Heimlich. He couldn't get his arms all the way around me but he loosened it up enough." Beckel explained before turning to Bolling, "And then my brother here saved my existence, because he got it out." 

As for what exactly "it" was, it was some shrimp Beckel ate too quickly. After hearing Beckel discus the incident with Beckel, Bolling declared it "Bob Day," to which Beckel rounded out the story by advising everyone to slow down and take sensible bites when indulging a shrimp heavy lunch in the future.

It should come as little surprise that, after years on Fox Business and Fox News, Eric Bolling has built up quite a net worth. We've already detailed how Bolling originally intended to become an MLB star but a torn rotator cuff took him out of the game. As he earned only measly sums from his minor league days, the injury proved to be a blessing in disguise. If it wasn't for a career-ending injury Bolling may never have become interested in finance, never landed on Fox, and thus never made his millions (at least not in commodities trading and cable news).

So, how much is Bolling worth? According to Celebrity Net Worthy, as of 2021, he's racked up about $25 million.

It's got us wondering how exactly Bolling spends all that dough. Like most multimillionaires, Bolling likes to invest his money in property. Case-in-point in 2021, Bolling made waves when he listed his beachfront home in New Jersey for a cool $3.2 million. The home, which Bolling and his wife purchased for $2 million a few years earlier, comes with a whopping 75 feet of private beach, a jacuzzi tub, and crystal clear views of the beach, per NJ.com.

Just because Bolling wanted to sell the beach house, doesn't mean he wanted to get out of Jersey. He and his wife also own a massive home in Northern Jersey, per the outlet.

When Eric Bolling left Fox News amid professional scandal and personal grief, it was the beginning of one of the most trying periods of his life. But as he told Benzinga News back in 2010, he thrives in a "high pressure, competitive" environment. And so, it was eventually time for the conservative commentator to get back to work.

Bolling spent some time bopping around appearing as a talking head on various networks, including a stint on Sinclair Broadcast Group, where he hosted a show "America This Week with Eric Bolling," but nothing seemed like the right fit. Finally, in 2021, Bolling found his forever home. In June, Newsmax announced that Bolling had signed on to host a new show, "Eric Bolling The Balance," per Deadline.

Bolling's decision to join Newsmax came as little surprise to those in the know. The network is helmed by former president Donald Trump's close friend, Chris Ruddy, who has recruited other conservative pundits to join the team in recent months. As for Bolling, he couldn't imagine a better fit, citing their similar feelings towards the state of the nation. "Like myself, Newsmax is concerned with the direction that Big Tech and Big Corporate Media have taken journalism and our nation," Bolling said, per the The New York Times.