Tragic Details About Fox News Anchor Neil Cavuto's Life

As one of Fox's longest-lasting hosts, fans of the network know that Neil Cavuto is a staple at Fox News. Cavuto started hosting "Your World" in 1996 when Fox News first began. He went on to host Fox Business Network's "Cavuto: Coast to Coast" and "Cavuto Live" in his whopping 28 years with the network. As of December 2024, however, Cavuto and the network he's called home since its inception are calling it quits. And this is far from the first difficulty the host has faced in his life. 

Like most news networks, Fox News has been through a lot since it first began. And, of course, politics and the world of news have undergone plenty of changes, too. Cavuto and Fox News stood together through it all, making the split even more surprising. According to The Hollywood Reporter, a statement from a Fox News spokesperson said, "Neil Cavuto's illustrious career has been a master class in journalism and we're extremely proud of his incredible 28-year run with Fox News Media. His programs have defined business news and set the standard for the entire industry. We wish him a heartfelt farewell and all the best on his next chapter." 

What exactly Cavuto's next chapter will entail is unclear. Surely, though, his many fans hope that the next one is brighter than some of the chapters he has gone through before.

Over the course of his life, Neil Cavuto has dealt with more than his fair share of health issues. In fact, he calls his three big health problems a "hat trick," per The Wrap. Cavuto dealt with stage 4 Hodgkin's lymphoma. And, while his cancer was reportedly, "near-life-ending," he was able to beat it (via The Wrap). Shortly after, in 1997, however, the Fox News host was also diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. And this proved to be an even more difficult journey than cancer. Cavuto called his M.S. "a constant reminder of the fragility of my life." He added, "Having had cancer right before my MS diagnosis, I can honestly say MS is worse ... There's no endgame here, no cure here, no concoction of chemotherapy or radiation that could make it all go away here."

Unfortunately, what he called "the most pain I've ever felt" was still to come. In 2016, Cavuto was diagnosed with a "widow maker:" a condition that required open heart surgery. "I've developed a pretty high threshold for pain," Cavuto explained to The Wrap, noting, "Before I had cancer, I was a wuss with needles. Once you have chemo you get over the needle thing. With the M.S., I got used to constant fatigue, but this, this was a b****."

As if Neil Cavuto hadn't been through enough health troubles over the years, he was also hit hard by COVID-19. In October 2021, Cavuto tested positive for COVID for the first time. His second bout with the virus, however, was much more difficult. In 2022, he disappeared from his role at Fox News for five weeks. Upon his return, he revealed scary details about the COVID-19 diagnosis that kept him away from his job. "I did get COVID again—but a far, far more serious strand, what doctors call 'COVID pneumonia,'" per Daily Beast. He added, "It landed me in intensive care for quite a while and it really was touch-and-go." 

During Cavuto's first encounter with COVID, he made it clear to fans of his notoriously right-leaning network that he was a supporter of the vaccine. "Life is too short to be an a**," he urged his viewers, noting, "Life is way too short to be ignorant of the promise of something that is helping people worldwide. Stop the deaths. Stop the suffering. Please get vaccinated. Please," per NBC News. It was, consequently, clear to fans that Cavuto had been vaccinated when he had his difficult bout with COVID. Yet, he reassured folks that getting the vaccine had actually prevented a worse fate.

The pandemic was a tough time for everyone, and it was made much tougher by the rampant disagreement surrounding how folks should choose to protect themselves. For Neil Cavuto, this was particularly difficult, since much of his fanbase vehemently disagreed with what he believed saved his life. Cavuto doubled down on his support for the vaccine when he was hospitalized with COVID-19 the second time. He explained that he nearly died, noting, "...the vaccine didn't cause that ... My very compromised immune system did," per NPR. He added, "... let me be clear, doctors say had I not been vaccinated at all, I wouldn't be here."

While other hosts at the network, like former Fox News firebrand Tucker Carlson, spread misinformation about COVID-19, Cavuto was a straight-shooter with his audience about the facts, and this presented him with quite a bit of pushback. According to NPR, Cavuto told his viewers, "Whatever your views on mandates — and I get that, no one likes to be ordered to — but in the end, if you can get vaccinated and think of someone else and think of what that could mean to them and their survivability from something like this, we'll all be better off." Many of them responded with cruel words, some of which he read aloud on air. One viewer urged him to "pound sand" for his opinion, while another said, "I want you gone. Dead... Get it?"

Evidently, many members of Neil Cavuto's fanbase turned on him for not agreeing with all their radical views. And so did Donald Trump. Plenty of people in Trump's own inner circle have hated Trump hated, as have many, many people who don't know him personally. Interestingly, the feeling is mutual, as Trump, himself, is often a total hater. So Neil is in good company as someone who has been publicly trashed by the president-elect. In September 2024, Cavuto shared his opinion on the presidential debate with Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. "He decisively lost," Cavuto said, per The Hill, adding, "This was that first occasion where it wasn't just a close call, it was a lopsided one." 

Of course, Trump didn't miss an opportunity to clumsily and bullishly respond to criticism. "Neil Cavuto, Fox's Lowest Rated Anchor, is one of the WORST on Television. I actually prefer the losers at CNN and MSDNC," he wrote on Truth Social. One might think that, before heading back to the White House in January 2025, Trump might have had better things to do than rehashing old feuds with news personalities who had criticized him. However, it is Trump, after all, so he found the time. Upon hearing news that Cavuto was leaving Fox News, he wrote on Truth Social, "GOOD NEWS FOR AMERICA! Neil Cavuto, the Lowest Rated Anchor on Fox, by far, is leaving – Should have happened a long time ago!"

After nearly three decades at Fox News, Neil Cavuto is parting ways with the network. Yet he is clear about the fact that he isn't retiring. On December 19, he shared the news with his "Your World" viewers. "I'm not leaving journalism. I'm just leaving here," he said, per Huffpost. Cavuto's contract with the network reportedly expires at the end of 2024, and he is said to have declined the new contract that he was offered. Over the course of the year, other news anchors have faced pay cuts, which may have been the case with Cavuto's new contract.

While it sounds like there may be some bad blood between Cavuto and the network where he spent so many years, he assured fans that he is leaving on a positive note. "...I'm forever grateful to my bosses here. They've been very good to me these many years and offered a very generous opportunity for me to stay years more," he said. He also noted that his mind is not on "all the stuff that divides us or the nastiness that embitters us, but the far more important stuff that unites us and defines us and lifts us," adding, "That is why I say goodbye with only good thoughts and good wishes."