How Much Was Conan Paid To Host The Oscars?

The 2025 Oscars graced our screens this weekend, and the event was filled with glamour and some surprises. For reality TV and late-night fans, you may have recognized the host, Conan O'Brien.

Conan joins the ranks of many late-night hosts who have taken on entertainment's biggest night. So how much was he paid to host the 2025 Oscars?

The Oscars Host Payment Is Surprisingly Low

The fee for hosting the Oscars is less than you might expect. Despite the event's high production value, the money that goes to the host is not very much — according to The Hollywood Reporter, the host fee is likely somewhere between just $15,000-$25,000.

This number is shocking considering that The Academy reportedly spends over $38 million on the show itself. It seems that the host's paycheck is just a tiny fraction of what really goes into the night. A former host of the Oscars, Wanda Sykes, even made a joke about how putting on the event was more effort than it's really worth, given that it takes so long to prepare for:

I realized that out of all the jobs that I have, this one is actually gonna cost me money.

Jimmy Kimmel Refused The Job

Another late-night host, Jimmy Kimmel, apparently turned down the offer before it made its way to Conan.

Though Jimmy has hosted the Oscars before, he explained that the amount of preparation and energy it takes felt like too much this time around:

When I’m focused on the Oscars, I’m less focused on the show. And I just decided I didn’t want to deal with that this year. It was just too much last year. You wind up pushing everything off till after the Oscars, then you have to do everything you promised to do after the Oscars after the Oscars.

Considering how little the host makes in comparison to the overall price tag, it's not surprising Jimmy would've passed this on this year.