Dave Ramsey: My Retirement Will Include Continuing to Host The Ramsey Show (2024)

Dave Ramsey quietly began shifting branding away from himself and more towards the Ramsey Solutions brand in recent years, but he says he doesn’t see any retirement in his immediate future.

During an appearance with The Iced Coffee Hour on YouTube, Ramsey was asked about any impending retirement plans. He said he had no idea of stepping away from his nationally syndicated radio program any time soon.

“I’m 63, I’ve been scaling back for a long time,” Dave Ramsey said. “Four years ago, I quit working on Fridays. Does that count? It’s a step in the right direction. We moved my son — 12 years he’s been working here, and the operating board moved him into the President’s role in January…he and I get to work together, so we’re having a blast working together.

“Some day, I’ll retire. But retirement for me, I’ll still do the show. As long as I make sense. If I quit making sense and I start hurting the brand, then we’ll have to take me off. Then I’ll become completely irrelevant and an angry boomer. I’m close now, maybe!,” he joked. “I’ll continue to speak as much as I can. I enjoy those things, so that will be my retirement.”

Dave Ramsey continued by noting that when he began approaching the age of 60, he recognized the importance of moving the brand to become more focused on Ramsey Solutions rather than just Dave Ramsey. He revealed that the company wanted to feature a 50/50 split in revenue between revenue tied him and then the rest of the company in 2022. However, in 2023, 78% of the company’s revenue came from “non-Dave” sources.

Tavis Smiley has been operating KBLA 1580 in Los Angeles since 2021 with the intent to purchase the station. However, it appears that won’t be happening.

According to filings with the FCC, Smiley’s plan to buy the station for nearly $6.9 million by the end of March has fallen through with no extension of the purchase agreement announced.

Hoping to use the station to launch a network of Black talk radio shows, Smiley originally put $1.5 million towards the sale with a slate of high-profile investors like rapper Ice Cube, comedian Bill Maher, and NBA star Mike Conley, among others.

His bid to take over the station, however, has seen opposition from the Ukrainian Congress Committee after the current owners — Multicultural Radio Broadcasting — leased airtime on its Washington, D.C. signal 1390 WZHF to Russian government-supported Radio Sputnik.

The organization aimed to block the sale with a bevy of allegations, including targeting Tavis Smiley specifically for his history of sexual misconduct claims from his time at PBS and his reported inability to pay the $2.8 million he was ordered to pay PBS after he left the network.

Despite the change in the prospective ownership of the KBLA 1580, programming on the station has not changed since the deal to purchase the station has fallen through, according to InsideRadio.

NewsTalkSTL in St. Louis has completely purchased the FM signal in the market it had been using from Educational Media Foundation.

The conservative news/talk outlet has purchased outright the 101.9 FM frequency from EMF, a 250-watt translator. No purchase price was reported.

“As big corporations continue to dominate today’s radio dial, we are thrilled to be able to return local market radio to local market ownership and programming,” NewsTalkSTL President of Programming Jeff Allen said in a statement.

The outlet — which debuted in 2021 — had also been broadcasting on 99.1 HD3 in the St. Louis market, which is owned by Gateway Creative Broadcasters. It also can be heard on 94.1 FM, a 7,500 watt signal licensed to Bowling Green, Missouri, which sits roughly 85 miles northwest of the city. The outlet purchased that signal in 2023 for $200,000.

“This agreement secures the future of NewsTalkSTL on the St. Louis radio dial, and we are grateful to EMF for their support,” said EpicSTL Managing Partner Joe Rusch.

95.5 WSB afternoon host Eric Von Haessler makes no qualms about his political beliefs, and oftentimes lack of political beliefs. But there’s one area he just will not touch.

During The Von Haessler Doctrine Wednesday, the Atlanta-based host discussed why he has no interest in talking about “culture war” topics that permeate much of news/talk radio.

“Anybody who listens to this show on a daily basis will know that I don’t vote anymore. I don’t have any horse in this race. I just want you to do whatever you want to do,” Von Haessler said. “And I’ve done enough voting in my lifetime. I’ve done my part from 1984 to 2016. That’s enough.”

Eric Von Haessler continued by noting there are plenty of other topics available for both talk radio hosts and politicians to discuss that are infinitely more important than what dominates the discussion now.

“I haven’t heard anybody bring up the debt. $34 trillion…But on the cultural stuff, (snore noise). Sorry, I’m sorry. I know it means a lot to you, whatever side you’re on, but the cultural stuff for me (snore noise). Anybody want to talk about the debt? Because that’s what’s important.

“‘Climate change means there’ll be no future for our children!’ Okay. But have you looked at the $34 trillion debt? Because that thing we know is there and, and you’re just acting like it’s not. I don’t get involved in that sort of stuff anymore.”