Who Is John Molner? Inside The Life Of Katie Couric’s Husband

John Molner is the husband of television and online journalist, presenter, producer, and author, Katie Couric from the fame of CBS News, ABC News, and CNN. Molner is a reputed financial advisor known for his long affiliation to Brown Brothers Harriman, a private investment banking company.

Molner’s wife, Couric has been working for the giants of the news industry for over three decades. She is one of the heavyweights in the reporting world with honor in the Television Hall of Fame. She is also New York Times Best Selling author.

What is less known is about her husband, John Molner who is also quite a laudatory figure in his own right. Read all about his early life, how he met Couric, how he came into the financing sector, and further in the details below.

John Molner Studied At Trinity College

Molner was born on January 21, 1963 (age 58 years), in Chicago, Illinois. He is the son of Paula and Herbert Molner. John has two brothers, Tom and Dave.

He studied at Trinity College (from 1981 – 1985) and later got a Master’s in Business Administration from the University Of Chicago Booth School Of Business in 1990. He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

What Does John Molner Do For A Living?

For a long time, John was in the banking sector. He though retired in 2014 and is now a Senior Adviser to BHH Capital Partners.

Couric’s husband was formerly the head of Mergers & Acquisitions at investment firm Brown Brothers, in his native, Chicago. He later got similar roles in New York City before stepping away to co-found company Katie Couric Media in 2017 along with his wife.

John Molner Is A Reputed Financial Advisor  

Couric’s husband initially joined the banking division at the First Boston Corporation. He then moved to Brown Brothers Harriman where he worked for over 30 years; first joined in April 1990. Over the years, Molner got associated with some of the largest and oldest private banks in the United States.

Throughout his career, he became the head of a handful of corporate finances and advisory practices and later, the head of mergers and acquisitions.

Additionally, he is the head of the firm’s M&A Advisory group. He also serves as special expertise in advising owners of closely held firms in various industries, including health care services, medical technology, telecom services, marketing & information services. The financer husband of Katie Couric is also in selecting, structuring, and monitoring certain private equity investments for the firm’s 1818 Funds.

Some reports that he is also a lawyer.

Molner Was Accused Of Cheating 

A while ago, there were headlines suggesting John cheated on his then-27-year-old girlfriend, Jessica Hsu. She was a colleague of Molner at his workplace. Hsu had told the National Enquirer; “Yes, John cheated on me.”

However, Katie’s husband said that she was too young for him. The hearsay happened shortly before John would meet Couric.

Molner Relationship With His Wife, Katie Couric  

Molner married Today’s presenter, Katie Couric on June 21, 2014, at the latter’s private home in the Hamptons. At the wedding, Couric wore the dress by the designer, Carmen Marc Valvo. The ceremony took place in the backyard of Couric’s home in East Hampton, New York.

Couric describes her husband, John as a “finance guy.”

In an interview, Katie talked about her marriage to John. She said

“It took me a long time [to marry again] because I loved being married and I love being married now. And I’m not a solitary person. I like company.”

She also admired her husband’s humor. The Television Hall Of Famer added how her partner’s incredibly dry and wry sense of humor, and the inability to take himself too seriously make him fun to be around. She also loves the fact that John is a mid-westerner.

John Molner And His Wife Run A Media Company

In 2017, John co-starred alongside his wife, Couric in a cooking show, Full Plate With Katie & John.

Together, the advisor and the reporter founded Katie Couric Media, which “collaborates with some of the world’s biggest brands to create elevated, purpose-driven content.”

What Made Molner Fall For Couric?

John said he was single for years before he met Katie, and was starting to think about what he might look for in someone for the marriage. The Trinity graduate disclosed that he wanted somebody who had their own activities, their own passions, and Couric exceedingly met the requirements.

How Did John And Katie Met? 

John and Katie met through a mutual friend named, Molly Helfet, an actress.

The reporter-wife of Molner revealed to People that she was single again and asked Molly if her trauma surgeon husband knew any other doctors because she wanted to go out with a doctor. The year was 2012. Couric said her friend, however, didn’t know any doctor but they told her they had a good relationship with a banker named John Molner.

To this, the CBS anchorwoman replied, ‘Does he have a pulse?’

Katie says John had her at hello at their first meeting. The following year in 2013, the couple got engaged. John asked her to marry him in Sept. 2013 on the beach in East Hampton, New York.

Do They Have Children?

Couric and John are yet to have their first child. The news anchor, however, has two daughters with her first husband, Jay Monahan, who she married in 1989. Monahan was a lawyer and legal analyst for NBC.

Her eldest daughter, Ellie, 30, is a Yale graduate, and her second daughter, Carrie, 25, is a former student of Stanford. Carrie also has a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University.

John Molner Was Married In The Past As Well

Before Couric, John was the husband of Jane Franke Molner, with whom he shares two kids: daughter Allie and son Henry. Allie is also a Yale graduate while Henry went to Colorado College.

His former spouse, Jane was an English teacher at Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island.

On the other hand, the NBC host was also briefly in a relationship with another guy before meeting Brown Brothers Harriman’s employee. Right before having a relationship with John, Katie had dated a tennis pro, Brooks Perlin. He was was 17 years her junior.

What Does John think Of Her First Husband?

Couric’s first marriage ended after she lost her husband Monahan to colon cancer in 1998.

While Katie is seemingly happy with her current husband, Molner, she also frequently pays tribute to her late husband. She has talked about him in her recent memoir about his final days. In 2019, remembering the father of her daughters, the Arlington-born correspondent penned: “Dear Jay…It’s June 10th, 2019 and today would have been our 30th anniversary.”

Additionally, she mentioned Monahan would have liked her new husband Molner who she says honors the former’s memory and knows there is room in the reporter’s heart for both.

John Molner’s Illness

Some time ago, speaking about his disease the bank guy said, he hoped the people would appreciate him as they know they could’ve lost him. He said the time was scary. John though has never clearly discussed what disease he was suffering from.

John Molner’s Net Worth

Although Molner is not anywhere rich as his wife, Couric who has a net worth of over $100million, he is still a millionaire with multiple reports claiming his fortune to be here and there of $20million.

John and along with his wife or even before his marriage to Katie has been allegedly living a financially sound life.

The couple also often makes headlines for getting involved in properties-dealing worth over tens of millions of dollars. Their Hamptons house is reportedly estimated at over $6.3million. And in 2018, they sold their Upper East Side co-op for around $8million. Two years earlier, the corporate husband and the news anchor-wife had bought an apartment on the entire 10th floor of 151 East 78th Street, a new limestone and brick condominium on the Upper East Side. At $12.1million, the transaction at the time was one of the most expensive sales of the week.

Other Facts About John Molner

John says he thinks of himself as a private person.