Ali Velshi

Infobox journalist
name = Ali Velshi


caption =
birthname = Ali Velshi
birth_date = Birth date and age|mf=yes|1969|10|29
birth_place = Nairobi, Kenya
Alma Mater =Queen's University, Canada
occupation = Broadcast journalist, Author
alias =
status =
title = AnchorSenior Business Correspondent
family =
relatives = Murad Velshi (father)
ethnic =
religion = Muslim
salary =
networth =
credits = "American Morning"
"Anderson Cooper 360°"
Election Center
"The Situation Room"
"Your Money" host
Issue #1 host
agent = N.S. Beinstock, New York

Ali Velshi is a Canadian television journalist best known for his work on CNN. He is CNN's Senior Business Correspondent, and co-host of CNN's weekly business show, Your Money, which airs Saturdays at 1pm ET and Sundays at 3pm ET.

Background

Born Ali Velshi (his parents chose not to give him a middle name) in Kenya and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, he is the son of Murad Velshi, a business owner first in Africa and then in Canada, and the first Indian-Canadian elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

Education

Velshi earned a degree in religious studies from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. During his time at Queen's he made news organizing protests against Preston Manning and Canada's Reform Party. He previously attended Toronto's Northern Secondary School, which has produced a number of internationally successful people in the television industry.

Career

In 1996, Velshi was awarded a fellowship to the United States Congress from the American Political Science Association. In this capacity he worked with Lee Hamilton, then a Democratic Representative from Indiana. [http://www.cnn.com/CNN/anchors_reporters/velshi.ali.html]

Television

In Toronto, Velshi began his professional reporting career as a General Assignment reporter for CFTO. He later became a business reporter and anchor for CablePulse 24 and its sister station CityTV. In 1999, he joined Report on Business Television, (Now BNN - Business News Network, Canada's first all business news specialty channel. Velshi hosted "The Business News", Canada's first prime time business news hour.

CNN

Velshi returned to the U.S. in September 2001, joining business news channel CNNfn in New York City. He anchored several shows including "Insights", "Business Unusual", "Street Sweep", Your Money and he co-hosted "The Money Gang" with his friend Pat Kiernan before the network closed down in December 2004.

Reassigned to the main United States CNN network, he remained a business anchor and reporter posted, initially, to CNN's early morning program, "Daybreak." In 2005, Velshi hosted 13 hour-long episodes of "The Turnaround", a reality television show, during which he traveled across America, introducing small business owners who were facing challenges or seeking to grow their businesses, to high-profile mentors who helped the small business owners develop a plan for success. [http://money.cnn.com/ontv/turnaround/]

After "The Turnaround", Velshi was assigned to the newly-launched "The Situation Room" from 2005 to 2006. Velshi joined "American Morning" in late 2006.

In 2008, Velshi fed his desire to discover America with a cross-country road-trip aboard the CNN Election Express, during which he travelled from Myrtle Beach, SC to Los Angeles, CA, stopping along the way to discuss money issues with Americans. Velshi also spent 10 days riding the CNN Election Express through rural Texas before that state's 2008 primaries.

Velshi covers business, finance, markets and economics daily for CNN/U.S. programs such as American Morning, "The Situation Room", Election Center and AC360. On Saturday and Sunday he co-hosts a business program called "Your Money", along with the current daily program "Issue #1".

Velshi also hosts CNN's "Energy Hunt" which took him to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and to the Oil Sands of Canada in 2008.

Tragic events during 2008 made Velshi a household name. He began the year reporting from the now-destroyed Marriott Hotel [http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/09/20/pakistan.islamabad.marriott.blast/?imw=Y&iref=mpstoryemail] in Islamabad, Pakistan, after the killing of Benazir Bhutto. [http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/12/30/pakistan.politics/index.html] During coverage of Hurricanes Gustav [http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/weather/2008/09/01/velshi.hurricane.hits.cnn?iref=videosearch] and Ike, Velshi appeared on air day and night on location from hurricane-stricken areas, as the storms hit. Velshi's hurricane reporting started in 2005 during Katrina, where he reported live during the evacuation of an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, and then from damaged oil facilities in Eastern Texas and Southern Louisiana

During the financial crisis of 2008, Velshi again appeared on television frequently throughout the day on shows like "American Morning" and "Anderson Cooper 360°", and took viewers' live calls during special editions of "Your Money", and during his weekly call-in radio show.

Velshi files the weekly "Ali V" podcast, downloadable from iTunes, hosts a weekly call-in radio show "Issue #1", and takes viewers questions about money from the "Ask Ali" link which appears on [http://www.CNN.com/am] , [http://www.CNNMoney.com] , and [http://www.CNN.com]

Writings

Velshi is represented by the New York talent agency N. S. Beinstock [http://www.nsbienstock.com/] , and by literary agency Metropol Literary [http://www.metlit.com/main.html] . His first book, "Get Rich, Sleep Well", is expected to be published by Sterling & Ross [ http://www.sterlingandross.com/ ] in summer 2009.

"Recession-proof investing - that’s the idea behind the book – that people can invest their money without worrying about it. There’s no way to eliminate risk in investments, but there is a way to take on an amount of risk that is suited to your age and personality. That’s what I’m aiming to help people with.""

[http://www.allthingscnn.com/2008/06/getting-to-knowali-velshi.html All Things CNN: Getting To Know...Ali Velshi] , June 12, 2008 (Retrieved on September 28, 2008).]

Pop Culture

Referencing Velshi's signature bald pate, the comedian Jon Stewart has referred to Velshi as the "Hairless Prophet of Doom" on The Daily Show, [http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=167524&title=The-Economy---Not-Unbad?&byDate=true] -- the "H-Pod" moniker is now frequently repeated by "American Morning" anchor John Roberts and others.

Velshi has also appeared on talk show programs such as The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Memberships

Velshi is a member of the Economic Club of New York [http://www.econclubny.com/] , and the New York Financial Writers Association [http://www.nyfwa.org/] .

References

External links

* [http://www.cnn.com/CNN/anchors_reporters/velshi.ali.html Ali Velshi] , CNN.com biography
* [http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/inthemoney/ Your $$$$$]