Conservative radio personality Rush Limbaugh speaks before introducing President Donald Trump at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, FL on Dec. 21, 2019. The right-wing broadcaster has been close friends with Trump for years and is a strong supporter of his presidency. Rush began his radio career while still in high school in his hometown of Cape Girardeau, MO in 1967. He worked as a DJ at various stations across the U.S. in the 70s and 80s. He came into his own as a conservative radio voice in 1998, a year after the FCC eliminated the “Fairness Doctrine,” where radio stations had to offer free air time to counter any outrageous or one-sided policial viewpoints. His show became syndicated in 1988, and Rush made a name for himself with outrageous comments about feminism, minority rights, and mocking others. In 1994 he calling then-first daughter Chelsea Clinton — who was only 13 — a “dog.” In 1996, Rush moved his radio show from New York to his newly purchased home in West Palm Beach, FL. Florida has no state income tax, which has come in handy as he has signed several nine-figure contracts over the last two decades. In 2018, ‘Forbes’ named him the second highest earning radio host, raking in $84.5 million that year, just behind Howard Stern’s $90 million. On Feb. 3, 2020, Rush announced that he’d been diagnosed with advanced lung cancer. The cigar-loving host said he’d be taking a few days off for treatment, but vowed to keep broadcasting his three hour daily radio show as many days as he could.
