Fareed Zakaria Profile
Fareed Zakaria is an Indian-American journalist, political commentator, and author. Moreover, he is the host of CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS and writes a weekly paid column for The Washington Post He has been a columnist for Newsweek, editor of Newsweek International, and an editor at large of Time.
Fareed Zakaria Age
Zakaria is 60 years old as of 2023, he was born on 20th January 1964 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Additionally, he celebrates his birthday on the 20th of January every year.
Fareed Zakaria Height
He stands at an average height of 5 feet 8 inches tall.
Fareed Zakaria Family
Zakaria was born in Mumbai, India, into a Konkani Muslim family. His father, Rafiq Zakaria (1920–2005), was a prominent political figure affiliated with the Indian National Congress and also a respected Islamic theologian. His mother, Fatima Zakaria (1936–2021), who was his father’s second wife, served as the editor of the Sunday Times of India for a period. Tragically, she passed away during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fareed Zakaria Education
Zakaria received his education at the Cathedral and John Connon School in Mumbai. He completed his Bachelor of Arts degree at Yale University in 1986, where he held the position of president of the Yale Political Union, served as editor-in-chief of the Yale Political Monthly, was a member of the Scroll and Key Society, and was affiliated with the Party of the Right.
Subsequently, he earned a Ph.D. in government from Harvard University in 1993. His doctoral studies were conducted under the guidance of Samuel P. Huntington, Stanley Hoffmann, and the international relations theorist Robert Keohane.
Fareed Zakaria Wife
Zakaria is married to Paula Throckmorton, who is a jewelry designer, meditation teacher, and writer. In 2018, Paula filed for divorce from Fareed after 21 years of marriage, citing an “irretrievable breakdown” in their relationship. Their initial separation occurred in 2011, and Fareed released a statement at the time, saying, “It’s true that we’re having troubles, and I have taken a small apartment a few blocks away, but I still live at our house most days of the week.
We’re trying to work things out, and divorce is not on the horizon.” Regrettably, they were unable to reconcile their relationship but managed to have an amicable divorce. The couple has three children: Lila Zakaria, Sofia Zakaria, and Omar Zakaria.
Fareed Zakaria Career
After leading a research project on American foreign policy at Harvard, Zakaria assumed the role of managing editor of Foreign Affairs in 1992, a remarkable achievement at the age of 28. During his tenure, the magazine underwent a significant transformation, shifting from a quarterly publication to a bi-monthly schedule. Concurrently, he held the position of adjunct professor at Columbia University, where he conducted seminars on international relations.
In October 2000, he was appointed as the editor of Newsweek International and began a weekly column for Newsweek. In August 2010, Zakaria transitioned to Time, taking on the role of editor at large and columnist. Additionally, he contributes a weekly column to The Washington Post and serves as a contributing editor for the Atlantic Media group, which includes The Atlantic Monthly.
Zakaria was a news analyst on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos from 2002 to 2007, participating in the Sunday morning roundtable discussions. He also hosted the TV news program Foreign Exchange with Fareed Zakaria on PBS from 2005 to 2008.
His flagship show, Fareed Zakaria GPS (Global Public Square), made its debut on CNN in June 2008. The program airs twice weekly in the United States and four times weekly on CNN International, reaching an audience of over 200 million households. In June 2018, it celebrated its 10th anniversary, as announced on the weekly foreign affairs show on CNN.
Fareed Zakaria Political Views
Zakaria characterizes his political stance as centrist, although he has been labeled at various times as a political liberal, a conservative, a moderate, or even a radical centrist. George Stephanopoulos commented in 2003, “He’s so well-versed in politics, and he can’t be pigeonholed. I can’t be sure whenever I turn to him where he’s going to be coming from or what he’s going to say.”
In February 2008, Zakaria wrote that “Conservatism grew powerful in the 1970s and 1980s because it proposed solutions appropriate to the problems of the age,” and he added that “a new world requires new thinking.”
He openly supported Barack Obama during the 2008 Democratic primary campaign and for the presidential election. In January 2009, Forbes recognized Zakaria as one of the 25 most influential liberals in American media. Zakaria has emphasized that he endeavors not to align with any particular ideology, explaining, “I feel that’s part of my job… which is not to pick sides but to explain what I think is happening on the ground.
I can’t say, ‘This is my team, and I’m going to root for them no matter what they do.'” In March 2021, Zakaria expressed criticism regarding the size of the U.S. military budget, highlighting that “The United States F-35 fighter jet program, plagued by cost overruns and technical problems, will ultimately cost taxpayers $1.7 trillion.”
Fareed Zakaria Washington Post article
In July 2022, Zakaria authored a Washington Post article with the title “Forget pronouns. Democrats need to become the party of building things,” in which he argued, “There is ample evidence that the Democratic Party has shifted to the left, diverging from the views of many Americans on various cultural issues. To rectify this divergence, the party needs to return to its roots.”
He emphasized, “This isn’t just a matter of public perception but a genuine issue. Democrats should rediscover their role as the party that achieves concrete results, fosters infrastructure development, and ensures effective government for the people. These priorities matter significantly more to the majority of Americans than using the right pronouns.”
Fareed Zakaria Net Worth
Zakaria has an estimated annual net worth of $ 15 million to $ 20 million earned from his career as a Host.
Fareed Zakaria Social Media Platforms
Zakaria is very active on his Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook pages. He has 1 Million followers on Twitter, 48.2k followers on Instagram, and 754k followers on Facebook.