Melissa Lee Biography: Age, Husband Ben Kallo, Children & CNBC
Melissa Lee is an American journalist and CNBC television anchor best known as the host of Fast Money and co-anchor of Closing Bell: Overtime. She joined CNBC in 2004 and has built a career covering financial markets, business and investing.
Lee graduated with honors from Harvard College with a bachelor’s degree in Government. Before joining CNBC, she worked in financial journalism at Bloomberg Television and CNN Financial News and also worked as a management consultant.
Outside her television career, Melissa Lee is married to Ben Kallo, a financial analyst. The couple have twins, a son and a daughter, born in 2019.
Melissa Lee Quick Facts
| Information | Details |
| Full name | Melissa Lee |
| Date of birth | November 4, 1974 |
| Age in 2026 | 51 years old |
| Birthplace | Great Neck, New York, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Harvard College |
| Degree | Bachelor of Arts in Government |
| Profession | Journalist, television anchor |
| Employer | CNBC |
| Known for | Fast Money, Closing Bell: Overtime |
| Husband | Ben Kallo |
| Children | Twins |
| Joined CNBC | 2004 |
Who Is Melissa Lee?
Melissa Lee is a veteran financial journalist and television anchor who has worked at CNBC since 2004. She is particularly recognized for presenting financial-market news and interviewing business leaders, investors and market professionals. Over her CNBC career, she has hosted or co-hosted several programs, including Fast Money, Closing Bell: Overtime, Power Lunch, Squawk on the Street, Options Action and Money in Motion: Currency Trading.
Her work has also included documentaries and investigative reports covering subjects ranging from financial markets to technology, healthcare and consumer issues. CNBC says she has reported more than a dozen one-hour documentaries for the network.
Melissa Lee Age and Birthday
Melissa Lee was born on November 4, 1974, in Great Neck, New York. She is 51 years old in 2026.
Melissa Lee Education
Melissa Lee attended Harvard College, where she graduated with honors with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government. While at Harvard, she was also involved with The Harvard Crimson, serving as an Assistant Managing Editor.
Lee originally considered a medical career and was pre-med at Harvard before changing direction toward journalism. In an interview about her career, she explained how her experiences in newspapers and financial media eventually led her toward television journalism.
Melissa Lee’s Early Career
Before becoming a familiar face on CNBC, Melissa Lee worked in several areas of business and financial journalism. She began her professional journalism career with the Great Neck Record, her hometown newspaper.
She later worked at CNN Financial News and Bloomberg Television. She also worked as a consultant at Mercer Management Consulting, where her work included cases involving banking and credit cards. That financial background helped prepare her for a career covering Wall Street and the business world.
When Did Melissa Lee Join CNBC?
Melissa Lee joined CNBC in 2004 as a general assignment reporter. Over time, she moved into increasingly prominent roles covering banking, hedge funds, private equity and financial markets.
Her long tenure at CNBC has made her one of the network’s recognizable financial-news personalities.
Melissa Lee and Fast Money
Melissa Lee is best known to many viewers as the host of CNBC’s Fast Money. The program features a panel of traders and market professionals who discuss the day’s major financial-market developments, stocks and investment themes.
As of 2026, CNBC identifies Lee as the host of Fast Money, which airs on weekday evenings.
The program continues to release new episodes, with Lee hosting discussions about current market developments and major business stories.
Melissa Lee and Closing Bell: Overtime
In addition to Fast Money, Melissa Lee is currently a co-anchor of CNBC’s Closing Bell: Overtime.
CNBC lists the program as airing Monday through Friday from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. ET, with Lee based at the Nasdaq MarketSite studio in New York City’s Times Square.
Who Is Melissa Lee’s Husband?
Melissa Lee is married to Ben Kallo, a financial analyst. The couple married in 2017. Kallo has worked as a financial analyst, and his professional background is also connected to financial markets.
Melissa Lee and Ben Kallo
Melissa Lee is married to financial analyst Ben Kallo. The couple married in 2017 and welcomed twins in 2019. They have generally kept their family life private, so relatively little personal information about their relationship is publicly available.
Does Melissa Lee Have Children?
Yes. Melissa Lee and Ben Kallo have twins, a son and a daughter.
The twins were born in 2019. CNBC colleagues publicly celebrated the birth at the time, and biographical sources have subsequently identified them as twins.
Lee has generally maintained a degree of privacy around her children, so detailed information about their personal lives is not widely publicized.
What Happened to Melissa Lee on CNBC?
Melissa Lee has not left CNBC. This is important because older online articles sometimes create confusion about her status by referring to her maternity leave in 2019–2020.
After giving birth to her twins, Lee took maternity leave before returning to CNBC. She subsequently continued her career with the network and remains a prominent CNBC anchor.
As of 2026, CNBC lists her as host of Fast Money and co-anchor of Closing Bell: Overtime.
What Is Melissa Lee Doing Now?
In 2026, Melissa Lee continues to work at CNBC.
Her current roles include:
- Host of Fast Money
- Co-anchor of Closing Bell: Overtime
- Financial-market journalist and interviewer
- Reporter and contributor on CNBC’s business and financial coverage
CNBC also credits her with reporting documentaries and investigative stories on subjects including healthcare, technology, financial markets and consumer issues.
Recent episodes of Fast Money continue to feature Lee discussing current market developments with a panel of traders and financial professionals.
Melissa Lee Career and Awards
Melissa Lee has received recognition for her work in business journalism.
CNBC reports that she received a 2010 Gracie Award for Outstanding Host-News and has been nominated for two Emmy Awards in Business News. She also received a Gerald Loeb Award nomination for her work on a CNBC special report about the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
Her reporting has included documentaries such as:
- Big Shot: the Ozempic Revolution
- Generation Gamble
- How the AMC Apes Cracked Wall Street
- Bitcoin: Boom or Bust
- Code Wars: America’s Cyber Threat
- Coca-Cola: The Real Story Behind the Real Thing
CNBC also highlights investigative reporting by Lee, including stories involving the black market for obesity drugs and illegal marijuana shops.
Melissa Lee Net Worth
Melissa Lee’s exact net worth is not publicly verified.
Her long career at CNBC and work as a prominent financial journalist have made her a successful television personality, but her salary, investments and total personal assets are not publicly disclosed in a sufficiently reliable way to establish an exact net-worth figure.
Melissa Lee’s Family Background
Melissa Lee was born and raised in Great Neck, New York. Her family has Chinese-American roots. Her grandfather immigrated from rural China to Buffalo, New York, with his wife and children. Her father later moved to Great Neck after graduating from Columbia University.
Lee has spoken about being inspired by New York television news anchor Kaity Tong and about how that early interest influenced her decision to pursue journalism.
Melissa Lee Career Timeline
1974: Melissa Lee is born in Great Neck, New York.
1995: She graduates with honors from Harvard College with a degree in Government.
1990s: She begins developing her journalism career, including work at the Great Neck Record and financial-media organizations.
Before CNBC: She works at CNN Financial News and Bloomberg Television and previously works in management consulting.
2004: Lee joins CNBC as a general assignment reporter.
2009: She becomes the permanent host of Fast Money following Dylan Ratigan’s departure from CNBC.
2017: Melissa Lee marries financial analyst Ben Kallo.
2019: Lee and Kallo welcome twins.
2020: Lee returns to CNBC following maternity leave.
2024: CNBC features Lee in reporting and documentary projects including Big Shot: the Ozempic Revolution.
2026: CNBC lists Lee as host of Fast Money and co-anchor of Closing Bell: Overtime.
Frequently Asked Questions About Melissa Lee
Who is Melissa Lee’s husband?
Melissa Lee is married to Ben Kallo, a financial analyst. The couple married in 2017.
Who Is Ben Kallo, Melissa Lee’s Husband?
Ben Kallo is a financial analyst and the husband of CNBC journalist Melissa Lee.
Does Melissa Lee have children?
Yes. Melissa Lee and Ben Kallo have twins, a son and a daughter, who were born in 2019.
How old is Melissa Lee?
Melissa Lee was born November 4, 1974. She is 51 years old in 2026.
When did Melissa Lee join CNBC?
Melissa Lee joined CNBC in 2004.
What is Melissa Lee known for?
She is best known for hosting CNBC’s Fast Money and for her work as a financial journalist and television anchor.
Is Melissa Lee still on CNBC?
Yes. As of 2026, CNBC lists Melissa Lee as the host of Fast Money and co-anchor of Closing Bell: Overtime.
Where did Melissa Lee go to college?
Melissa Lee graduated with honors from Harvard College, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Government. Events
What is Melissa Lee’s net worth?
Her exact net worth is not publicly verified. Online estimates vary, so a specific figure should not be treated as confirmed unless supported by reliable financial sources.
Final Thoughts
Melissa Lee has built a more than two-decade career in financial journalism, rising from early roles in newspapers and financial television to becoming one of CNBC’s best-known anchors.
Her career includes Fast Money, Closing Bell: Overtime, financial-market reporting, documentaries and investigative journalism. She is also known publicly as the wife of financial analyst Ben Kallo and the mother of twins.
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Updated: October 7, 2026By CelebMezzo Editorial Team
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