Matt Lauer put his ample $25 million annual salary to good use Thursday afternoon.
The “Today” co-anchor paid for the NBC morning show’s holiday party at the Gallery at Dream Downtown, picking up the bar tab for about 500 people.
Spies told us the entire cast and crew — including Savannah Guthrie, Al Roker, Natalie Morales, Willie Geist, Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb — partied hard at the Chelsea hot spot beginning at 11:30 a.m., a half-hour after their show finished.
The bash included “Liquid Sunrise” cocktails and dancing to music by DJ Journey.
“Today” executive producer Don Nash told the crowd: “Please give a big thanks to Matt Lauer — his generosity is the reason we are all celebrating at this party.”
Nash also toasted the show’s effort to close the ratings gap with ABC’s “Good Morning America” this year, saying, “We are on our way back and that’s because of all of you.”