Larry Kudlow, the charismatic CNBC anchor who was a star Wall Street economist and Ronald Reagan adviser, has described his decades-long battle against addiction.
Speaking to 500 guests at the Silver Hill Hospital Gala at Cipriani 42nd Street,LARRY Kudlow, the charismatic CNBC anchor who was a star Wall Street economist and Ronald Reagan adviser, described his decades-long battle against addiction.
“I have struggled with drug and alcohol addiction for many years, and I don’t believe I have conquered it. I take it one day at a time. I am 18 years sober,” an emotional Kudlow said.
Kudlow checked in for long-term treatment at Hazelden in 1995. He had made a public confession of his drug problem after he was forced to resign as chief economist at Bear Stearns. He attends AA meetings at Silver Hill to this day.
Kudlow, 66, continued, “I never believed I could be clean and sober, it’s been 18 years-plus. I was at Hazelden for five months; they helped me a lot. But it’s not cheap — the insurance companies are getting tougher. We need to donate money to make these programs available to all.
“I needed long-term care, and I didn’t have any money. I’d spent it on my addiction . . . this was the end of the line. I was unemployable. My wonderful wife had stopped enabling me, and filed for divorce. We’ve been married 26 years, but at that moment it was very difficult.
“I told my counselor, ‘I need help. I surrender, I am on my knees, I am powerless.’ She said, ‘We are going to invest in you’. And I broke down and cried. I stayed, and things got better. It was a turning point for me . . . it has given me a new career which I never even saw coming. Only, I was sober enough to walk through the door when it was open. I show up every night and do my job to be a broadcaster on TV and radio, but most of all I am a recovering alcoholic, and I never forget that.”
Michael Cominotto and his husband, Dennis Basso, created the Silver Hill gala, which has been running for four years, raising more than $4.5 million to fund programs for adolescents and young adults. Also honored were Peter and Beverly Orthwein.
Guests included Amy Fine Collins, Nina Griscom, Alex Hitz, Debbie Bancroft and Eva Lorenzotti. Cyndi Lauper performed.