Rahel Solomon spent years waking viewers up as the face of CNN’s early morning business coverage. Then, in March 2026, she surprised her own audience by announcing she was leaving the network live on air. Here’s who she is, how she got to CNN, and what’s actually known about her next move.
Background: Who Is Rahel Solomon?
Rahel Solomon is a television journalist known for covering business news, first at CNBC and then at CNN, where she anchored the early morning show Early Start with Rahel Solomon. People search her name for two main reasons: they recognize her from CNN’s business desk, or they saw the news that she’s stepping away from the network and want to know why.
She was born in Sudan to Ethiopian parents, and her family moved to the United States when she was three years old, settling in West Philadelphia. That mix of an East African birthplace and a Philadelphia upbringing shows up often in profiles of her, since she’s spoken about both parts of her background publicly.
Before she ever sat behind an anchor desk, Solomon worked her way through smaller television markets, the kind of unglamorous local-news jobs that rarely make headlines but build the reporting instincts a national anchor needs. That grinding path through West Virginia and Colorado newsrooms is part of why her later rise to CNN reads less like a lucky break and more like the payoff of a decade of groundwork.
📌 Quick fact: Solomon is a self-described distance runner. She has said she’s completed a half marathon, a full marathon, and several 10-mile races.
Latest Update
Solomon announced on air, on March 23, 2026, that she would be leaving CNN, with her final day coming that Friday. A CNN spokesperson said the network was “grateful” for her contributions “over the past four years” and wished her well in her “next chapter.” CNN had not announced a replacement host for Early Start at the time of her exit announcement, and the network has not publicly confirmed what Solomon is doing next.
Her departure came not long after she returned from maternity leave. She had announced in December 2025 that she’d become a mother, following six months away from the anchor desk that began around June 2025. As of this writing, no further update on her next career step has been verified through an official source, so anything beyond what CNN and Solomon have already confirmed should be treated as unconfirmed.
⚠️ Good to know: Several unofficial fan and biography sites list details about Solomon’s height, exact salary, and extended family that are not confirmed by any primary source. Where that’s the case below, it’s labeled “unconfirmed” rather than stated as fact.
Full Profile
Family and Early Life
Solomon was born on October 4, 1988, in Sudan. Her parents are of Ethiopian origin, and the family relocated to West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, when she was three, in part to be near extended family already living in the area. She grew up between West Philadelphia and Delaware County. Details about her parents’ names and any siblings are not confirmed through a verifiable primary source, so they’re not included here as fact.
Career Path
Solomon’s journalism career started with a production assistant role at NBC10 Philadelphia in 2011, followed by a short investigative internship at CNN in 2012. She then worked as a multimedia journalist at WSAZ-TV in Charleston, West Virginia, before moving to KCNC-TV in Denver as a reporter and fill-in anchor. While in Denver, the Colorado Association of Black Journalists named her Broadcast Journalist of the Year in 2015.
From September 2015 to February 2019, she worked at CBS3 in Philadelphia, first as a general assignment reporter and weekend anchor, then as a weekday morning anchor. In March 2019, she moved into business journalism at CNBC as a general assignment reporter. She joined CNN in April 2022 as a business correspondent for CNN International, and in 2025 was named anchor of the network’s early morning show, a role she held until her March 2026 exit.
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 2011 | Production assistant, NBC10 Philadelphia |
| 2012 | Investigative intern, CNN |
| 2013–2014 | Multimedia journalist, WSAZ-TV (WV); reporter, KCNC-TV (Denver) |
| 2015 | Named Broadcast Journalist of the Year, Colorado Association of Black Journalists |
| 2015–2019 | Reporter and anchor, CBS3 Philadelphia |
| 2019–2022 | General assignment reporter, CNBC Business News |
| 2022–2026 | Business correspondent, then anchor, CNN |
| March 2026 | Announced departure from CNN |
Age
Solomon was born on October 4, 1988, which puts her at 37 years old as of this article’s publish date.
Religion
Solomon’s religious beliefs are not publicly confirmed. This detail is marked unconfirmed rather than guessed at.
Spouse/Partner
Solomon married Marcel S. Pratt, a Philadelphia-based lawyer, on July 13, 2024, at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The couple welcomed a daughter, whom Solomon announced publicly in December 2025.
Net Worth
Solomon’s exact net worth has not been officially disclosed. Unofficial estimates from entertainment and biography sites place it somewhere between $1 million and $5 million, based on her television salary history, but this figure is not independently verified and should be treated as an estimate, not a confirmed fact.
Parents
Solomon’s parents are of Ethiopian origin and raised her in Sudan before the family moved to the United States. Their names have not been confirmed through a verifiable public source.
Height
Solomon’s exact height is not consistently confirmed across public sources, with unofficial estimates ranging from 5 feet 3 inches to 5 feet 6 inches. Because these figures conflict and none comes from a verified primary source, no single number is stated as fact here.
Education
Solomon earned a Bachelor of Science in Finance, with honors, from St. John’s University’s Peter J. Tobin College of Business in 2010. She went on to earn a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
Hometown/State of Origin
Solomon was born in Sudan and considers West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, her hometown, having grown up there from age three.
Official Social Media
You can follow Rahel Solomon on Instagram: @rahelsolomon.
✅ Key takeaway: Solomon’s move from local news to CNBC to CNN followed a fairly typical business-journalism ladder — but her March 2026 exit from CNN was announced suddenly, and her next step hasn’t been confirmed yet.
Reader Questions (FAQ)
Is Rahel Solomon still at CNN?
No. Solomon announced live on air on March 23, 2026, that she was leaving CNN, with her last day that same week. CNN has not named a permanent replacement as of this writing.
How old is Rahel Solomon?
Solomon was born on October 4, 1988, making her 37 years old as of this article’s publish date.
Who is Rahel Solomon’s husband?
She is married to Marcel S. Pratt, a Philadelphia-based lawyer. The couple married on July 13, 2024, and welcomed a daughter, announced in December 2025.
Where is Rahel Solomon from?
She was born in Sudan to Ethiopian parents and moved to West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at age three, which she considers her hometown.
What did Rahel Solomon study in college?
She earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from St. John’s University and a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.
Why is Rahel Solomon trending right now?
She’s trending because of her surprise on-air announcement in March 2026 that she was leaving CNN after nearly four years with the network, shortly after returning from maternity leave.
Wrap-Up
Rahel Solomon’s career shows a pretty clear pattern: steady moves upward through local news, into cable business coverage, and finally into a national anchor chair, each step backed by real reporting experience rather than a shortcut to fame. That’s part of why her sudden CNN exit caught people off guard — she’d only recently stepped into the anchor role full-time.
What happens next for her is still an open question. Until CNN or Solomon herself confirms a next move, any specific claim about where she’s headed should be treated as speculation, not fact.
For now, her verified story is straightforward: a Sudan-born, Philadelphia-raised journalist who built a business news career over more than a decade, got married, became a mother, and then chose to step away from a major network on her own terms.
Smith Andrew is the Founder and Editor of BiographyCabal. He researches, writes, and edits accurate, engaging, and well-researched biographies of celebrities, entrepreneurs, athletes, influencers, politicians, and other notable public figures. Committed to factual reporting and quality storytelling, Smith ensures every article is reader-focused, informative, and based on reliable sources, helping readers discover the lives, careers, and achievements of influential people around the world.