NYC Radio: WABC Is America’s Top Talk Radio Station

John Catsimatidis, the 77-year-old billionaire owner of New York grocery chains and oil assets, has transformed the once-fading AM station WABC into the most listened-to talk radio station in the United States, according to Nielsen data. Since acquiring the station in 2019, he has grown its weekly audience to more than 400,000 listeners.

According to a Los Angeles Times profile, Catsimatidis co-hosts the station’s award-winning evening show “Cats & Cosby” alongside veteran journalist Rita Cosby, interviewing political figures and like-minded guests daily. 

He maintains close ties with President Trump, a relationship spanning 45 years that has helped place WABC in the national political spotlight. In December, Trump first revealed the U.S. military’s initial land strike on Venezuela during a call into the station.

The billionaire’s profile is rising further with a cameo role as businessman Christopher Galanis in the Oscar-nominated film “Marty Supreme,” which begins streaming on HBO Max on April 24 and reaches about 60 million U.S. subscribers. Director Josh Safdie cast him after noticing his “larger-than-life regional businessman” persona during his 2013 New York City mayoral run.  Catsimatidis previously rented a basement apartment to real-life table tennis champion Marty Reisman, who inspired the film.

While many billionaires fund space exploration or longevity research, Catsimatidis chose to invest his fortune in reviving a traditional AM talk radio station past its prime. In a midtown Manhattan studio overlooking Third Avenue, he appears distracted on air—scrolling his phone—but snaps to attention with concise opinions when prompted.

“He can look like he’s taking a little bit of a nap, but he’s always ahead of you in the conversation,” said radio consultant Jerry Crowley, who first gave Catsimatidis his own show years earlier.

Catsimatidis built his empire from humble beginnings. 

Born in Greece, he immigrated to the U.S. as a toddler after his father served 16 years as a lighthouse keeper on a remote island. Raised in West Harlem, he studied electrical engineering at New York University but dropped out to pursue business. 

As a teenager, he sold aftershave from his car trunk. In the late 1960s, he bought a 50% stake in the Manhattan supermarket where he worked as a clerk and grew it into the Red Apple Group, which now includes Gristedes supermarkets, hundreds of gas stations, an oil refinery, and extensive real estate holdings.

The station remains a passion project for the self-made magnate, who continues blending business success, on-air commentary, and unexpected Hollywood cameos into a larger-than-life career.