The name Daniel A. Jost appears in search results almost always beside a more famous one, that of his son, comedian and Saturday Night Live writer Colin Jost. Daniel A. Jost never sought the spotlight himself. He spent his working life in education, teaching at a high school on Staten Island, while raising two sons in a household that valued study, faith, and public service. This article gathers what is publicly known and verifiable about him, and is equally clear about what is not.
Unlike celebrities whose finances are tracked by business magazines, a retired teacher lives outside the world of public wealth estimates. That matters for readers who arrive here with a simple question about his net worth. There is no verified number. What follows is an honest profile built only from facts that reputable sources have reported, with plain labels wherever the public record goes quiet.
Key Takeaways
- Daniel A. Jost is the father of comedian and Saturday Night Live star Colin Jost, and of writer and producer Casey Jost.
- He worked as a teacher at Staten Island Technical High School in New York City, and is now retired.
- His wife, Kerry J. Kelly, served as the chief medical officer of the New York City Fire Department.
- No reliable source has ever published Daniel A. Jost’s net worth, and any figure found online is speculation.
Colin Jost’s public biography gives the clearest window into his father’s life. According to his widely sourced biography, Colin was born on June 29, 1982, in New York City and raised in a Catholic household in the Grymes Hill neighborhood of Staten Island. His mother, Kerry J. Kelly, was the chief medical officer for the New York City Fire Department, and his father, Daniel A. Jost, was a teacher at Staten Island Technical High School.
The Jost household paired two demanding callings. While Kerry Kelly served the city through the fire department’s medical service, including through the September 11 attacks era when the department’s medical response drew national attention, Daniel A. Jost worked daily with teenagers in a classroom. Friends and coverage of the family describe an upbringing shaped by education and civic duty rather than by show business.
That background helps explain the comedian his elder son became. Colin Jost worked as a teen correspondent for the Staten Island Advance, attended Regis High School in Manhattan, graduated from Harvard University, and joined Saturday Night Live as a writer in 2005 before becoming the co-anchor of Weekend Update. The discipline of a teacher’s home and the example of a mother in public service run through that story.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Daniel A. Jost |
| Best known as | Father of comedian Colin Jost |
| Profession | Former teacher, Staten Island Technical High School |
| Employment status | Retired |
| Spouse | Dr. Kerry J. Kelly |
| Children | Colin Jost and Casey Jost |
| Family home | Grymes Hill, Staten Island, New York City |
| Net worth | Not publicly disclosed |
Who is Daniel A. Jost?
Daniel A. Jost is an American former high school teacher from Staten Island, New York. He is the father of Colin Jost, the comedian, writer, and actor best known as the co-anchor of Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live, and of Casey Jost, a writer and producer whose credits include the television series Impractical Jokers.
He is not himself a public figure in the entertainment sense. He has given no major interviews, published no memoir, and held no public office. His public identity rests entirely on verifiable biographical facts reported in connection with his son’s career and on his appearances at family milestones, such as the College of Staten Island ceremony in June 2025 where his son received an honorary doctorate and both parents attended.
What is Daniel A. Jost’s net worth?
The direct answer is that Daniel A. Jost’s net worth has never been publicly disclosed, and no reliable figure exists. He was a career public school teacher, and retired teachers do not file the kind of financial disclosures that allow wealth estimators to calculate a net worth.
Readers should treat any website that attaches a dollar amount to Daniel A. Jost with skepticism. Such pages typically publish guesses dressed as data, sometimes borrowing a celebrity relative’s fortune and implying it is shared. A teacher’s pension and savings from a long career in New York City public schools can provide a comfortable retirement, but that is a general observation, not a measured estimate of any individual’s accounts.
For context on how this site treats similar figures, our profiles of other celebrity family members, such as Anton James Pacino and Dakota Alan Norris, apply the same rule, reporting only what public records actually confirm.
What did Daniel A. Jost do for a living?
Daniel A. Jost worked as a teacher at Staten Island Technical High School, a well-regarded public specialized high school in Staten Island, New York City. Multiple biographies of his son confirm this, and the College of Staten Island’s own coverage of its 2025 honorary doctorate ceremony described him as a retired Staten Island Tech teacher.
Teaching at a specialized high school like Staten Island Tech means working with academically advanced students preparing for competitive colleges, and former students and local coverage have described him as part of the borough’s dedicated educator community. He appears to have spent the bulk of his career in that one role before retiring.
Who is Daniel A. Jost’s wife?
Daniel A. Jost is married to Dr. Kerry J. Kelly. Her career is a matter of substantial public record. She was the chief medical officer for the New York City Fire Department, the first woman to hold that position, and she served the department for decades, including as a key figure in its medical response around the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Local press coverage of the couple, including the College of Staten Island’s report on its 2025 ceremony, notes that the two attended together as Colin Jost’s parents. Their marriage has spanned decades, and together they raised their sons in Grymes Hill on Staten Island.
Who are Daniel A. Jost’s children?
Daniel A. Jost has two sons.
- Colin Jost, born June 29, 1982, is a comedian, writer, and actor. He joined Saturday Night Live as a writer in 2005, later became co-head writer, and since 2014 has co-anchored Weekend Update. He is married to actress Scarlett Johansson, and their son, Cosmo, born in 2021, made Daniel A. Jost a grandfather.
- Casey Jost, the younger son, is a writer and producer best known for his work on the comedy series Impractical Jokers. He has also appeared in film roles, including Staten Island Summer, which his brother co-wrote.
The brothers’ parallel paths into comedy writing suggest a household where humor and language were taken seriously, exactly what one might expect from a teacher’s home.
What is known about Daniel A. Jost’s early life?
Very little is confirmed. Daniel A. Jost keeps a private profile, and major biographical sources do not publish his date or place of birth, his schooling, or the year he began teaching. Some entertainment blogs circulate unsourced details about his birth and marriage dates, but without a reputable source behind them, this article does not repeat them as fact.
What is confirmed is the adult life he built on Staten Island, the school where he taught, the wife he married, and the two sons he raised there. For a man who never chased publicity, the verified record is appropriately modest.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Daniel A. Jost related to Colin Jost?
Yes. Daniel A. Jost is the father of Colin Jost, the Saturday Night Live comedian and Weekend Update co-anchor. This is confirmed in Colin Jost’s widely sourced biographies and by the College of Staten Island, which identified Daniel as Colin’s father at the 2025 honorary doctorate ceremony.
What is Daniel A. Jost’s net worth?
No verified figure exists. Daniel A. Jost was a retired public school teacher, and no reliable publication has ever reported his net worth. Any dollar amount found online is speculation, not verified reporting.
Was Daniel A. Jost a teacher?
Yes. He was a teacher at Staten Island Technical High School in Staten Island, New York City, and is now retired. The College of Staten Island described him as a retired Staten Island Tech teacher in its 2025 coverage.
Who is Daniel A. Jost’s wife?
His wife is Dr. Kerry J. Kelly, who served as the chief medical officer of the New York City Fire Department. She was the first woman to hold that position.
Does Daniel A. Jost have grandchildren?
Yes. His son Colin Jost and Colin’s wife, actress Scarlett Johansson, have a son, Cosmo, born in 2021, making Daniel A. Jost a grandfather.
Where does Daniel A. Jost live?
His family home has long been in the Grymes Hill neighborhood of Staten Island, New York City. His current residence is not a matter of public record, and this article does not publish private addresses.
Is Daniel A. Jost still alive?
Yes. He attended the College of Staten Island’s honorary doctorate ceremony for his son Colin in June 2025, alongside his wife, Kerry Kelly.
Why is there so little information about Daniel A. Jost?
Because he is a private citizen, not a public entertainer. Apart from facts reported in connection with his son’s biography, he has kept his life out of the press, and reputable outlets respect that boundary. More profiles of notable families are available at DigitalGeekSpot.
