'Money Honey' Indeed! Maria Bartiromo Sells Book to Crown At Auction For About Half a Million

CNBC anchor Maria Bartiromo has sold a book to Crown, a division of Random House, for an advance several knowledgable sources said was in the neighborhood of $500,000.

Ms. Bartiromo's literary agent, Wayne Kabak of the William Morris Agency, declined to comment but an assistant at his office referred questions to Crown Business executive editor John Mahaney.

Mr. Mahaney did not respond to requests for more information on the book, and Crown publicity director Katie Wainright would not comment on it beyond ... confirming that Crown had indeed made the acquisition! According to one person who saw the proposal, the book is, broadly, about "success."

This will be Ms. Bartiromo's second book; her first, Use the News: How to Separate the Noise from the Investment Nuggets and Make Money in Any Economy, came out in 2002 from HarperCollins.