Varney was born on July 7, 1949 in Derby, Derbyshire, England. he graduated from the London School of Economics. He started at KEMO-TV in San Francisco as a business anchor. In 1980 when CNN started, he hosted shows such as "Business Day" and "Business Asia". On CNN’s "Moneyline" he co-hosted with Willow Bay from 1999 to 2001. He also worked for CNBC.