Rich Dudes│How Joe Rogan Built His Net Worth From TV, Standup, and Podcasting

With an incredible net worth of $120 million, Joseph James Rogan is truly the king of his lifestyle. This stand-up comedian, martial arts commentator, and podcaster worked his way to the top, forging six successful stand-up comedy specials, a podcast with an audience of millions, and a plethora of small-screen appearances.

Rogan has a strong passion for martial arts. He earned a black belt in Taekwondo at the age of 15 and won the Massachusetts Full Contact Tae Kwon Do championship for four consecutive years. He even went on to win the U.S. Open Tae Kwon Do Championship, after beating both the middle and heavyweight title holders to obtain the grand championship.

Here’s how he earned all that money and what he invests it in.

Joe Rogan net worth at a glance

Born on August 11, 1967, in Newark, New Jersey, of Italian and Irish descent, Rogan was an avid martial artist, winning the U.S. Open Championship taekwondo tournament as a lightweight at age 19. His parents divorced when he was five—and at the age of seven, he moved with his mother to San Francisco, California.

Rogan graduated from Newton South High School and went on to the University of Massachusetts Boston before dropping out to pursue a stand-up comedy career. He later landed a tole in the NBC sitcom News Radio from 1995 to 1999 and hosted the American edition of Fear Factor from 2001 to 2006.

Joe Rogan's career reached new heights when he began working for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) as a backstage and post-fight interviewer in 1997. He won the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Award for Best Television Announcer twice.

Joe has authored four books, including 2006's Mastering the Rubber Guard: Jiu-Jitsu for Mixed Martial Arts Competition and 2007's Mastering the Twister: Jiu-Jitsu for Mixed Martial Arts Competition. He also played his first major character in the movie Zookeeper and hosted the television show Joe Rogan Questions Everything on the SyFy network.

The podcast became so popular that in 2020, Rogan reportedly signed a $120 million deal to host The Joe Rogan Experience podcast exclusively on Spotify—both audio and video.

Joe’s also been involved in the health and wellness industry, investing in the company Onnit, and has even made a few cameos in movies. Joe Rogan's wife Jessica Ditzel is an established TV producer and they have two children.

The Joe Rogan Experience & Spotify

The cheddar began rolling in when Rogan went into talks with Spotify. Thanks to a multi-year licensing deal, Rogan was able to make at least $100 million.

It was later revealed that the deal was actually worth $200 million over three years, or $67 million per year. On top of that, he was poised to receive $20 to $40 million a year from podcast sponsors for every 1000 downloads, totaling an estimated $48 million in annual profit.

Joe Rogan also makes $4 for every thousand views on his YouTube channel—which shows short clips of his podcast—totaling around $6.24 million per year.

To increase his income, Joe removed his entire back catalog from Apple podcasts and kept some old episodes on YouTube to promote the show on Spotify. This way, he’s able to triple-dip on his income sources with podcast sponsors, Spotify, and YouTube.

The Joe Rogan Experience was produced by comedian Brian Redban until he and Joe parted ways in 2013, at which point “Young” Jamie Vernon took over.

Joe Rogan’s portfolio is comprised of investments in real estate, businesses, cars, and watches. His car collection is worth an estimated $1 million, and his luxury watch collection includes high-end timepieces worth up to $70,000 each.

Joe Rogan isn’t the typical millionaire investor, but there’s a thing or two we can learn from his strategy. Here’s a rundown of what Joe Rogan spends money on.

Real estate

Joe Rogan has clearly made some smart investments in properties. In October 2019,  Rogan spent  $5 million on a home in Bell Canyon, California. He ultimately took a loss on the mansion when he fled California during the pandemic.

In September 2020, he paid an even bigger sum of $14.4 million for a mansion in Austin, Texas. Both of these homes are luxurious and situated in gated communities.

However, home buying isn’t the only way the popular podcaster invested his money. He also set up a 14,000-square-foot recording studio and spent millions perfecting it. It includes a private gym and indoor archery range with a digital target where he practices with his $1,200 hunting bow.

Finally, Joe opened up the Comedy Mothership in Downtown Austin to take advantage of the city’s bustling comedy scene. The comedy club consists of a big room dubbed the Fat Man and a smaller one called the Little Boy.

While the club hasn’t made any money since doors opened in March 2023, renovating the venue cost Joe just under $1 million.

Startups: Onnit

Joe Rogan is a man who knows how to invest. Onnit is a health and wellness company that started with an $80,000 loan taken by the founder, Aubrey Marcus. Though Joe owns 50% of the company, he didn’t actually invest any money, but rather offered his services as a spokesperson and brand promoter in exchange for equity.

Onnit is estimated to be making around $50 million a year, and Unilever PLC purchased the brand for an estimated $100 million in 2021. His investment into Onnit has paid off, as he takes home around $2 million dollars per year from the company.

Cars

Joe is certainly living the automotive dream with an enviable lineup of cars that combines both modern-day performance, luxury, and classic charm. His Tesla Model S is "the most preposterous quick vehicle" he's ever driven, and his Porsche GT3 RS, sporting a Sharkwerks-tuned engine, is undoubtedly one of the best Porsches around.

Not to be outdone by its older counterparts, Joe's Ford Mustang GT can hold its own, cranking out an impressive 400hp from its 5L Coyote V8 engine, while his Plymouth Barracuda nicknamed 'Shark Fish' boasts a robust HEMI V8.

Joe's 'Vette is no slouch either, having a modern LS1 V8 engine and a supercharger, and was even featured on an episode of Jay Leno's Garage. Joe’s also got an Icon Ford Bronco, a Toyota Land Cruiser, and a BMW E46 M3 to round off his automobile collection.

Watches

Joe Rogan is an avid watch enthusiast and has invested a lot of money into his wristwatch collection. He's got an impressive array of watches ranging from luxurious and high-end pieces such as a Rolex Yacht-Master 40 Ref. 16622 for a cool $70,000 to more affordable pieces such as a Casio G-Shock Mudmaster GG-1000-1A3 for just $350.

In between, he's got a Submariner No Date, a DeepSea Sea-Dweller, a Daytona Ref. 116509, an Omega Speedmaster Professional Chronograph, a Panerai Radiomir 1940 PAM00512, a Submersible PAM00024, a Traser H3 Red Combat, and a limited edition Seiko SLA033 “Captain Willard.”

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