Podcaster and UFC commentator Joe Rogan was thanked by colleague Dana White during a victory speech for US President-elect Donald Trump. Photo / Joe Rogan
How did Joe Rogan, who is now reportedly worth hundreds of millions of dollars, go from a struggling young comedian to rubbing shoulders with presidents and dominating the podcast world – even topping the New Zealand charts? Mitchell Hageman looks at his steady rise to fame and influence.
When UFC chief and Donald Trump donor Dana White took to the lectern on early November 6 (US time) to congratulate the US President-elect on his historic victory, his short speech was filled with shout-outs to a number of influencers and podcasters for their support during the campaign – including the “mighty and powerful” podcaster, host, actor and commentator Joe Rogan.
Rogan’s three-hour-long podcast chat with Trump has been credited by some media with helping the Republican campaign. This year alone, the show has hosted influential figures like Elon Musk, actor Russell Crowe, and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, who told the podcaster he was considering a permanent move to New Zealand.
Widely known for his record-breaking podcast The Joe Rogan Experience, which launched in 2009, and for his time as a host on the original version of the reality TV show Fear Factor (2001-2006), Rogan has been a regular fixture in media and UFC commentary for over 25 years.
According to Bloomberg, as of March this year, The Joe Rogan Experience had 14.5 million regular followers on Spotify, nearly three times more than the next most followed programme, TED Talks Daily.
A quick look on Spotify’s NZ Top Podcasts list (which is updated daily) also put Rogan’s show at No 1.
The show sees Rogan chat with numerous celebrity guests about current events, comedy, politics, aliens, religion, philosophy, science, martial arts, and hobbies, often being praised for its frank, unfiltered discussions.
He generally releases three to four podcasts per week, with many of them going over the two-hour mark. They also frequently make headlines.
Crowe criticised the US political system in his interview, suggesting that both the Democratic and Republican parties should stop “pouring money” into their promotional campaigns and creating “apocalyptic” adverts mocking leaders.
Trump’s recent interview with Rogan lasted about three hours and was released on YouTube and Spotify in late October. The two discussed a range of topics and the interview got over 45 million views on YouTube. Rogan officially endorsed Trump on the eve of the US election.
In 2022, Rogan also accused Hollywood actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson of using steroids during an interview with Canadian YouTuber Derek, from the popular YouTube channel More Plates, More Dates, saying the actor should “come clean”.
Rogan is no stranger to controversy, having faced accusations of spreading unverified health advice on the podcast.
An open letter to Spotify in 2022 signed by 270 doctors, accused Rogan of “repeatedly spreading misleading and false claims on his podcast, provoking distrust in science and medicine,” during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The letter claimed Rogan “discouraged vaccination in young people and children, incorrectly claimed that mRNA vaccines are ‘gene therapy’, and promoted off-label use of ivermectin to treat Covid contrary to official warnings.
According to NPR, Rogan argued he was not spreading misinformation, and that some people had a “distorted perception” of what it is he does and that what he does is merely sharing opinions.
When he’s not podcasting, he also continues to commentate for the UFC and perform stand-up comedy while raising three children with his wife Jessica Ditzel in Lake Austin, Texas.
Since there's an issue with searching for this episode on YouTube here is the full podcast with Trump pic.twitter.com/sl2GTUaWdE
— Joe Rogan (@joerogan) October 29, 2024
Born Joseph James Rogan in Newark, New Jersey, the podcasting superstar revealed to Rolling Stone in 2016 that his parents divorced when he was 5, and that memories of his father consisted of “brief, violent flashes of domestic violence”.
While he said he had “no hate” for his dad and that “nothing bad” happened to him, the pair haven’t spoken since.
At the age of 7, he moved with his mother to San Francisco and eventually settled in Newton Upper Falls, Massachusetts, where he graduated from Newton South High School in 1985.
While he did one semester of university in Boston, he told Rolling Stone it was a “pointless” endeavour and dropped out early to focus on a budding martial arts career.
After retiring from competition at age 21 because of injuries, Rogan told Shecky Magazine in 2000 that he never intended to be a stand-up comic but was coaxed into it by martial arts companions and colleagues at the odd jobs he took on to support himself.
Many of the colleagues were said to have remarked favourably on his clever impression skills.
Inspired by the comedy of Richard Pryor from a young age, he performed his first stand-up routine in 1988, at an open-mic night at Stitches comedy club in Boston. This led to him eventually getting more performance slots as he gained a reputation for his physical comedy and observational humour.
Great summary edit of my conversation with @JoeRogan
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 8, 2024
pic.twitter.com/Y2yG503Du8
It took a while for Rogan to get his first big break.
Relocating to Los Angeles in 1994 after years of working comedy clubs in Boston and New York, he got his first national television spot followed on the MTV comedy show Half-Hour Comedy Hour.
He told Shecky that the appearance led to the network offering him a three-year exclusive contract and a role in a pilot episode of a “dopey game show” for US$500 (NZD $838), which he declined and used to leverage other roles like his first acting job in the sitcom Hardball.
“My manager is a slick m******er and he had an idea, he sent my tape out to all these network folks and said that MTV was gonna sign an exclusive deal with me, and if they wanted to do something with me they had to move right now,” Rogan revealed.
“Well, network folks, being the sheep that they are, immediately reacted and started a bidding war for me. I got a pile of cash and wound up on a Fox sitcom that Disney produced [Hardball].”
While still keeping up the stand-up gigs, his next acting job brought him more widespread notoriety when he played electrician Joe Garrelli (a part originally intended for Ray Romano) in the sitcom NewsRadio.
He told The Boston Herald in 2000 that the role was a “very dumbed-down, censored version” of himself.
Another major career point came in 1997 when he was invited to join the UFC as a backstage and post-fight interviewer.
“The beautiful thing about being a real fan of MMA is that I do research every day, just because I’m interested,” he told CagePotato.com in 2012.
Progressing to a UFC colour commentator, Rogan was quickly offered more TV work, notably his own comedy special I’m Gonna Be Dead Someday in 2000.
Then came the role that gained him the most international attention and a hefty paycheck, as the host of reality show Fear Factor from 2001 to 2006.
Sportskeeda reported that after initially declining the role, Rogan was reportedly paid US$100,000 (NZ$168,000) per episode walking away with at least $15 million (NZ$25m) after 150 episodes.
A lot. According to TheStreet, most media outlets estimate Rogan is worth around US$200 million (NZ$335m).
Much of that money likely came from the major multi-year partnership deals he struck with podcast and music giant Spotify relating to The Joe Rogan Experience.
Forbes reported in 2020 that the streaming giant obtained exclusive distribution rights to The Joe Rogan Experience for an alleged sum of US$200m.
As Rogan’s audience grew, so did the size of his deals. His recently renewed deal this year with Spotify was for an estimated US$250m (NZ$421m), but the content will no longer be exclusive to them.
Based on estimated monthly earnings as reported by mountbonnel.info, he is also alleged to be generating between US$728 and $11,600 per month from ad revenue alone. This wide range is said to account for fluctuations in video views and ad rates.
With 18.4 million YouTube subscribers, it’s no surprise Rogan can gain income from his show through brand endorsements.
The host often reads a few sponsored ads before the start of his show, including ones for numerous supplements, exercise gear, grooming products and even soap.
Rogan’s spending pattern might also give us an insight into how much he earns through his income streams.
Boss Hunting also recently shared pictures of Rogan’s US$14.4 million (NZ$24.3m) mansion in Austin, Texas, with eight bedrooms and 10 bathrooms, proving the man does indeed have money to burn.
Mitchell Hageman joined the Herald’s entertainment and lifestyle team in 2024. He previously worked as a multimedia journalist for Hawke’s Bay Today.
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