How Much Money Does Joe Rogan Make

I love everything Joe Rogan – his podcast, standup comedy, and UFC commentating are all world class. Personally, I think he makes so much money that he will soon become a billionaire in the next ten years. But, how does he make his money?

Joe Rogan makes money from podcasting, stand-up comedy, UFC commentating, TV shows and movies, affiliate partnerships, social media, and his Higher Primate brand. His earnings can be categorized into appearance fees, advertising payments, and royalties, all which make him well diversified between passive income and active income.

Want to be rich like Joe Rogan? Well, a lot can be learned from analyzing his career moves…

It may shock fans to learn that Rogan did not grow up rich. He was basic middle class, even a little on the poor side. At one point he was dirt broke in his early 20s, and had to live with his grandfather, while pursuing his passion of becoming a stand-up comedian.

Using hard work, determination, and a little bit of luck, he has made it big-time. Lets look at how he built his life into the ultimate money-making machine.

Podcasting/Advertisements

Podcasting is Rogan's ultimate money maker. It's hard to believe, even for Rogan, that his podcast would grow to become the world's #1 podcast just 10 years after its launch.

Also see: Joe Rogan's First Podcast: An Epic Beginning to An Era

In December of 2020, Rogan completed his $100 million dollar move to Spotify exclusively, taking his podcast off Apple and YouTube.

Podcast Advertising

The way podcasts make the majority of their money is from the paid advertisements at the beginning of each podcast episode. Some products offer an affiliate percentage each time a customer buys a product and uses a special promo code, which includes a discount for the customer and a cut for the podcaster.

Rogan has several prominent long time advertisers on his podcast. Businesses like CashApp, Athletic Greens, CBDMD, Squarespace, stamps.com, Tushy, and others pay him a significant amount of money to reach his massive audience of million of subscribers.

Rogan has more people wanting to advertise on his podcast than he can take on, which gives him the flexibility to pick and choose the actual products that he really likes. Many podcasters don't have that kind of flexibility, and are willing to take on any advertiser to earn revenue.

YouTube Royalties

Rogan has three YouTube channels – the Joe Rogan Experience, JRE Clips, and Joe Rogan. Interestingly, he set the standard for successful podcasts by breaking his long podcasts into smaller highlight clips, and then putting them on another channel, which he did with the JRE Clips channel. A win-win, this both maximizes his money and makes it convenient for fans.

Many other podcast and influencer channels are following suit (Lex Fridman, Jordan Peterson, and David Goggins). It's a huge revenue earner because it creates extreme value to the consumer who may not have time to watch a 3-hour podcast, but can watch 15 minutes clips of the highlights.

Prior to the move to Spotify, all of Joe Rogan's full length podcast episodes were available on YouTube. But, the JRE Clips channel is still earning money, but all new short clips are posted to the Joe Rogan Experience channel.

Stand-Up Comedy

Rogan began pursuing his dream job, stand-up comedy, in his early 20s and never dreamed of it taking off the way it has. When he started doing comedy he laid down a foundational habit of working hard, something that he still adheres to this day.

Rogan makes money from his comedy in several ways:

Active income from live performances and appearance fees
Passive income from his recorded specials and the royalties they accrue

Live Performances

Live performances are the tours that Rogan does in varies cities across the U.S.

In 2021, he is scheduled to do around 30 live shows, and that is partially restricted to COVID limitations. For shows, he earns revenue generated from ticket sales, appearance fees, and apparel sales. All which further enhance his brand and popularity.

Now that Rogan's popularity has exploded in the last 10 years, although not peaked yet, he frequently is a sells out his appearances. Now in Austin, Texas, Rogan is co-headlining with Dave Chappelle.

Comedy Royalties

Rogan's specials are available on Netflix, Amazon Prime, or available for purchase on DVD on Amazon.

Joe Rogan: Strange Times (2018)
Joe Rogan: Triggered (2016)
Joe Rogan: Rocky Mountain High (2014)
Joe Rogan: Live from the Tabernacle (2012)
Talking Monkeys in Space (2009)
Joe Rogan Live (2007)

Additionally, Rogan released the comedy CDs Shiny Happy Jihad (2007) and I'm Gonna Be Dead Someday (2000).

UFC Commentating

Along with Dana white, Rogan is the face of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and has been commentating with them since 1997. A skilled martial artist himself, Rogan knows his stuff. He has several black belts in taekwondo and jiu-jitsu.

Originally, Rogan was hesitant to take on a major role in providing color commentating for UFC on regular basis because he looked at the fights as a way to chill with his friends. But Dana White talked him into it because of his talent and knowledge about fighting.

Because of his busy schedule, Rogan does not commentate as much as he used to. Now, he only does the big fights due to his commitment to podcasting and stand-up comedy, and his time limitations.

However, UFC takes care of Joe Rogan and he is well compensated for the fights he does do.

Partnerships, Endorsements, and Affiliates

If you follow Rogan's Instagram page or listen to his podcast, you will certainly recognize some of his business partnerships.

Onnit

Rogan is a partner with Onnit, and together with owner Aubrey Marcus, the two have worked hand in hand on some legendary products.

A few of Rogan's favorite Onnit products:

Alpha Brain
New Mood
Shroom Tech
Fat Butter
Protein Bites
Onnit Kettlebells

Onnit even has a dedicated page to Joe Rogan and the products he loves taking. The page has a boatload of cool resources made in conjunction with Rogan that includes motivational videos, workout pdfs, and articles about self-growth and goal setting.

Kill Cliff

Founder by former Navy SEAL Todd Ehrlich, Rogan has been a long-time drinker of Kill Cliff energy drinks. They even stocked Rogan's studio with a custom refrigerator full of his favorite Kill Cliff products.

However, Kill Cliff offers more than just traditional energy drinks. They make "clean" energy drinks, post-workout recovery drinks, and CBD drinks.

Rogan partnered with Kill Cliff to make a flavorful CBD drink, with his face on the can, called the "Flaming Joe". Rogan had suggested that they make a spicy pineapple drink, and they delivered.

Royalties from TV, Netflix, and Amazon Prime

Rogan has been in quite a few comedy specials, TV shows, and movies that continue to earn him passive revenue in the form of royalties and licensing fees.

In the old days and still to some degree now, when a show ran on a cable network, the show and actors would earn a fee called a royalty (depending on their contract). Rogan starred in a few shows, including NewsRadio, Hardball, and Fear Factor.

Nowadays, royalties are little bit different with Netflix, Amazon, and other subscription based streaming services taking over. Typically, actors like Rogan get paid up front by a licensing fee, to air until a set date, and then get renegotiated at a later date.

Higher Primate brand

In addition to everything else, Rogan runs his own thriving apparel and accessory brand called Higher Primate, which generates easy money for him and makes his fan base happy. This is the go-to place for authentic Joe Rogan and JRE podcast merchandise.

On his website you can buy t-shirts, face masks, mugs and cups, duffel bags, hemp backpacks, socks, towels, and more. It is where I got some of my favorite t-shirts, plus an awesome face mask.

Joe Rogan t-shirt — *My favorite Joe Rogan T-shirt

A fun fact – Rogan loves wearing a fanny pack, citing its convenience and functionality. You can buy one of those too.

Miscellaneous: DVDs, CDs, and Apple iTunes

In addition to the revenue made from royalties and streaming fees, Rogan still makes money from some comedy/music albums that he released via DVD and CD. A few of them are available on Apple iTunes, as well, which combines to generate a little bit of money for him.

On iTunes:

Rocky Mountain High (2014)
Talking Monkeys in Space (2010)
Shiny Happy Jihad (2007)
Experience, by Akira the Don (2020)

These titles, of course, are still available for purchase on Amazon in DVD and/or CD form.

Rogan released a Comedy Music Album called, I'm Gonna Be Dead Someday, notably featuring his most famous song – Voodoo Punanny.

Selling and Investing in Real Estate

In 2020, Rogan finally made a long-pondered move out of Los Angeles, although it still caught the world by surprise. In Austin, Texas, he made a significant upgrade by purchasing a mansion for 14.4 million dollars.

Fans might not look at Rogan as someone who sells and invests in real estate, but in October 2020 he listed one of his Los Angeles homes for 3.2 million dollars, up from the 2.3 million that he originally purchased the property for. The real estate website Zillow estimates that this property is worth 5.7 million dollars.

Rogan Might Write A Book

An avid reader, Rogan has pondered writing a book for over 10 years and is something he would love doing.

He mentioned that after his first stint with Fear Factor and prior to starting his podcast, he was contemplating what to do next. One of his ideas was to write a book, possibly being a comedy book, similar to how George Carlin touched so many lives with his writing.

Also see: 15 Awesome Book Recommendations From Joe Rogan

He also mentioned actually having a deal to write a book, although he couldn't get along with the publishers about what the substance of the book was to be about. If he does decide to write a book, whether an autobiography or comedy, it is sure to be an instant bestseller.

Rogan is Opening a Comedy Club in Austin

After his move to Austin, Texas, Rogan has frequently mentioned on his JRE podcast that he plans to open a comedy club there. This will certainly drive some big revenue for Rogan, although he won't be doing it for the money.

His reasoning stems from his love and admiration for The Comedy Store in Los Angeles, a legendary club that forever shaped his comedy career into the hilarious stand-up comic he is today. He said that what he misses the most about L.A. is The Comedy Store and the close-knit camaraderie of the comedians.

Many of his best friends in comedy are inspired by the idea and have started moving to the Austin area as well. (Young Jamie, Tom Segura, Brian Redban, Tony Hinchcliffe, Brian Holtzman)

Also see: The Top 20 Best Friends of Joe Rogan

The length of COVID pandemic will effect his timing, but he will definitely open a comedy club in Texas. Until then, he will keep selling out Austin BBQ joints, performing with Dave Chappelle.

Is Joe Rogan A Billionaire?

A question that fans, and myself included, have started to wonder – Is Joe Rogan a Billionaire?

No, Joe Rogan is not a billionaire. The total sum of his money greatly exceeds 100 million, which includes his deal with Spotify, UFC, stand-up comedy, residual income from YouTube, TV Shows, business partnerships, and real estate. If he continues to save money and invest well, he will someday become a billionaire.

Having listened to as many JRE podcasts as I have, I can confidently say that he is not driven by the idea of becoming a billionaire. He has enough money.

Rogan is more driven about giving back. His focus is on bringing people together, learning and growing, being around his closest friends, taking care of his body, and having a good time with his family.

How to Make Money Like Joe Rogan

To recap this article let's look at some key principles that Joe Rogan uses to make money. These principles are simple – yet difficult because they require lots of hard work, sacrifice, and discipline.

1. Follow Your Passions

Rogan has been following his passions for over 30 years. He was adamant that he didn't want to get a 9-5 job just for the sake of getting a job. Although, at the start he did make sacrifices at times, like when he delivered newspapers and worked construction as a young adult.

Rogan has turned his passion for martial arts into a lucrative deal as a UFC commentator. His joy for talking to people and being around his friends has turned into his podcast gig. And his love for comedy has come full circle.

2. Help other people

Many uber-successful people say the same thing. Running a business or service is not about making money. Try not to think about the money first, think about the people first and what you can do to help them. Any great business service is geared toward providing the most value to the consumer.

Rogan has said many times that he had no idea his podcast would turn into what it is today. He was just trying to have fun with his friends and reach out to fans.

Providing extreme value is something Rogan does very well. His podcast has filled a need in today's world where attention spans are at their very least. Yet, somehow Rogan provides a long-form platform of open ideas and real conversation that engages fans enough to listen to 3-hour long podcasts.

3. Diversification

Rogan has established extreme diversity with his money making ventures. In this article I have highlighted many different avenues that generate money for his bank account (UFC, stand-up, podcasts, YouTube, Amazon, etc).

Diversification is important because it creates protection in case one of his money areas dries up. Also, diversity creates more fun. The chances of Rogan getting bored with one thing is limited because he can switch his focus to something else.

4. Passive Income

Rogan has created tremendous balance between passive and active income. The biggest difference between the two, in my view, is that active income is trading your time for money. Passive income is when you create something that earns money itself over time (money while you sleep).

While Rogan does work hard doing stand-up shows and routine podcast episodes, many of those continue earning money well after they are made. He has created a well-oiled money making machine.

Thank you so much for reading!