Joe Rogan is a man who shouldn’t need much of an introduction, but we thought we’d give him one anyway. He is a man with a world-famous podcast, a UFC commentator, stand-up comedian and occasional actor. Put simply, he’s involved pretty heavily in the media industry.
But who is he, how did he become famous and, perhaps most importantly to some, how much is he worth?
Joe Rogan Quick Facts
Name: Joseph James Rogan
Age: 54
DoB: August 11th 1967
Nationality: American
Height: 5ft 6in / 1.72m
Relationship Status: Married
Spouse: Jessica Ditzel
Net Worth: $120 million (estimated)
Instagram: @joerogan – 15.1m followers
Twitter: @joerogan – 9m followers
Spotify: The Joe Rogan Experience
Who Is Joe Rogan?
Joe Rogan is an American podcaster, UFC commentator, comedian and actor. He was born on August 11th 1967 in Newark, New Jersey. His parents got divorced when Joe was five and it is claimed Joe hasn’t been in contact with his father, Joseph, since he was 7-years-old.
Joe Rogan attended Newton South High School, from which he graduated in 1985. His career commentating on UFC mixed martial arts isn’t entirely surprising, given Joe formed an interest in martial arts in his early teenage years. He has previously said martial arts, “gave me not just confidence, but also a different perspective of myself and what I was capable of. I knew that I could do something I was terrified of, and that was really difficult, and that I could excel at it.”
He took up Taekwondo at the age of 15, and won the US Open Championship as a lightweight when he was 19. He further became a four-time consecutive champion during his years attending the University of Massachusetts Boston and eventually became a Taekwondo instructor.
He dropped out of University early, finding it “pointless,” and lived in Boston until he was 24.
Comedy Career
Joe Rogan dipped his toes into comedy at a young age, having found himself being a fan of Richard Pryor’s film Live on the Sunset Strip. It was his friends at Taekwondo school that eventually convinced him to try his hand on the stand-up comedy circuit. He performed his first stand-up routine at the age of 21 at Stitches comedy club in Boston.
Joe Rogan eventually secured the management services of Jeff Sussman, who was impressed with a routine he performed at a comedy club in Boston. He later became a full-time comedian following a move to New York City in 1990.
UFC Commentator Career
Joe Rogan began working for the UFC – Ultimate Fighting Championship – in 1997, as a backstage and post-fight interviewer. He managed to secure the role as his manager, Jeff Sussman, was friends with Campbell McLaren, the co-creator of the UFC. He quit after 2 years as his earnings couldn’t readily cover the cost of travel.
He returned to UFC in 2002 as a color commentator, after becoming friends with new president Dana White. He initially offered his services in exchange for free tickets to UFC events, but after 15 shows, he began accepting monetary payments.
He has continued to commentate on UFC events but missed UFC 271 in February 2022 following controversies relating to his podcast, which included a compilation video of him using racial slurs that went viral.
The Joe Rogan Experience Podcast
Most people will know Joe Rogan for his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, which launched on December 24, 2009 on Ustream. The first guest, comedian Ari Shaffir, didn’t appear until episode 3 in January 2010. In May 2010, Joe Rogan managed to secure sponsorship from sex-toy company Fleshlight but withdrew its sponsorship in 2012.
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The Joe Rogan Experience moved to YouTube in 2013 and eventually to Spotify in September 2020, following an exclusive licensing deal worth an estimated $100 million, although this was later confirmed to be closer to $200 million in February 2022 by The New York Times.
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Joe Rogan’s podcast has been involved with its fair share of controversy in recent years, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic, where some 270 health care professionals demanded Spotify develop counter-misinformation policies, due to them claiming Joe Rogan and specific guests were spreading misinformation relating to the Covid-19 virus and the vaccine.
Onnit
Joe Rogan has also dipped his toes into the supplements industry, being a co-founder of fitness company, Onnit, which produces the Alpha Brain nootropics, which claim to boost cognitive function, among other supplements.
Joe Rogan Fitness
As previously mentioned, Joe Rogan has had a keen interest in mixed martial arts from a young age. Now in his 50s, he continues to look after his health and regularly posts his workouts and workout advice on his online social media accounts. He’s also experimented with various diets, with the most well-documented one being the carnivore diet, which consists entirely of meat and animal products, and excludes all other foods.
Joe Rogan Family
Joe Rogan has a wife, Jessica Ditzel, a former cocktail waitress to whom he has been married since 2009. They have two daughters together, born in 2008 and 2010, and Joe is also a stepfather to Ditzel’s daughter from a previous relationship.
Joe Rogan and his family currently live in Lake Austin, Texas, in a home reportedly worth $14.4 million.
Joe Rogan’s Net Worth
Thanks to his glittering career as both a UFC commentator and host of one of the world’s most popular podcasts, Joe Rogan’s net worth is an estimated $120 million. It is claimed affiliate connections and endorsements he’s received as a result of hosting his podcast earn him $30 million a year.
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