For the first time, Forbes has analyzed the earning power of an entertainment trend which almost everybody has been jumping on - the podcast. When looking at "revenue from advertising on a host’s flagship program, ancillary revenue from touring, paid memberships and other media derived from it", there is one clear ruler of the medium - Joe Rogan. The Joe Rogan Experience is estimated to have earned the host and owner $30 million in 2019.
With high-profile guests such as Elon Musk (who famously smoked marijuana during his appearance), as well as U.S. presidential candidates like Bernie Sanders, Rogan's pulling power is currently unmatched. On YouTube alone, the two above mentioned shows have so far been watched a collective 40 million times. With an impressive but still distant second place, the true-crime podcast My Favorite Murder generated $15 million last year for its two hosts Karen Kilgariff & Georgia Hardstark.
