Growing up in New Jersey in the US, a young Rogan found healing from what he described to Rolling Stone magazine as “brief, violent flashes of domestic violence” by playing baseball and later, martial arts.

Within two years of enrolling in taekwondo, he received his black belt and later, was crowned the Massachusetts full contact champion for four consecutive years, his website explains.

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His relationship with the sport led to him providing colourful commentary for the UFC in 2002.

UFC boss Dana White told Barstool Sports that Rogan did his first 15 shows for free and within a few years, was earning “s***loads of money”. Business influencer and YouTuber Noah Kagan puts Rogan’s current pay at around US$50,000 per event he commentates.

Forbes reported that by 2019, Rogan only worked North American pay-per-view UFC events, less than 12 fight cards per year, but he told listeners of his podcast at the time it was not about the money he got from fights.

“I don’t think about retiring because I like what I do. I don’t think; ‘oh I need X amount of money in the bank so I’m not going to do this very much longer’. I like all that stuff. It keeps me from going crazy.”

His moneymaking stand-up comedy career

Beyond the UFC Octagon, Rogan made a name for himself early on as a stand-up comedian. This too had roots in his childhood, with Business Insider reporting that his love of comedy began when his parents took him to a performance by comedian Richard Pryor at the age of 13.

“I was looking around the theatre at people falling out of their chairs, slapping the chairs in front of them, and I’m thinking, ‘How is this guy doing this? He’s just talking,’” he told the UFC’s website in 2006. It was a sign of things to come for the teenage Rogan.

He had no plans to make a career out of comedy, but had impressed friends at the gym with his humour and was convinced to give stand-up a try. He took to the stage at an open mic session in Boston in 1988 and began a more than three-decades-long career that led to multiple international tours and several acclaimed comedy specials.

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The commentator went from “scratching and grinding” for money in New York, as he described it in a 2014 blog post, to making millions a year. Business influencer Noah Kagan in 2022 estimated Rogan could make around US$23 million annually from his comedy career.

Fear Factor and other TV shows

While working the comedy circuit, Rogan moved to Los Angeles in 1994 to act in several failed sitcoms before striking gold as the goofy electrician Joe Garrelli on NewsRadio. Several other projects followed before he again became a staple on screens as the host of Fear Factor from 2001 to 2006, and again in 2011.

He told listeners of his podcast that hosting Fear Factor meant he didn’t have to worry about money.

“When you don’t have to worry about money, you don’t worry about your choices comedically. If I say something, then they’re going to cancel me or fire me from the show. And then I can’t do it any more.”

The cancel-worthy Joe Rogan Experience podcast

He launched The Joe Rogan Experience podcast in 2009 with Brian Redban, which soon became a go-to platform for analysis and humorous takes on issues.

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In 2019, it raked in US$30 million, according to Forbes, making Rogan the highest-earning podcaster in the world at the time.

A few months later, it was announced that Rogan had partnered with international music streaming service Spotify in a deal The New York Times estimated to be worth around US$200 million.

Despite the controversy around its host, The Joe Rogan Experience remains a popular podcast on Spotify, and in 2022, was the subject of a US$100 million offer from right-wing platform Rumble, according to Reuters.

The Hollywood Reporter quoted Rogan as telling the audience at a comedy show shortly after the news broke that he would not move.

“No, Spotify has hung in with me, inexplicably, let’s see what happens.”

While Rogan continues to stoke controversy, he’s still cashing in, bringing his estimated current net worth to around US$120 million.