Highest-paid podcasters revealed – Who tops the – Business News
Forbes on Thursday unveiled its listing of the 20 highest-paid podcasters in 2026, from celeb reveals hosted by the Kelce brothers or comic Amy Poehler to political and true crime podcasts – all of which rake in tens of thousands and thousands of {dollars}.
Joe Rogan unsurprisingly reigned supreme as the world’s highest-paid podcaster. Over the previous yr, the 58-year-old UFC broadcaster earned $82 million from his Spotify show, “The Joe Rogan Experience.”
The show’s three-hour episodes embrace conversations with scientists, comedians and entrepreneurs – together with a number of controversial figures – at Rogan’s Austin, Texas, studio, and it’s maybe best identified for Rogan’s interview of President Trump forward of the 2024 election.
Joe Rogan was the highest-paid podcaster over the previous yr, based on Forbes. @PowerfulJRE / YouTube
Rounding out the prime three are John Coogan and Jordi Hays, hosts of the OpenAI-owned tech podcast community TBPN, who earned an estimated $70 million since June 2025, and Steven Bartlett, 33, whose company interview show “The Diary of a CEO” earned him $45 million.
Football bros Jason and Travis Kelce introduced in $35 million from their Amazon podcast “New Heights,” placing them in seventh place.
The podcast picked up steam in 2023 as Travis began relationship now-wife pop famous person Taylor Swift and after his Kansas City Chiefs confronted off towards Jason’s Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX.
Hollywood celebrities, who’ve more and more entered the various media space, raked in the huge bucks – benefiting from already-established fanbases and an capacity to nab interviews with their well-known mates.
“SmartLess,” the SiriusXM show hosted by comedians Will Arnett, Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes, earned its hosts $37 million – rating as the fifth-highest paid podcasters.
American actor Dax Shepard, 51, made $25 million from his Amazon show “Armchair Expert” whereas comic and producer Amy Poehler, 54, earned $24 million from her Spotify podcast “Good Hang,” which earlier this yr received the first-ever Golden Globe award for podcasting.
Jason and Travis Kelce made $35 million from their “New Heights” podcast. New Heights Podcast
Amy Poehler interviewed Matt Damon about his new movie, “The Odyssey,” on her “Good Hang” podcast. Good Hang with Amy Poehler / YouTube
Internet celeb Alex Cooper, 31, made $32 million from her Spotify show “Call Her Daddy,” which launched in 2018. Reality TV stars-turned-influencers Hannah Berner, 34, and Paige DeSorbo, 33, raked in $18 million from “Giggly Squad,” which launched in 2020.
Ashley Flowers, 36, the so-called “queen of true crime,” made $42 million from her show “Crime Junkie.”
Motivational speaker and wellness influencer Mel Robbins, 57, identified for her best-selling guide “The Let Them Theory,” made $35 million from her SiriusXM show “The Mel Robbins Podcast.”
Jay Shetty, 38, a Hindu monk-turned-wellness influencer, made $21 million from his podcast “On Purpose” by offers with Spotify and Netflix – internet hosting visitors together with Michelle Obama, Selena Gomez, Kevin Hart and Madonna.
“Call Her Daddy” host Alex Cooper made $32 million from her Spotify podcast. Youtube/callherdaddy
Charlamagne Tha God, 48, made $27 million from his podcast community “The Breakfast Club” by offers with iHeartwork Media and Netflix. He co-hosts the podcast “Brilliant Idiots” with comic Andrew Schulz.
Political and cultural reveals additionally made the listing, with Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Dan Pfeiffer and Tommy Vietor making $28 million over the previous yr from their lefty “Pod Save America” show.
Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, 57, earned $20 million from “The Tucker Carlson Show,” an unbiased podcast backed by Red Seat Ventures – which has additionally invested in titles from Megyn Kelly and Bill O’Reilly.
Motivational speaker Mel Robbins made $35 million from her SiriusXM show. Youtube/Mel Robbins
NYU professor Scott Galloway made $19 million from his community, “The Prof G Pod,” by offers with Vox Media. It contains his show “Pivot” with co-host Kara Swisher, a left-leaning tech journalist.
Podcasts have been stealing views from conventional TV and touchdown big-name interviews as Hollywood stars and pundits attempt to attain new audiences.
The media kind might be extremely profitable, creating a new class of ultra-wealthy influencers who own their show’s underlying IP – that means main firms like Netflix are paying thousands and thousands simply to license their content material as a distributor.
A $100 million-plus deal from networks like Spotify, SiriusXM or iHeartwork is the final mecca for many podcasters, since the offers are paid out as a assured advance and any additional income are cut up utilizing a revenue-sharing model.
