Dave Portnoy Net Worth

What is Dave Portnoy’s Net Worth?

net worth:	$120 million
age:	forty seven
date of birth:	March 22, 1977
gender:	male
high:	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
country of origin:	USA
Source of wealth:	entrepreneur
Last updated:	August 5, 2024

introduce

Dave Portnoy’s net worth is approximately $120 million.

Dave Portnoy is an American entrepreneur and sports media personality who built his wealth by founding Barstool Sports.

He founded Barstool Sports in 2003 as a print publication.

Over the years, the company grew into an unlikely sports media giant.

early life

David “Dave” Portnoy was born on March 22, 1977 in Massachusetts.

Portnoy is the son of Michael and Linda and attends Swampscott High School.

In 1995, Portnoy began attending the University of Michigan. He later graduated with a degree in education.

Profession

Dave Portnoy founded sports betting site TheGamblingMan while he was working on his education degree at the University of Michigan.

He uses the site to publish his own featured articles each week, a forerunner of his foray into sports media and online newspapers.

After graduating from college, Portnoy was hired by Yankee Group, an IT market research company owned by Reuters Enterprises.

In 2004, Portnoy founded Barstool Sports, a four-page newspaper aimed at young people in Boston who rejected political correctness.

The paper was distributed at train stations and on street corners, attracting advertisers like PartyPoker, which operates illegally in the United States.

After a rocky start, Portnoy hired another writer and began featuring photos of scantily clad women on the front page.

In 2017, Dave attended the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit red carpet event, where some of the world’s wealthiest models reviewed various pizza slices.

Barstool Sports grows into a prominent media company

By 2007, he had expanded to blogs about sports, women in bikinis, and gambling to keep the business afloat.

Barstool Sports has grown into a prominent sports and pop culture media company, and Portnoy has developed a bro culture persona, calling himself “El Presidente.”

Seeing the imminent demise of print media, Portnoy’s move from print to online media to expand the company’s digital presence was a prescient move.

Candid and bold male-oriented reporting makes Barstool Sports a unique and relatable media organization that resonates with its young male target audience.

By 2016, Barstool’s growth had made it a major player in the sports media market, and the Chernin Group acquired a majority stake in the company.

Now that he has built a name for himself and has the backing of important industry figures, Portnoy has been able to significantly expand the publication’s reach.

Moved headquarters to New York City

The company’s headquarters moved to New York City, but by 2020, Pennsylvania Entertainment showed interest in the business.

They acquired 36% of Barstool Sports for $163 million that year, and the valuation increased significantly in just four years.

Just three years later, Penn Entertainment completed its acquisition of 100% of Barstool and purchased the remaining shares in 2023 for $388 million.

However, in a surprising twist of fate, Penn Entertainment subsequently agreed to sell the company back to Portnoy for a symbolic sum of $1.

The deal is the result of a massive transaction with ESPN that has seen Penn Entertainment rebrand its online sports betting business from Barstool Sportsbook to ESPN Bet.

Penn Entertainment agreed to sell Barstool back to Portnoy on the condition that the two parties share 50% of the profits from future sales agreements.

Promise not to sell Barstool Sports

Portnoy reportedly told the media that he would not leave Barstool Sports under any circumstances, no matter when.

The deal with ESPN gives Penn Entertainment $1.5 billion in cash and warrants valued at $500 million.

Penn Entertainment has 10 years to repay the purchase price, which includes 31.8 million shares of Penn common stock redeemable for various rights.

The following year, Portnoy launched a series of pizza reviews called “David Pechiewicz’s Pizza Reviews,” which reviewed pizzas from around the world..

Portnoy’s business originally started as a competition among his friends, but as it became so popular, it grew into a business.

Not only did he eat a slice of pizza at each location, he also claimed that the practice helped him lose weight.

Making Waves in Massachusetts

There was no shortage of drama on the show, as he got into a heated argument with Charlie Redd, the owner of Dragon Pizza in Massachusetts.

Charlie was unhappy that his pizza was described as a “mess” and the ensuing argument delighted viewers.

This did wonders for the show, and it continues to draw huge audiences, especially when Portnoy invites celebrities to the show.

Portnoy also hosted the first One Bite Pizza Festival in Brooklyn in 2023, engaging with the audience and further solidifying Barstool’s influence.

While Portnoy’s goal isn’t to create the most expensive pizza in the world, no pizzeria escapes his watch.

Sentenced to jail for publicity stunt

In another publicity stunt, Portnoy was detained in a holding cell at Mercedes-Benz Stadium during Super Bowl LIII.

The day before the Super Bowl, Portnoy was banned from the game for using a fake pass during a press conference.

He remains a polarizing figure due to his outspoken conservative views and public support for Donald Trump and his 2015 presidential campaign.

Portnoy ran unsuccessfully for Boston mayor in 2013 and has been an outspoken critic of liberal and Democratic policies and lawmakers.

Barstool Sports attacked Taylor Swift on its popular podcast, Pardon My Take, making derogatory remarks and asking her not to play in the NFL.

It looks like Portnoy will continue to use every publicity stunt possible to attract attention in order to maintain interest in his company.