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Dave Portnoy started out as a free four-page sports and gambling publication distributed in Boston subway stations and expanded it into a lifestyle and entertainment media empire with millions of fans.
An entrepreneur and social media personality, Portnoy discusses sports and culture, reviews pizza, and shares his stock investing strategies.
But who is Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy? How did he make his money and what does he do with his wealth?
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Who is Dave Portnoy?
Portnoy was born in Massachusetts in 1977 and graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in education. In 2003, Barstool Sports began as a four-page print publication about sports and gambling in the Boston area and distributed it on city streets.
By 2009, Barstool moved online only and expanded its operations to other cities. Viewership increased over the years, and at Barstool, Portnoy became known as “El Presidente.” In 2020, Portnoy agreed to sell Barstool to Penn Entertainment (formerly Penn National Gaming (PENN)) but would eventually regain full ownership and control.
Nowadays, the wealthy businessman has become known among fans and critics alike for his outspoken opinions on sports, culture, and politics.
What is Dave Portnoy’s net worth?
In 2020, following his partial sale of Barstool to Penn, Portnoy claimed to be worth about $100 million. According to the New York Times. However, as of mid-2024, Portnoy’s net worth is estimated to be approximately $150 million. According to Celebrity Net Worth.
Portnoy’s wealth comes largely from the sale of his stake in Barstool Sports. In 2020, Penn Entertainment (formerly Penn National Gaming (Pennsylvania) It bought 36% of Barstool for $163 million in a combination of cash and conversion Preference shares. It bought the remaining stake for $388 million in 2023.
At the time of the first deal in 2020, Ben’s stock was trading at around $30 but rose to a record high of around $140 in 2021. If Portnoy had converted the preferred stock he held into common stock at the time of the record high, his wealth would have been diminished. . It has multiplied dramatically.
He said he owned a significant amount (“a ton”) of stock in 2022, when Ben’s stock was trading lower, at around $40.
Dave Portnoy’s investing style and Davey Day Trader live streaming
During the pandemic, Portnoy began advertising his stock market investments via a YouTube channel called Davey Day Trader on September 27, 2021. His first stream featured a whiteboard in the background with the words “$PENN TO THE MOON” and PlayBarstool .com, which is The URL directs users to the Barstool betting app.
Portnoy’s irreverent style was evident in the live broadcasts, which typically lasted less than 20 minutes. This carried over into his sharing of his sometimes sarcastic investment strategy, which involved randomly selecting Scrabble tiles from a bag and figuring out the stock ticker symbol that made up the resulting letters.
In April 2024, he told viewers that he had lost $1 million on his investment in Tesla. (TSLA) . He has also invested in Bitcoin (nine, as of January 2024) and other cryptocurrencies. However, he tells viewers that he is looking to invest in distressed companies, in reference to this Value investing The method takes the approach of buying low and selling high.
Recent episodes included displaying a banner saying “Don’t Abandon Ship”, while another poster had its own DDTG (Davey Day Trader Global) logo and the slogan “Stocks Only Go Up”.
on him Tik Tok channel@stoolpresidente, etc YoutubePortnoy mocked Wall Street, describing the stock market as “the world’s biggest casino,” and claiming that algorithms control information—most likely in reference to High frequency trading.
“It’s greed, everyone’s trying to make money, and you shouldn’t rig the game against the little guy, and that’s what they do,” he said. “It’s as if the people making the money are the ones making the rules to make sure they’re the only ones making the money. That’s bulls***!”
Portnoy was sticking to Individual investors Those who were looking to make money quickly, cited Bitcoin as an alternative investment to achieve this.
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What stocks does Portnoy invest in?
Some of Portnoy’s past and current stock investments include budget airline Spirit Airlines. (Memorizes) AI software developer ServiceNow (now) Cosmetics maker Estee Lauder (he) Casino operator Wynn Resorts (where) And energy drinks manufacturer Celsius Holdings (CELH) .
Portnoy tracks stocks in momentum, such as movie theater chain AMC Entertainment Holdings (Your mother) and video game retailer GameStop (GME) . He keeps an eye on consumer-driven stocks like Starbucks (Sex) And Lululemon Athletica (Lulu) .
When was Barstool Sports sold to Penn and for what amount?
Penn bought Barstool in two separate acquisitions, the first in 2020 and the second in 2023, for a total of $551 million. The gaming company bought Barstool as part of its plan to expand sports gambling, seeing Barstool as an ideal platform to advertise its sports betting business, which aims to compete with DraftKings (DKNG).
Why did Dave Portnoy buy Barstool Sports from Pennsylvania?
In August 2023, just months after purchasing the remaining stake in Barstool, Penn signed a deal with ESPN to be the exclusive sportsbook partner and pay ESPN $1.5 billion over 10 years.
As part of this joint venture, Penn was forced to divest its stake in Barstool, so it sold the company back to Portnoy for a nominal sum of $1. However, Penn stipulated by agreement that Penn would receive 50% of the proceeds from any future sale of Barstool. However, Portnoy vowed to never sell Barstool.
What else does Dave Portnoy own and invest in?
As the face, owner, and CEO of Barstool Sports, Portnoy is very busy, but he also has a number of financial interests outside of his media platform.
Stool exercise
By the time Portnoy regained control, Barstool’s content was spanning multiple platforms, including podcasts, video, social media, live events, pay-per-view programming and subscriptions. It has reached over 200 million fans across social media and continues to grow. His website alone reached millions of monthly viewers as of 2024.
One pizza
Portnoy is a huge fan of pizza (with a preference for thin but not too thin and crunchy crust) and does dozens of reviews of pizza establishments around the country every year. He gets recommendations from viewers and visits some of the pizzerias they recommend. In short videos on YouTube and other social media, his modus operandi is to buy a pie, take one bite of the slice, and assign a rating on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest.
Outstanding reviews typically fall in the 8-9 range, and ratings above 9 are very rare. Passers-by and passers-by are welcome to join in and have a slice but should also give their own opinions.
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In early 2024, Barstool signed an agreement with alternative social media platform Rumble (RUM), whereby Rumble has access rights to Barstool content. Portnoy owns shares in Rumble and promotes Rumble to his viewers on his YouTube channel.
How does Dave Portnoy spend his money?
Portnoy bets on professional and college sports, such as basketball and horse racing. He also invests in real estate, and among his recent purchases was a $42 million harborfront home near the Boston area on Nantucket Island, a record for a home sold in Massachusetts.
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