When Forbes released its 2026 rankings of the highest-paid podcasters, the top spot went to exactly who most people expected. What followed was considerably less predictable.
The list, which covers earnings from June 2025 through June 2026, placed Joe Rogan and The Joe Rogan Experience at number one with an estimated $86 million. Forbes promoted the findings on Instagram, where comedian Chelsea Handler spotted the post and left a comment that quickly drew attention.
She wrote, “WHO IS PAYING JOE ROGAN 82 million? Give that to our vets, or our children!!! 82 million to be completely uninformed and say “whoopsie doodle,” every time he’s wrong, which is FREQUENT?”
Handler’s comments landed on a post that put some remarkable numbers on display. This year’s Forbes list does not describe podcasting as an emerging format. The earnings behind its biggest names describe an industry that has fully arrived.
Directly behind Rogan are tech creators John Coogan and Jordi Hays, who brought in an estimated $70 million. A well-timed OpenAI acquisition dramatically expanded the financial scope of their operation, pushing them into the top tier of the rankings almost overnight.
Steven Bartlett, the British entrepreneur behind Diary of a CEO, follows with an estimated $45 million. Bartlett built his platform on the idea that independence, paired with a loyal global audience, could rival the output of traditional media. His placement on the list suggests he was right.
The rankings also show how deeply rooted hip-hop culture has become in the podcasting economy. Charlamagne Tha God earned an estimated $27 million, a figure built through iHeartMedia partnerships and Netflix deals that have extended his reach well beyond radio.
