Matt Drudge- Biography
Matt Drudge was completely unknown to the world until he started the news aggregation site, the Drudge Report.
Matt Drudge’s Net Worth & Salary
Matt Drudge has a $100 million net worth as an American political commentator. Drudge is the creator of the Drudge Report, an American news aggregator.
Matt has been a key character in American political commentary throughout the years, appearing on a variety of television and radio programs.
Matt Drudge’s Birth, Parents & Education
Matthew Drudge was born in Takoma Park, Maryland on October 27, 1966. He was raised near Washington, D.C., by both of his parents until the age of six, when they divorced.
Matt later moved in with his mother, a veteran staff attorney for US Senator Ted Kennedy. His parents are both Democrats who have worked for the federal government in some way.
Drudge had few friends as a child and spent his time reading the news and listening to talk radio.
He wasn’t a particularly good student, and he even quipped that his school credentials would be best suited for a job at 7-Eleven.
Matt Drudge’s Career
Matt Drudge was almost unknown to the rest of the world until he founded the Drudge Report, a news aggregation site. He had previously worked at 7-Eleven, McDonald’s, and other establishments of a similar nature.
In 1989, he moved to Los Angeles and began working at CBS Studios’ gift shop. After taking over as manager of the gift shop, he began to hear all kinds of gossip, which inspired him to create the Drudge Report.
In 1994, his father purchased him his first computer, which he used to launch the Drudge Report.
The Drudge Report began as a series of email notes delivered to his friends. It eventually began to grow, mostly reporting on opinion-based news and gossip.
After that, it evolved into a proper email newsletter before being placed on a Usenet forum. By the late 1990s, the Drudge Report had begun to move from an email newsletter to a web-based news portal.
During this time, he built a reputation for breaking a number of news stories before the mainstream media. This includes the announcement that Jack Kemp will be Bob Dole’s running mate in 1996, as well as the Monica Lewinsky affair.
During this time, Drudge also met and mentored Andrew Breitbart. Breitbart was active in the Drudge Report’s operation until 2005, when he left on good terms. Even when his website was a huge success, Drudge continued to manage his business from a one-bedroom apartment in Hollywood for many years.
He was given the opportunity to host his own show, “Drudge,” on Fox New Channel in the late 1990s. However, the show terminated after about a year. Drudge and Fox clashed over a number issues, with Matt accusing Fox of censorship.
The feud erupted when he wanted to display photographs of an abortion surgery to promote his pro-life stance, but Fox refused to air the material.
By the early 2000s, Matt’s primary concentration had shifted to his radio show and website. This radio show gained traction in the early 2000s when it was frequently mentioned on the broadcasts of Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, and Mark Levin.
He resigned from his post as a radio host in 2007. Matt has also written and published a number of books throughout the years. “The Drudge Revolution: The Inside Story of How Talk Radio, Fox News, and a Gift Shop Clerk with an Internet Connection Took Down the Mainstream Media” was published in 2020. He also co-wrote the best-selling “Drudge Manifesto” with Julia Phillips in 2000.
Matt Drudge’s Political Opinions
Drudge has been labeled a conservative populist. Matt himself said in the late 1990s that he was a libertarian “save for drugs and abortion.” He has also advocated for lower taxes and boasted about being “free of any corporate concerns.”
Matt Drudge’s Earnings
According to a magazine interview from 2003, Drudge’s website was making $3,500 per day in advertising revenue at the time.
This amounted to almost $1.3 million per year. During this time, the website is reported to have made roughly $800,000 in profit. During this period, Drudge believed that his website and radio show brought him about $1.2 million per year.
Matt Drudge’s Property for sale
Matt Drudge was said to have purchased a $1.45 million “safari mansion” in Miami in 2011. The ranch-style home has 6,500 square feet of living space, a waterfall in the master bedroom, and a cutting-edge security camera system. At this point, he had also sold a $1 million property at the Four Seasons in Miami.
His Miami compound was believed to have grown to more than 10 acres in 2013 after he purchased a neighboring property. He allegedly paid $700,000 for this home.
Drudge later sold one of his Miami houses for $1.575 million in 2013. He’d owned this house for many years before selling it to a FedEx executive named Don Colleran. The home has three bedrooms and a total living area of 2,609 square feet.
He originally paid $1.4 million for this home in 2003. He gave a $700,000 Miami home to a man he had lived with for many years in 2016.
Also Read: Lou DiBella, Rev James Altman, Jermaine Jakes, Dave Marrs
Quick Facts of Matt Drudge
- Matt Drudge is an American political commentator who has a net worth of $100 million.
- In 2007, he left his position as a radio host.
- In the late 90s, Matt himself argued that he was a libertarian, “except for drugs and abortion.”
- During this time, Drudge estimated that he was profiting about $1.2 million per year from both his website and his radio show.
- Real Estate In 2011, it was reported that he had purchased a $1.45-million “safari home” in Miami.
