What is Dave Portnoy's net worth and salary?
Dave Portnoy is an American sports media figure and internet entrepreneur who has a net worth of $150 million. Dave Portnoy has earned his fortune as the founder of digital sports powerhouse Barstool Sports. David sold portions of Barstool to various buyers over several transactions, ending with a transaction to Penn Gaming in August 2022.
He first sold a majority stake in 2016 to The Chernin Group. In January 2020, Penn Gaming acquired a 36% stake from the founders for $163 million. This purchase came with an option to buy the entire company at a future date. In August 2022, Penn Gaming exercised that option to buy Barstool outright at a valuation of $390 million. From start to finish, Penn Gaming paid $550 million to buy all of Barstool. More on these transactions, and their impact on Portnoy's wealth, later in this article.
In a surprise twist, on August 8, 2023, it was revealed that Dave had re-acquired Barstool from Penn Gaming. This transaction re-established Portnoy as the brand's sole owner for the first time in roughly a decade. Dave reportedly re-acquired Barstool for a nominal price of $1.00. That's not a typo. More info on this transaction later in this article,
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Early Life
David Portnoy was born on March 22, 1977, in Swampscott, Massachusetts. After graduating from Swampscott High School, he went on to the University of Michigan, where he graduated in 1999 with a degree in education.
After college, he moved to Boston, where he worked for an IT market research company called Yankee Group.
Barstool
Dave founded Barstool Sports in 2003 as a print publication for the Boston metro area. The paper offered fantasy sports predictions, gaming ads, and sports coverage. The website was launched in 2007. Over the next ten years, Barstool would grow into an unlikely sports media powerhouse. In the site's early days, Portnoy was known to regularly put in 10+ hour days while still working on both Saturdays and Sundays.
On the site, Dave goes by the title "El Presidente" or "Stool Presidente." The site is a mix of snarky sports coverage and attractive women. The brand has been described as a mixture between "ESPN and Girls Gone Wild." This combination is apparently working well, as BarstoolSports is one of the most popular sports sites on the internet today.
In 2017, Portnoy launched a pizza review series called "One Bite with Davey Pageviews." The unofficial goal of the show is to review every pizza place in Manhattan.
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Chernin Acquisition
In January 2016, Dave sold a stake in Barstool to Peter Chernin's The Chernin Group for $10 – $15 million. By 2018, Chernin had invested $20 – 25 million to increase his stake to 60%. Portnoy remained 100% in control of the company's content, which eventually included podcasts, gambling content, merchandise, alcohol brands, TV shows, and more.
Penn National Acquisition #1
In January 2020, Penn National Gaming acquired a 36% stake in Barstool Sports at a valuation of $450 million. The total amount of cash transacted initially was $163 million. Penn National also purchased the option to pay an additional $62 million within three years to bring its stake up to 50%.
Immediately after this initial deal closed, The Chernin Group's 60% stake was reduced to 36%, matching Penn National's stake. The remaining 28% was still owned by Portnoy and a few key executives like CEO Erika Nardini.
Penn Gaming Stock
In the days immediately after the announcement shares of Penn Gaming surged to what was then an all-time high of $38. In the wake of the worldwide Coronavirus outbreak, Penn's stock plummeted. By March 17, the stock had slid to $7 a share, an 81% drop from the peak.
By May 10, it had risen back up to around $20 a share. By August, it had more than doubled to around $50 a share. By January 2021, it had risen to over $100 a share. The stock hit $130 in March of 2021.
Portnoy's Stock Holdings
According to a Penn Gaming Q1 2020 10-Q SEC filing, of the $163 million in cash, roughly $23 million was given as convertible preferred stock, and $3 million was set aside as "forward arrangements." The convertible stock could ultimately be converted into approximately 0.50% of Penn Gaming's market cap OR 883,000 shares of Penn Gaming.
When Penn Gaming's market cap was $10 billion, a 0.50% stake was worth $50 million. Dave reportedly owned 1/3 of that stake, which – at the $10 billion valuation example – worked out to around $16 million. When combined with his remaining roughly $90 million stake in Barstool and wealth from previous transactions, we estimate Dave Portnoy's net worth at $100 million.
Penn National Acquisition #2
At some point, Penn subsequently acquired an additional 14% of Barstool to give it 50% ownership. Then, on Wednesday, August 17, 2022, an SEC filing revealed that Penn Gaming had exercised its right to buy the remaining portion of Barstool. Over two steps outlined in this second transaction, Penn will ultimately pay $387 million to acquire the 50% of Barstool it did not previously own.
Penn Sale Back To Portnoy
On August 8, 2023, the same day Penn announced a long-term exclusive betting partnership with ESPN, Dave revealed that he had re-acquired 100% ownership of Barstool. He also agreed to a non-compete, among other stipulations that he described as a "win-win." Furthermore, if Portnoy sells Barstool at some point, Penn has the right to half the proceeds. In a statement from Penn's CEO:
"The divestiture allows Barstool to return to its roots of providing unique and authentic content to its loyal audience without the restrictions associated with a publicly traded, licensed gaming company."
A day after the deal was announced, it was revealed that Dave was able to re-acquire Barstool for a nominal fee of $1.00. Why would Penn have agreed to such a deal? Well, first off, the brand is arguably worthless without Dave, and it's doubtful Dave would have ever worked under a new owner. Secondly, as we mentioned before, Penn retained the right to half the proceeds of Barstool if he ever sells the brand again. And third, it's likely that Penn Gaming is taking a writeoff on the value of the brand. In the same financial disclosure that revealed the Portnoy sale, Penn Gaming revealed it was planning to take an $850 million loss on Barstool. That's presumably a combination of the $550 million it paid over the course of the aforementioned transactions AND $300 million in costs and investments made over the years. Finally, the sale restricts Portnoy from working for a competing betting company or disparaging either ESPN or Penn Gaming.
"PENN sold 100% of the outstanding shares of Barstool to David Portnoy in exchange for a nominal cash consideration ($1.00 dollar) and certain non-compete and other restrictive covenants."
The Barstool Fund
In 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dave donated $500,000 to the Barstool Fund, which was launched to help small businesses impacted by the crisis. Over time, the fund raised $39 million, which was distributed to nearly 350 small businesses.
Personal Life
Dave Portnoy was married to Renee Satherthwaite from 2009 to 2017. In 2021 he began dating Silvana Mojica.
(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
In December 2019, a sex tape of Portnoy leaked. On two occasions, Business Insider alleged sexual misconduct against Portnoy. Dave not only denied it but launched a lawsuit against the publication. In November 2022, a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit. Portnoy filed an appeal of the dismissal but dropped it in February 2023.
In 2004, Dave Portnoy reportedly filed for bankruptcy protection after several large gambling losses, owing $59,000 to credit card companies and $18,000 to his father.
Real Estate
Dave Portnoy has been linked to several real estate purchases over the years, such as a $2.2 million Nantucket home, a $14 million Miami waterfront home, a house in the Hamptons for $9.75 million, and a $1.4 million Saratoga Springs property.
In September 2023, Dave paid $42 million for a waterfront mansion set on 1.2 acres on Nantucket. The price set a record for the area by roughly $5 million.
