Charlie Kirk reveals how he got rich: "Bet on America!"
Kirk explains how he made lots of money "betting on America" during recent market crashes while everyone else was panicking...
In a recent episode of The Iced Coffee Hour Podcast, hosted by financial expert Graham Stephan and co-host Jack Selby, conservative media firebrand Charlie Kirk sat down to share the story of how he built his wealth and continues to manage his financial investments.
Kirk, who’s estimated net worth is upwards of $12 million and is the founder of Turning Point USA (TPUSA) and host of The Charlie Kirk Show, revealed that he had success through his timely investment moves during recent market turbulence. During the COVID-19 market crash in 2020, Kirk seized the opportunity to invest heavily when stocks plummeted. “I went all in and bought the dip during the tariff stuff and COVID,… I bought triple leverage, triple Q” he explained.
Stephan and Selby appeared shocked by his bold play, asking him how he was so sure that the economy would bounce back so quickly. “Why was that so obvious to you?!”
“It was the easiest bet I ever made in my life,” Kirk explained. “You’re going to bet against America?!”
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He repeated this strategy following the temporary market dip after President Trump’s 2025 Liberation Day tariff announcement, which sparked volatility but offered buying opportunities for those with nerve.
Triple leveraged funds, as Kirk briefly described, are exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that aim to deliver three times the daily performance of an underlying index, such as the S&P 500. For example, if the S&P 500 rises 1%, a triple leveraged fund targeting it would aim for a 3% gain. These funds amplify returns but also carry heightened risk, as losses are similarly magnified.
Stephan probed Kirk on how he manages his wealth now, following his success with TPUSA and his media empire. Kirk emphasized the importance of “a great team” of financial advisors and financial discipline. He claimed that when he started TPUSA more than 10 years ago, he refused to take a salary from the profits for the first several years, emphasizing the importance of reinvestment to maximize growth early on. “Unless you have kids at home or a mom that’s sick, you should not be taking money out of the company,” he advised. Even now, his $300,000 annual TPUSA salary, a small fraction of his annual income, is donated back to the organization. “My wife and I try to be charitable, giving 10% of our income each year—what better place than TPUSA?” Kirk said with a smile.
Kirk’s income primarily flows from his media ventures, including The Charlie Kirk Show on Real America’s Voice, Rumble, and X, which reaches an estimated 2–3 million people daily, and his “beast of a YouTube channel,” as well as revenue from speaking events and book deals.
Beyond traditional investments in the Dow and S&P 500, Kirk has ventured into private equity, leveraging his wealth and connections for exclusive opportunities. He also expressed enthusiasm for cryptocurrency, not through individual coins like Bitcoin but via Anagram, a technology he described as “the plumbing of the crypto industry,” providing foundational infrastructure for digital currencies.
The 31-year-old says efficiency and time management is essential to his success. “How much time do things actually take? Do you really need two hours for that meeting?” he asked, crediting his hyper-efficient scheduling—while still prioritizing 9–10 hours of sleep—for maximizing productivity. This discipline extends to his financial mindset, where he views wealth as a means to freedom, not an end in of itself. “The best part of being wealthy is not being poor and not having to worry about money,” Kirk said. “Money isn’t my number one driver. What makes me happy is impacting people’s lives, speaking truth, and helping save the civilization while making some money doing it.”
Kirk’s story demonstrates the effects of relentlessly pursuing goals, taking calculated risk, enacting self discipline, prioritizing reinvestment and focussing on finding “purpose” in what you do.
Perhaps the most important lesson to glean from this interview is to, even when the going gets tough, always bet on America.
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