Connect with us

Published

on

Influencer Andrew Tate gained many of his millions of followers by telling them he’s rich – and he’ll make them rich too.

The self-proclaimed misogynist has gone from posing on yachts and filming himself jetting off to Dubai, to being arrested in December over allegations of being part of an organised crime group, human trafficking and rape.

Symbols of Tate’s apparent wealth, including luxury cars and properties, have been seized by the Romanian police who are investigating Tate, 36, and his brother and business partner, Tristan, 34.

Luxury cars were seized in a case against Andrew Tate
Image:
Luxury cars were seized in a case against Andrew Tate

So, with Tate’s assets under the microscope, what is known about how much money his business actually makes?

Speculation about his wealth varies wildly and many of the claims Tate makes about his earnings are unverified, including six-figure sums connected to his “camgirl” business.

It is not known whether this business is connected to the charges facing the brothers and two Romanian women, all of whom deny the claims made against them.

Using publicly available information, Sky News has looked at how much his company might be making through video streaming, as well as selling subscriptions and merchandise.

More on Andrew Tate

Video streaming

Banned from Twitter in 2017 (but since reinstated in November 2022), Tate was also removed from YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok in August 2022 for breaching their terms and conditions. But he had already built up millions of followers on each platform.

His army of fans followed him to anti-“cancel culture” streaming platform Rumble, where Tate’s associates continue to post clips while he is in prison. Rumble’s emphasis on “free speech” has made it popular among right-wing commenters.

Tate claims he signed a $9m (£7.3m) deal with Rumble in 2022, according to CNN. Rumble did not reply to Sky News’ request for comment, but issued a statement to CNN calling for the charges against Tate to be “investigated promptly and thoroughly”.

Sky News has collated Tate’s video streams from his two Rumble channels, TateSpeech and TateConfidential. The former saw higher video views more consistently after he was blocked by other social media sites.

Although TateConfidential is less successful, the two channels collectively mean Tate has amassed huge viewing figures.

Rumble advertises itself as offering some of the most generous amounts paid out per video view, saying that “1,000 views on Rumble.com may earn you as much as 10,000 views on YouTube”.

Sara McCorquodale, chief executive and founder of influencer intelligence CORQ, explains that how much social platforms usually pay out tends to be “a bit of a grey area”.

“[On Rumble] it could be anything from $0.30 to $20 or $50 per 1,000 views,” she said.

“Andrew Tate could be making anything from $600 (£490) to $20,000 (£16,250) for his most prolific videos.”

By this estimate, Tate’s most popular video “EMERGENCY MEETING 1 – THE MATRIX ATTACKS”, which was broadcast five months ago in the days after he was banned from other social platforms could have earned him up to $133,500 (£108,400) after hitting 2.67m views.

As well as earning money through adverts, Rumble gives creators a bonus if their video is hosted on the site’s front page.

Mrs McCorquodale explained that Tate’s potential earnings on Rumble show just how large his following is, despite the influencer not having access to most mainstream social media sites.

She said: “It shows the numbers of views we are seeing on Andrew’s channels are all coming from his audience.

“This is quite worrying because it shows the scale at which he has attracted people to his narrative.

“Andrew Tate is very much aiming his content at young men… He tries to be aspirational, but then he also tries to connect with young men by seemingly understanding the challenges they face in society today.”

Manosphere merchandise

With Tate banned from most social media, his fans flock to his website – including to buy merchandise to support him.

Activity on his merchandise page has been saved by the Internet Archive project, a digital library of websites. Its records can not be edited or altered.

Using it, we can see how many items were advertised as for sale, at what price and on what date they were listed as having sold out by.

A screenshot of Tate’s online merchandise store on 22 October shows that a T-shirt named “Resist the Slave Mind” was on sale.

It shows Andrew Tate dressed like a character from the 1999 film The Matrix while holding a red pill. The red pill, a motif from the movie, is popular symbol in what is known as the “manosphere”, a loosely connected groups of online misogynists.

The now sold-out shirts were on sale for $100 (£81) each with 1,000 in stock.

This means the T-shirts would have brought in $100,000 (£81,000) of revenue. This is the overall figure earned and would not include any outgoings or division of profit.

These calculations are being made based on figures provided by Tate’s website.

These figures may be unreliable, with Sky News discovering that at least one claim on the site is wrong.

Tate’s website claims the Resist the Slave Mind T-shirt sold out in the specific timeframe of 25hrs 19m and 43 seconds.

However, archived pages show the T-shirt on sale on 22 October, was still on sale on 5 November and was listed as sold out by 7pm the following day.

This means the T-shirt was on sale for more than two weeks, rather than just over a day.

Other sales on his site recorded by the archive include another T-shirt named “Vision”. It was put on sale for $100 (£81) per shirt with 651 listed as available, earning a potential $65,100 (£52,700).

A hoodie, “Cobra”, was on sale for $150 (£120) but the internet archive did not record how many units were available.

A pair of mugs were on sale for $139 (£113) with 888 on offer, potentially generating $123,400 (£100,000).

This means, since the end of October, $265,100 (£215,000) may have been generated through merchandise alone – not including the $150 hoodies, of which we don’t have a verifiable stock figure for.

Tate also sells supplements on his website, priced at $54.99 (£44.50).

We don’t have stock figures to access through the archive, but data provided to Sky News from website analytics company SimilarWeb can give us an insight.

They estimate that the number of hits on the checkout page for supplements in November was around 6,500 and in December around 3,100. While a person visiting the checkout page does not guarantee a sale is made, it does give a sense of how many users are getting to that stage of the purchasing process.

Money-making memberships

Tate sells access to schemes that are advertised as teaching people how to make money online through sessions on skills such as copywriting and crypto-trading.

This is “a classic influencer strategy” that Andrew Tate has put his own spin on, says Mrs McCorquodale.

“The clever thing Andrew Tate has done is recognise that he is a divisive character. Many people may not want to be seen as a fan of him publicly but are buying his subscriptions and engaging privately.

“His subscriptions allow people to engage without risk of judgement. This is crucial.”

There are two levels of access. The first is “The Real World”, a new incarnation of the Hustler’s University, which was shut down last year.

Subscribers pay $49.99 (£40) a month for access to group chat rooms, tutorials and “millionaire mentors”. For those signing up early, an entry fee of $27 (£22) was payable, which later increased to $147 (£120).

The website claims over 200,000 people have transferred over from Hustler’s University or joined the scheme when it launched in November. This would bring in at least $9,998,000 (£8,089,140) a month in subscriptions if that figure is accurate.

However, Sky News has seen a Telegram group for The Real World where members of Hustler’s University were automatically added. It only has 126,255 subscribers.

The number of views each announcement in the group gets has dropped from around 230,000 at the start to around 45,000 in January.

Web traffic to the log in page for The Real World is also much lower than the membership figure would suggest.

Less than 100,000 hits were registered by VStat, another web traffic monitor, in January. The service is unable to give a more precise audience figure when views are this low.

Tate’s other subscription service is The War Room, where membership is significantly more expensive, at $5,454 (£4,400), which must be paid via cryptocurrency.

It is not possible to find a reliable independent figure which could indicate how many people are subscribed to The War Room.

Sky News contacted Tate’s lawyer for comment regarding the figures set out in this article but did not receive a response.

Click to subscribe to the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts

What can we learn from this snapshot of Tate’s earnings?

For Mrs McCorquodale, Sky News’ findings goes some of the way towards answering if these earnings tally with Tate’s displays of wealth.

“What’s clear is he has multiple revenue streams which all link back to him monetising his digital audience and mean he is less reliant on mainstream social media platforms,” she said.

“These let him continually push a message and amass more new customers but ultimately he is trying to get them off those platforms and onto his own [such as] his War Room subscription.”

The future of Tate’s earnings may well be hit by the police investigation, with Mrs McCorquodale highlighting the falling viewing figures on Rumble after his arrest.

She said: “Many people may like what he’s saying and think the controversy around him is overblown. But the minute there is a chance he might actually be a criminal, they’re out.

“Perhaps this has made consumers review more carefully who he is and his real impact beyond making people annoyed on Twitter.”


The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.

Why data journalism matters to Sky News

Continue Reading

UK

Oleksandr Usyk defeats Tyson Fury to become heavyweight champion of the world

Published

on

By

Oleksandr Usyk defeats Tyson Fury to become heavyweight champion of the world

Oleksandr Usyk has become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world after defeating Tyson Fury in boxing’s biggest fight of the century.

The Ukrainian won on a split decision following the match in Saudi Arabia.

Usyk had 115-112 and 114-113 on two cards, while Fury took the other 114-113.

Oleksandr Usyk lands a punch on Tyson Fury. Pic: PA
Image:
Oleksandr Usyk lands a punch on Tyson Fury. Pic: PA

Fury disputed his loss after the match, saying: “I believe I won that fight. I believe he won a few rounds but I won more of them.

“Make no mistake I won that fight and I’ll be back.”

In response Usyk said he was “ready for a rematch”.

Tyson Fury v Oleksandr Usyk. Pic: Action Images via Reuters
Image:
Pic: Action Images via Reuters

Fury came under early pressure, with Usyk taking the centre of the ring with an aggressive offensive from the start.

At one point Fury was pushed against the ropes and started laughing as Usyk applied pressure.

The “Gypsy King” looked relaxed as he moved around the ring in the early rounds and picked his shots.

Pic: PA
Image:
Pic: PA

Tyson Fury lunges at Oleksandr Usyk. Pic: PA
Image:
Fury lunges at Usyk. Pic: PA

But after Usyk landed a right hook in the ninth round it looked as if Fury was in serious trouble. The Ukrainian followed up by unloading freely but somehow the bookmakers’ favourite stayed on his feet and was saved by the bell.

Last night, Fury weighed in at 262lbs (18st 10lbs) – nearly three stone heavier than Usyk, who clocked in at a career heaviest of 223lbs (15st 13lbs).

Fury refused to look at his opponent during a news conference on Thursday, but did not back down at the weigh-in last night, where the pair almost came to blows before being separated by their entourages.

Usyk arrived into the ring first, dressed as a Cossack warrior.

Fury entered to songs by Barry White and Bonnie Tyler, with the “Gypsy King” spending several minutes dancing on stage before the song changed to Holding Out For A Hero.

Anthony Joshua watched from the ringside, knowing he could meet the winner early next year.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow @SkyNews on X or subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

Continue Reading

UK

Brixham: Warning ‘heads are going to roll’ after water parasite outbreak – as ‘nearly every house in one close has someone ill’

Published

on

By

Brixham: Warning 'heads are going to roll' after water parasite outbreak - as 'nearly every house in one close has someone ill'

Thousands of homes have had their boiling water restrictions lifted after a water tank infected with cryptosporidium was drained and cleaned, South West Water has said.

About 16,000 households in the Brixham area of Devon were told to boil their drinking water following 46 confirmed cases of the disease.

On Saturday afternoon South West Water lifted the boiling restrictions for 14,500 homes after water quality monitoring results found no traces of cryptosporidium in the Alston supply area.

Cryptosporidiosis is caused by a tiny parasite and can lead to vomiting, stomach cramps and watery diarrhoea lasting about two weeks.

More cases are expected to be confirmed due to a delay in developing symptoms – and about 100 more people around Brixham were reporting signs of it on Friday.

South West Water believes the parasite probably entered supplies through a damaged pipe in a field containing animal faeces.

A contaminated water tank at Hillhead reservoir, where cryptosporidium was detected, was drained overnight and “thoroughly cleaned” on Saturday, South West Water said.

One local resident said she knew of only four houses out of 21 in Raddicombe Close, on the outskirts of Brixham, which have not had at least one person fall ill with cryptosporidiosis.

The local MP has warned “heads are going to roll” over the incident.

Tory MP Anthony Mangnall, whose constituency includes Brixham, told LBC: “This is such a serious matter that yes, I think heads are going to roll over this.”

He claimed the supplier had been too slow to issue its safety alert.

An area around Brixham, Devon, affected by a 'boil your tap water' warning. Pic: South West Water
Image:
16,000 businesses and residents are affected by the boil water notice. Pic: South West Water

Mr Mangnall said: “From starting this week with a denial from South West Water that it was anything to do with them, delaying the fact that the boil water notice came in – meaning thousands of people used the water network – to then issuing it on Wednesday, and there are a lot of people who are very ill.”

He called it an “absolutely disastrous week” and said locals were furious.

South West Water has said it’s “deeply sorry” and that it’s been “working tirelessly” to identify the source of the problem and fix it.

One of the sites where locals have queued up to collect bottled water
Image:
Bottled water stations have been set up in the area.

Read more:
What we know about parasite found in drinking water

Parasite outbreak has ‘destroyed’ business

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey accused the government of not doing enough to hold water companies to account.

He told Sky News the firms were “putting profit over the environment, over public health” after multiple cases of sewage being released into rivers and seas.

“We [Liberal Democrats] wouldn’t wait for fines for pollution,” Sir Ed said.

“There should be a sewage tax on the profits of these water companies so we can get the money now.

“There needs to be much tougher regulation… and we may need to look at restructuring the whole water industry.”

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Kelly Holmes joins anti-sewage protest

It comes as dozens of protests over sewage releases were planned for Saturday.

Surfers Against Sewage is promoting “paddle-out” demonstrations at 30 locations, with Olympian Dame Kelly Holmes among those at the event in Brighton.

Continue Reading

UK

Infected Blood Inquiry: Couple who were shunned and abused as son lay dying hoping for ‘justice’

Published

on

By

Infected Blood Inquiry: Couple who were shunned and abused as son lay dying hoping for 'justice'

Colin Smith carries a small suitcase into the dining room of their Newport home and lays it flat on the table in the centre of the room. He pops open both latches.

His wife Jan reaches inside and pulls out a sky blue child’s blanket. She holds it close to her face, closes her eyes and inhales deeply.

“It still smells of him,” she says, softly.

“This is the blanket he was wrapped in when he died.”

Their son, also called Colin, was just seven years old when he died in January 1990. His tiny body was ravaged by Hepatitis C and AIDS.

The suitcase, much like the one most families used to own in the 1980s, is just big enough to hold all the memories of their son’s short life.

Next to the blanket, are his favourite toys including a snow globe and lots of his artwork.

Jan and Colin Smith. Their son, also called Colin, died age seven after receiving infected blood. Pictured looking through a case of their son's possessions. From Ashish Joshi report on infected blood scandal/inquiry.
Image:
Jan and Colin Smith look through the suitcase containing their son’s possessions

Jan explains that Collin, loved to paint and draw and that he was very talented.

“He was 13 pounds when he died. That’s nothing is it for a seven-year-old?” Jan asks.

The question goes unanswered as a momentary silence fills the room.

Colin was born with haemophilia. The treatment for his blood clotting disorder included a product called Factor VIII.

What his parents didn’t know was that the Factor VIII was made in America using blood farmed from prisoners, drug addicts and sex workers.

Jan can recall all the fine details of that day clearly. Especially the cold, matter-of-fact way the bombshell news was delivered by doctors treating Collin.

“We went to the hospital,” Jan says, and they called us out into a corridor, kids running around, parents, and just told us that Colin had become [infected with] HIV.”

By this time their beautiful little boy had become very sick.

Victim Colin Smith. From Ashish Joshi report on infected blood scandal/inquiry. Pic supplied by family
Image:
Colin Smith with his toys

‘You just couldn’t pick him up’

Colin senior is still haunted by the effect the virus had on his son’s body. ‘You could see every sinew and tendon in his body,” he said.

Jan said: “I think it was about ’89 that we realised because the weight loss was incredible. And we had him home for a little while, and you couldn’t just pick him up.

“We had to use a sheepskin because it hurt him. He would say: ‘Mum you’re hurting, it’s hurting’.”

Colin was treated by Professor Arthur Bloom, who died in 1992. But in the 1980s, he was one of the country’s leading haemophiliac specialists.

However, documents shown at the Infected Blood Inquiry prove Bloom’s research carried great risks and these were never explained to Colin’s parents.

Professor Arthur Bloom, who died in 1992, was one of the country's leading haemophiliac specialists. From Ashish Joshi report on infected blood inquiry and interview with Colin and Jan Smith
Image:
Professor Arthur Bloom, who died in 1992, was one of the country’s leading haemophiliac specialists

There is a record of the first time Colin went into hospital that shows that he had never been treated for his haemophilia at this point.

Previously untreated patients were known to be useful for research as their responses to new treatments could be tracked. Patients exactly like Colin.

Also shown to the Infected Blood Inquiry was a letter from Prof Bloom to a colleague after another visit by Colin to hospital saying he’s been given Factor VIII and acknowledging that even though this was the British version there was still a risk of Hepatitis but that “this is just something haemophiliacs have to accept”.

Read more:
Blood donations ‘collected from UK prisons’
Bereaved families say loved ones were ‘used’

And a letter, dated 24 June 1983, from Prof Bloom to colleagues discusses the risk of AIDS. They accept that one possible case of AIDS has been reported.

Colin’s parents are convinced their son was being used in secret trials.

Victim Colin Smith. From Ashish Joshi report on infected blood scandal/inquiry. Pic supplied by family
Image:
Colin Smith

“I think Colin was just unlucky enough to be born at the right time. Newly diagnosed haemophiliac, never been treated,” his father explained.

“Which is what we were after, because as documentation states that they are cheaper than chimpanzees, you know. You treat a chimp once, you can follow these children throughout their lives. And that’s what was going on.

“And this was going on from the ’70s. Colin was born in 1982. Yet they still infected him. How do you justify that?”

His mother said that they trusted the doctors at the time and never questioned their son’s treatment. “Just when we think back – at the time no, we didn’t. But when we think back, it was just blood tests. Blood tests, blood tests, blood tests.”

Hate campaign

The threat of HIV and AIDs was only just emerging. And this ignorance drove a hate-fuelled campaign against all those impacted.

This stigma forced Colin and Jan to move home and be shunned by some of their own community. All while still caring for their dying son.

“It became public when he needed to start school, for nursery, and all the parents protested and said: ‘We’re not having an AIDS kid in this school’, because we’ve been known as the AIDS family. We had AIDS that were [written] on the house and you’re not talking little.

“Well, it was like six-foot letters ‘AIDS DEAD’, we had crosses scraped into the door. The phone calls in the middle of the night were not very nice. They were the worst.”

Click to subscribe to the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts

As Colin’s condition deteriorated his parents decided to bring him home for what would be his last Christmas with the family. It was against the wishes of Prof Bloom.

Jan and Colin were told haemophiliacs with AIDS should die in hospital and be cremated quickly. But the family ignored the hospital.

“And you know what,” Jan says. “He asked for a bike. And we actually got him a bike. He never rode it, obviously because he was too ill. But he wanted a bike. And I’m not going to not get him a bike. Because they all have bikes. But Colin never, never even sat on one.”

Victim Colin Smith's last Christmas at home. From Ashish Joshi report on infected blood scandal/inquiry. Pic supplied by family
Image:
Colin Smith spent his last Christmas at home, against the wishes of Professor Bloom

That difficult decision to remove Colin from hospital to spend his last days with his family at home proved to be the right one.

“He was on my lap and he just got up to you, didn’t he?” Jan says looking at her husband. “He said: ‘I can’t see, daddy. I can’t see’. And then he just lay back. My hand was on his chest.

“And, you know, for a mother to actually feel the rise and fall of his chest. Waiting for it to stop. Because that’s what I was doing.

“I was waiting for it to stop. And then it stopped. And I just said: ‘I think he’s gone’. And I remember shaking him a little bit, but he’d gone.”

Jan and Colin Smith. Their son, also called Colin, died age seven after receiving infected blood. From Ashish Joshi report on infected blood scandal/inquiry.
Image:
Jan and Colin Smith speaking to Sky News

‘I want my son to have his name back’

On Monday, Sir Brian Langstaff will deliver the long-awaited report into the infected blood scandal.

It has taken campaigners like Jan and Colin decades to achieve this. They are clear on what this report must say and how the government must respond.

Colin senior lives with the guilt of not protecting his son. He wants accountability.

“I want justice to be served properly not hypothetically. Let’s see the people who did this, hopefully criminal charges. It is manslaughter at least. I gave my son over to his killers, you know, and I can’t get to grips with that,” he says.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Blood scandal ‘the worst thing’

For Jan, it will be recognition for a lifetime of heartbreak and grieving.

“I want people to recognise my son. And I want to be able to go to the cemetery and say, we’ve done it. And you’ve done it. That’s what I want. And I want an apology.

“People say it’s the money, it’s not the money. And I can’t get that through to people. It’s not the money. I want recognition.

“I want my son to have his name back. His name is Colin John Smith. And that’s what I want people to remember.”

Infected blood inquiry Sky News promo image

Sky News will have full coverage of the infected blood report on TV, online and on the Sky News app on Monday.

Continue Reading

Trending