Moneywise Podcast | March 24, 2026

Episode Title: Matt Paulson has $25m a year in personal income – nice.
Host: Hampton
Guest: Matt Paulson, Founder & CEO of MarketBeat

Overview

This episode of Moneywise, tailored for high-net-worth founders in the Hampton community, features an in-depth interview with Matt Paulson. Paulson, a self-made entrepreneur from Mitchell, South Dakota, shares the details of his journey from modest beginnings to leading MarketBeat—a $50 million/year topline business with outstanding margins and $25 million annual personal income, all fully bootstrapped. The conversation is refreshingly candid about numbers, lifestyle, family, investing, philanthropy, and what it means to reach financial “enough.”

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Matt’s Background: From Small Town Hustler to Online Entrepreneur

• Origins: Grew up in lower-middle-class Mitchell, SD. Mother a librarian, father a cop ([02:40]).
• Started hustling early—collected cans at the park after baseball games for recycling money.
• Built his first website on SimCity games in middle school, earning modest ad revenue ([03:58]).
• High school/college jobs: Burger King, gas station, and, when only McDonald's called back, worked there to cover tuition ([04:33]).

Quote:

"I just wanted more of it [money] and wanted to spend it and didn’t have it, so I had to figure out how to get it."
— Matt Paulson ([04:02])

The Leap: Building and Bootstrapping MarketBeat

• Early online writing and blogging, collecting small sums via Google AdSense ([05:27]).
• Bootstrapped out of necessity: "[Raising money] just wasn’t a choice available..." ([06:23]).
• By 2012: MarketBeat generated $280k; he left his web design job, kept the business, finished his seminary degree, and prioritized family after a premature baby ([07:04]).

Quote:

"It was really just, okay, it’s time. I need to set this thing off and be focused on being dad and focused on the business, and just make a go of it."
— Matt Paulson ([07:04])

When Wealth Can’t Be Hidden

• For years, even $1–2M annual earnings didn’t attract much notice.
• Visibility shifted around Covid and when his MarketBeat logo appeared on a Sioux Falls building; local prominence led to both access and a flood of odd requests ([08:20]).

The Numbers: MarketBeat’s Financials

• 2025 Revenue: Over $50M topline.
• Profit: ~$20M EBITDA, with owner payroll/bonus for QBI deduction adding another $5M ([10:12]).
• Paul's Take Home: About $25M/year.

Where the Money Goes

• $7–8M to federal taxes alone.
• $1–2M to charitable giving—major local philanthropy.
• Half of MarketBeat ownership is in trusts for kids/future generations.
• Leaves about $5M/year for personal spending ([10:43]).

Spending Breakdown

• Lives on about $1–1.5M/year.
• Typical month: ~$100K–125K spending.
• Holds a $5K/month apartment downtown as a fun convenience, Vikings NFL suite ($170K/yr), country club, and other miscellaneous memberships ([12:03]).

Quote:

"We just do the stuff that we think is fun and whatever it costs is what it costs. But also we live in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. There is an upper limit of what you can spend on lifestyle here."
— Matt Paulson ([12:17])

Private Jet Philosophy & Usage

• Purchased a private jet in 2022 ($4M all-in, largely financed, significant tax depreciation; [13:12]).
• Charters it out, but mainly for convenience and branding ("it's got my logo on it—that's pretty cool"; [13:12]).
• Net worth at time of purchase: ~ $100–120M.
• Last commercial flight: 4 years ago (“My plane was broken and I needed to get to Phoenix”; [15:34]).

Portfolio & Asset Allocation

• Estimated Net Worth: ~$300M (including MarketBeat).
• Breakdown (of personal $90M outside MarketBeat):
  • $40M in real estate (bought aggressively during COVID, 2000 apartment units, various commercial buildings)
  • $20M in private equity
  • $15M in stocks
  • $15M in cash ([16:10])
• Investments include 7 Starbucks (down from 9, closed locations), heavy tilt toward real estate due to generational opportunity during COVID ([17:45]).

Angel Investing & Lessons Learned

• ~80+ startup investments; admits to "playing" with small early checks, now writes a minimum $500K check.
• Notable wins: early Dollar Shave Club (~3–4x), Prismatic (to exit soon), Jason Calacanis' Density (30x on paper, [19:33]).
• Now does less angel activity: "102 K1 forms a year...more complicated than life needs to be." ([19:43])

Quote:

"If I'm not willing to write a $500,000 check to something I just won't do it."
— Matt Paulson ([19:43])

Controversy & MarketBeat’s Model

• BuzzFeed exposé in 2020 on “fake news” sites affiliation and the affiliate model. Paulson downplays the actual business impact. Lost one ad network ("just replaced them with Google AdSense"; [22:56]), the rest was noise.

Quote:

"It seemed like a big thing at the time, but honestly, it just really wasn't."
— Matt Paulson ([22:36])

Faith, Philanthropy & Community

• Holds a Master’s in Christian Leadership.
• Significant philanthropic commitment: $1–2M a year, focused on religious, community, and cultural initiatives (e.g., national tennis tournament, science museum, local concerts, large music festivals; [25:13]).
• On giving: "It's definitely not about the tax break... It's really a... set an example for people like me that are younger..." ([26:08]).

Wealth, Enough, & Life Balance

• Reached a personal “enough” number a few years ago: “I just don’t need more money” ([26:55]).
• Only major purchases left: maybe a bigger jet (“I think it’d be a lot of fun, but I don’t think it would be a meaningful difference”; [27:23]).
• Family is first: daughter with special needs, rejects evening event invites, prioritizes kids over glamour and business functions ([27:42]).

Quote:

"My kids are 9 and 13 now, so like, the clock's ticking... when I'm 50, I guess I'll go to some of those events, but until then, not a priority for me."
— Matt Paulson ([28:35])

Generational Wealth & Kids

• MarketBeat ownership split with trusts for long-term legacy ([10:43], [29:09]).
• Wants to provide for daughter’s special needs, not to raise "trust fund" kids.
• Tries to keep kids grounded—public school, normal neighborhood, house bought for $400K ("they largely have the same lives as their friends"; [30:55]).

If It All Disappeared: What’s Next?

• Would focus on VC fund (currently $40M under management), real estate, or potentially a “degenerate version” of MarketBeat focusing purely on content/ad arbitrage ([29:54], [30:13]).

Quote:

"There's the subscription business and website tools business...very hard to maintain... Then there's creating content and sticking ads in it...much more profitable. So I would just skip the MarketBeat stuff...and, like, do all the easy stuff."
— Matt Paulson ([30:13])

Advice on Wealth, Work, Focus, and Family

• "Throw a lot of stuff at the wall and see what sticks; do it more frequently and more often than other people.” ([31:44])
• Compounding effort outside of “normal people stuff” is the edge ([32:13]).
• If he could do it differently: would have focused more exclusively on the main business; opportunity cost of distractions is real ([32:48]).
• Sees himself running MarketBeat in 10 years—loves the game ([33:30]).

Quote:

"Some people know what their calling is, and my calling is to get people to click on ads on the Internet and buy stuff. I just love it."
— Matt Paulson ([33:30])

Notable Quotes

• "[We only really became visible]...when your logo is on a building, then people know you have money." ([08:20])
• "The income tax system is designed for people like me to pay the most." ([10:43])
• "Never gonna sell MarketBeat. Why would I do that? ...I would no more sell Market Beat than one of my own children." ([18:30], [18:43])
• "If we tithe, there would be two or three times the church budget. That doesn't seem like a great idea either." ([24:27])
• "Focus is..." ([32:48])
• "I will still be running MarketBeat as long as I'm alive. Love the business." ([33:30])

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Background, Early Hustle: [02:40]–[05:27]
• Bootstrapping & Early Revenue: [06:23]–[07:04]
• Turning Point/Going All-In: [07:04]
• Visibility of Wealth & Local Life: [08:20]–[09:57]
• Detailed Financial Breakdown: [10:12]–[12:03]
• Private Jet Logic: [13:00]–[15:34]
• Asset Allocation/Real Estate: [16:10]–[18:26]
• Angel Investing Approach: [19:19]–[20:25]
• BuzzFeed “Fake News” Controversy: [21:17]–[23:06]
• Faith & Philanthropy: [23:21]–[26:36]
• Hitting Enough & Wealth Perspective: [26:48]–[27:26]
• Parenting, Generational Wealth: [27:42]–[29:44]
• What If MarketBeat Vanished?: [29:54]–[30:13]
• Money Lessons & Regrets: [31:39]–[32:48]
• Future Plans/Focus: [33:24]–[34:41]

Summary Takeaways

Matt Paulson’s journey defies the typical tech founder narrative: bootstrapped from small-town beginnings, built a massive personal fortune through relentless experimentation, focus, and compounding effort—never selling out, never raising a dollar. He is radically candid about money and motivated not by material needs, but by family, legacy, and love for his craft. For those building businesses, he underscores discipline, focus, and prioritizing life outside work as the real markers of lasting wealth and happiness.