News coverage on YouTube has been rising in popularity lately. One of the pioneers of this genre is Philip DeFranco, also known by his online alias PhillyD. He is a news commentator who has made several channels reach success, and his most popular endeavor is perhaps The Philip DeFranco Show. As of 2023, Philip Defranco has a net worth of $12 million.
Early Life
DeFranco was born Philip James Franchini Jr. on December 1, 1985. He is of Italian descent and was raised in The Bronx, New York. Sabrina, his younger sister, is his only sibling.
He fled New York because of his troubled family situation, which included an alcoholic mother and a violent stepfather. Because of this, he started working at an early age. He also jumped around multiple schools as a college student.
Philip went to the University of South Florida, Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, and East Carolina University. Before reuniting with his dad in Tampa, Florida, he used to live in a car.
Career Beginnings
He created his YouTube channel, which was originally named sxephil, in 2016. From the start, he created videos that are news-related. He titled his news series The Philip DeFranco Show.
A year after starting his account, he experimented with adding more gossip related material to his news content. He started getting more traction from this. He appealed for donations from his followers before the YouTube partnership program was accessible.
His channel became so successful that it became one of the top five most-subscribed accounts on YouTube in the early 2010s. Currently, his personal channel has over 6.31 million subscribers.
Other Ventures
In 2008, he hosted HBOLabs’ web series Hooking Up. It aired for ten episodes and was well-received. Philip was also named Wired’s Sexiest Geek in the same year. He partnered with Revision3, a multi-channel network and subsidiary of Discovery Digital Networks, in 2012.
Later on, DeFranco released a new channel, SourceFed, which talked about technology, pop culture, and current events. Philip also had a deal with Group Nine Media, but they parted ways in 2017.
He also left Discovery Digital Networks to become an independent YouTuber again. To fund his projects, he created his Patreon page DeFranco Elite. Philip also made Rogue Rocket, a news website, and Beautiful Bastard, an online clothing store.
Net Worth and Earnings
DeFranco makes an estimated $4,000 per day on YouTube with ad revenue. That’s about $1.4 million every year. However, this figure doesn’t include his earnings from sponsorships from brands like NordVPN, Manscaped, Keeps, and Ziprecruiter.
As for his Patreon, he currently has around 16,000 subscribers, which collectively gives him $80,000 monthly. His website and hair care products also provide him with substantial income streams. This is why his net worth is $12 million.
Personal Life
Philip has a wife named Lindsay Jordan DeFranco, who is an advocate for mental health and media literacy. They got married in 2013 and the couple has been blessed with two boys, Philip Jr. and Carter William. They reside in a $4.1 million property in Encino, Los Angeles.
