If you have a special interest in rabble rousers, you’ve probably at least heard the name Tim Pool. He had his 15 minutes of fame back in 2011 when he became known for his live streaming during the Occupy Wall Street movement.
You may think Pool has faded into obscurity since then, but given the power of social media, 15 minutes of fame goes a long way these days, especially when you start a few YouTube channels and accumulate millions of followers.
Those millions extend to Pool’s net worth. Tim is worth $2 million and earns between $350,000 to $1.3 million per year. All of which is nothing short of incredible given Pool’s background and the struggles he faced growing up.
Early Life
Pool was born in Chicago in 1986, and his father was a firefighter, while his mother sold cars. This unusual professional mix fell apart early on, then they divorced, and the financial hardship that followed eventually led young Tim to quit school at the tender age of 14, after which he went to work as a baggage handler.
Tim’s turnaround began in 2011 when he became part of the Occupying Wall Street movement, living with a band of protesters in Zuccotti Park. He did several live streams that made it onto mainstream media platforms, then helped from a company called “The Other 99” that failed once the Occupy movement fell apart.
Career
From there he joined Vice Media, where Pool began to truly find his voice as a journalist. He actually live-streamed mass protests in Ukraine in 2014, and from there he went to Fusion TV.
Pool spent two years with Fusion, and three years after that he founded a news company, Subverse, that raised over a million dollars in its first 24 hours of existence.
That was the turning point for Pool. He’s since started three different YouTube channels – Timcast/Tim Pool, Tomcats IRL and Cast Castle, and between the three he has nearly four million subscribers.
He also has the requisite throng following him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, so at this point he could probably form a small country with his band of brothers and others.
Those platforms have provided Pool with an income and revenue stream that’s probably the envy of many high-end mainstream journalists. He actually won a Shorty award for “Best Journalist in Social Media” back in 2013, but the world in which Pool operates now really isn’t about awards at all.
At the relatively tender age of 35, Pool has evolved into something of a political heavy hitter to his audience, and he’s been savvy enough to use his platforms and outlets to do brand promotion, sponsorship and the like.
Pool seems to have no desire to cross over into the world of mainstream media, which makes sense given the success he’s had despite his lack of formal education.
The second half of his life will probably be about whatever moves he makes to solidify what he has to date, but Pool seems like a freewheeling sort who doesn’t have much regard for traditional paths to success.
Personal Life
As for his personal life, it’s been all quiet on the Pool front for some time now. He was rumored to be dating adult star Violet Summers, but at this point it’s anyone’s guess if that situation has actually gone anywhere.
