Steven Bartlett says his podcast The Diary of a CEO is on track to generate roughly $60 million in revenue this year, a dramatic rise from the $1.2 million it brought in back in 2021, when the show started with little more than a $100 microphone.
Bartlett’s holding company, Steven.com, which houses the podcast alongside his other creator businesses, is separately projected to generate around $90 million in revenue this year, underscoring how far the operation has scaled beyond a single show.
Much of that growth has come despite Bartlett turning down lucrative offers rather than chasing every available dollar. He declined one deal that would have required running roughly four times more advertising than he currently uses, along with conditions that would have taken the show off YouTube entirely.
Beyond traditional advertising, the business has diversified its revenue streams to include products, subscriptions and live events, a mix Bartlett credits with giving the show more durable, less ad-dependent economics than a typical podcast.
The trajectory from a $1.2 million operation in 2021 to a projected $60 million this year illustrates how far independent media businesses built around a single creator can scale when revenue isn't limited to advertising alone.
Bartlett's willingness to turn down deals that would compromise the show's format, rather than maximizing short-term ad revenue, points to a broader strategy of protecting long-term audience trust and platform control even as the business has grown into a far larger commercial operation.
