Matt Paulson has $25m a year in personal income - nice.

From picking up cans in Mitchell, South Dakota to running MarketBeat with tens of millions in profit, a real estate portfolio, Starbucks stores, and a jet with his logo on it, Matt Paulson built it all without outside capital. Welcome to MoneyWise, Matt.

Glad to be here. Let’s dive in.

Start us off with your early money mindset and those first hustles.

Small-town upbringing, little extra cash, so I learned to create it. I recycled cans, sold candy, and in middle school made gaming sites that earned small ad checks, which primed me to try the internet for real.

When did that switch flip from side hustles to building serious income?

A rough college stint at fast food pushed me online. Around 2006 I wrote for other sites, then launched a personal finance blog and learned how to make money with content.

Why bootstrapping instead of raising money?

In rural South Dakota, venture capital wasn’t on the menu and I didn’t even know the SBA path. Bootstrapping wasn’t a philosophy at first—it was the only option.

Walk us through going full time in 2012.

MarketBeat hit roughly two hundred eighty thousand dollars that year while my day job paid sixty thousand. A premature baby, grad school, and the business forced a decision, so I quit the job, kept the company, and focused on family.

When did your success stop being easy to hide?

It took years; the office in downtown Sioux Falls with our logo made it obvious. Small-town access is great, but I set boundaries to handle the constant asks.

Give us the latest MarketBeat numbers and what you actually take home.

About fifty million dollars in revenue for 2025, near twenty million in profit plus owner pay that brings my take to roughly twenty-five million. After federal taxes, giving, and trusts, I keep around five million, and we live on about one to one and a half million.

What does spending look like and why stay in Sioux Falls?

Monthly outlay is often one hundred to one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars, with things like a downtown apartment, a country club, and a Vikings suite. We stay because our roots, business, and real estate are here.

Why buy a jet, and how do you make it pencil?

Sioux Falls has limited charter options, so I bought a plane for about four million all-in with long-term financing and bonus depreciation. We charter it to offset costs; it mostly breaks even, and I avoid the airport grind while flying a plane with our brand on it.

How wealthy were you before pulling that trigger, and what pushed you over the edge?

I had around thirty-six million dollars outside of the company then, and I’d been chartering for years. Airports finally wore me down, so I made the switch.

Break down your portfolio and the COVID-era real estate spree.

Outside MarketBeat I’m near ninety million dollars: about forty in real estate, twenty in private equity, fifteen in stocks, and fifteen in cash. Low rates during COVID made buying apartments a no-brainer, and now we’re at roughly two thousand units and still building.

Why not sell MarketBeat—would any number change your mind?

I love operating it and treat it like family. Only an extreme multiple would tempt me; normal private equity offers don’t move me.

What have you learned from angel investing, and how has your approach changed?

Early small checks were naive, though I had wins like Dollar Shave Club and strong marks in Density and Prismatic. The admin load is brutal, so now I write a minimum five hundred thousand dollar check or I pass.

Walk us through the BuzzFeed flap and what actually mattered.

We bought legacy news domains to get into Google News, which BuzzFeed framed as deceptive. We were transparent about ownership, an affiliate went further than we liked, we lost one ad network briefly, swapped to AdSense, and it later came back—more noise than damage.

You went to seminary and you give a lot. How do faith and philanthropy fit in?

I hold a master’s in Christian leadership because I wanted depth and context. We give to our church and across the community, but we keep it low profile and focus on impact, not tax math.

Where else do you give, and how do you decide?

We fund missionaries, local nonprofits, free summer concerts, a children’s science museum, a USTA tennis event, and a big summer festival. A MarketBeat committee reviews grants up to twenty-five thousand dollars and gives around a quarter million each year.

Do you have a threshold number where more money stops mattering?

I’m already there. A bigger jet would be fun, but it wouldn’t change my life.

How has fatherhood shaped your choices and estate planning?

My daughter has special needs and is my priority, so I skip most events to be with family. Trusts ensure her care, while I still want my son to build his own path.

If MarketBeat disappeared tomorrow, what would you do?

I’d lean into our forty million dollar VC fund and real estate, then rebuild a lean, ad-driven version of the business and avoid the hardest-to-maintain products.

How do your kids experience your wealth and the jet?

We keep a modest home and use public schools so their lives feel normal. My son once complained about the small plane because the big commercial one looked cooler.

What’s your core advice, and is there anything you’d redo?

Outwork the average by experimenting when others relax, then let compounding stack up. If I could redo one thing, I’d focus harder on the main business and skip shiny side quests.

Where will you be in ten years, and how are you handling the investing sprawl?

Happily running MarketBeat because I love the data and feedback loop, and I’ll keep shrinking my stack of K-1s. An advisor manages most equities, while I personally hold just Berkshire and Tesla so I can focus on building MarketBeat.

Appreciate you coming on MoneyWise, Matt. We’re excited to watch you keep sharpening that focus.

Thanks for having me—and a quick shout to Sam Parr’s founder podcast for the value it brings.