From Viral Videos To A $425 Million Creator Empire: How Steven Bartlett Is Building Beyond YouTube
Steven Bartlett wants to put $400 million into creator businesses. His own company is worth $425 million, and his podcast is Spotify's No. 2 in the world.
Steven Bartlett has launched OBSN with Authentic Brands Group and says he wants to put up to $400 million into creator businesses. His holding company was valued at $425 million last year, and he still owns more than 90% of it. Steven Bartlett launched a creator venture called OBSN with Authentic Brands Group on September 14, 2026, and told the room he is "aiming to deploy up to $400m in creator businesses over the coming years." The 34-year-old runs it through Steven.com, the US holding company that was valued at $425 million in October 2025 and in which he keeps more than 90%.
The "Diary of a CEO" started at @StevenBartlett's kitchen table. Today, it's part of a $425 million holding company.https://t.co/TRwQFLw0hA spans podcasts, book deals, live events and investments. Bartlett also partners with Spotify, LinkedIn and Adobe and recently invested in… pic.twitter.com/snNJFR5O2L
— Forbes (@Forbes) June 25, 2026
The Authentic deal is a bet that creators can be built like brands
The split is simple enough. Steven.com handles media, technology, data, and audience growth, while Authentic handles brand building, product, licensing, and global distribution, with each creator deal built separately.
OBSN is not only an investment arm. It already runs a creator-economy news and events business with more than a million Instagram followers, and Bartlett wants festivals and an awards show attached to it. Jamie Salter and Matt Maddox are on the Authentic side. Their own language was looser than the headline number, talking about deploying "hundreds of millions of dollars in the near term."
The Diary of a CEO is the engine under all of it
None of this works without the podcast. Diary of a CEO was Spotify's second most-streamed show in the world in 2025, its most-streamed business and technology podcast, and the number one podcast in the UK.
It passed a billion listens across Apple, Spotify and YouTube in November 2024, has more than 19 million YouTube subscribers, and won Best Business and Finance Podcast at the iHeartPodcast Awards in March 2026. Forbes put Bartlett third on its Top Creators list in June 2026, with $52 million in earnings for the year. No British creator ranked higher.
Why Steven Bartlett's record is not a clean success story
His first company did not end well. Social Chain, which he co-founded in Manchester in 2014 with Dominic McGregor, merged into a German listed firm in 2019, and he left in 2020 at 27. The listed company filed for insolvency in 2023, and the UK agency was sold off for £7.7 million.
The podcast has drawn harder scrutiny. A BBC World Service investigation in December 2024 examined 15 health episodes and found each carried an average of around 14 claims that ran against established science. His team called the sample "disingenuous" and said it covered under 4% of the show. Regulators have landed on him too. In August 2024, the ASA banned ads for Huel and Zoe featuring Bartlett because they did not disclose that he has a commercial stake in both.