Gary Vaynerchuk is one of the earliest adopters of the internet and social media. He built a social media following that became one of his most lucrative streams of income. In the 1990s, he took over his family’s wine business and took it online. In 2006, he launched a daily webcast. He co-founded a digital agency in 2009 with his brother, AJ Vaynerchuk. Today, Gary Vaynerchuk is one of the top influencers and investors. He has built a huge net worth of $200 million.
Dive into Gary Vaynerchuk’s net worth story—a tale of strategic investing, hard work, and the power of a strong personal brand.
Gary Vaynerchuk’s Biography
Early Life and Education
Gary “Vee” Vaynerchuk was born in Babruysk, Belarus. Born on November 14, 1975, he was the first son of Tamara Vaynerchuk and Sasha Vaynerchuk. Vaynerchuk and his family moved to the United States when he was only three. They lived in the New York borough of Queens for a while and relocated to Edison, New Jersey.
Gary developed his entrepreneurial spirit from an early age. At seven, he started a lemonade business and sold baseball cards. He also worked for his father, bagging ice for $2 per hour. At 14, he joined his father in the family wine business.
Vaynerchuk went to North Hunterdon High School and graduated in 1993. After high school, Gary joined Mount Ida College in Newton, Massachusetts. He graduated in 1998 with a Bachelor’s degree in management science.
Personal Life
Gary Vaynerchuk has one young brother, AJ Vaynerchuk, with whom they are in business. He married Lizzie Vaynerchuk in 2004. The couple has one daughter, Misha Eva Vaynerchuk, and a son, Xander Avi Vaynerchuk.
Gary and Lizzie separated in 2022. Gary communicated the separation on his Instagram page, hinting at a new relationship with Mona Vand. Vaynerchuk is very active on social media. He boasts over 30 million followers across all social media platforms.
Gary Vaynerchuk Throughout the Years
Wine Career
After college, Gary Vaynerchuk officially joined the family wine business. He renamed the retail liquor to Wine Library. He transformed the store into a retail shop selling wine only. He took Wine Library online and launched a daily webcast called Wine Library TV.
Gary used his online marketing to grow the business from $3 million in annual sales to $60 million by 2003. In 2019, Gary founded Empathy Wines. He founded the e-commerce wine company to eliminate the middlemen. He used his e-commerce mastery to eliminate the importer, distributor, and retailer.
In its founding year, Empathy Wines sold over 15,000 wine cases. The company also built a subscriber base of 2,000 customers who purchased the wine online. In 2020, Vaynerchuk sold the direct-to-consumer wine company to Constellation Brands.
Gary Vaynerchuk launched a YouTube channel, Wine Library TV, in 2006. The video blog featured top wine reviews and tasting. It also offered expert advice on wine. Gary produced the daily vlogs at the Springfield Wine Library store.
After 1,000 episodes, Gary replaced the show with a new podcast, The Daily Grape, in 2011. In 2010, the millionaire wine master launched a radio show, Wine & Web. The show aired on Sirius XM satellite radio. The program had two areas of focus. The first was a Wine of the Week section featuring new wine tastings. The show’s second segment, Web of the Week, covered trends, startups, and gadget reviews.
Media Companies
Gary Vaynerchuk partnered with his younger brother, AJ Vaynerchuk, to launch VaynerMedia in 2009. VaynerMedia is a digital ad agency that primarily focuses on social media marketing. It offers social media strategy services to huge corporations.
With VaynerMedia, Gary has worked with big 500 Fortune companies such as Pepsi and GE. It works with the video platform Vimeo to link businesses and filmmakers for digital content. In 2015, Ad Age magazine named VaynerMedia one of its A-List agencies.
Gary launched a parent communications firm, VaynerX, in 2016. The company holds technology companies and media properties. One of the agencies under VaynerX is Tracer, a marketing reporting & analytics agency.
Another subsidiary of VaynerX is The Gallery Media Group, founded in 2017. Vaynerchuk founded the modern-day media firm to make positivity louder. The Gallery Media Group houses PureWow after Gary acquired it.
By 2019, the communications company had over 800 employees, generating $130 million in annual revenues. VaynerMedia has worked with leading corporations such as GE.
Take a Look at How Gary Vaynerchuk Got to Where He Is Today:
Book Royalties
Gary Vaynerchuk’s net worth comes from various sources, including book royalties and speaking fees. His books are not just guides into the digital world. They are motivational guides for anyone who wishes to learn the secrets to success.
In 2008, Vaynerchuk delivered a keynote speech at Web 2.0 in New York City. That speech changed his career for good. It secured him a $1 million book deal with Harper Collins. The deal published Gary Vaynerchuk’s first self-help book, Crush It. The book was a hit thanks to Gary’s marketing ideas, innovative advertising, and public relations.
Other Ventures
Gary is the perfect definition of a serial entrepreneur. He has taken advantage of every opportunity to build a net worth of $200 million.
In 2017, he was cast alongside Will.i.am and Gwyneth Paltrow in an Apple reality TV show, Planet of the Apps. In the show, App developers compete for investments. The show toured several states and cities, including Austin and Los Angeles.
In 2014, he launched a YouTube show called #AskGaryVee. Vaynerchuk uses the show to answer Twitter and Instagram questions about advertising. In 2015, he launched another YouTube show, DailyVee, where he chronicles his life as a businessman.
In 2019, Gary Vaynerchuk and others founded Resy, a restaurant reservation software company that he sold to American Express.
Gary Vaynerchuk’s Net Worth Timeline
With a net worth between $200 million and $220 million, here is the net worth growth of Gary Vaynerchuk through the past six years.
| 2018 | $130 million |
| 2019 | $140 million |
| 2020 | $155 million |
| 2021 | $170 million |
| 2022 | $190 million |
| 2023 | $200 million – $220 million |
Gary Vee’s Net Worth Lessons
Give, Give, Give, Ask
Gary Vaynerchuk believes in giving more than you ask. He expounded his philosophy in a 2013 publication, Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook. The title translates to “Give, Give, Give, the Ask”. In explanation, Gary says that jabs are the small content you offer your customers. Right, Hook is the call to action that benefits your business after your customers have been satisfied.
Document, Don’t Create
One of Gary Vaynerchuk’s biggest marketing lessons is documenting instead of creating content. According to the content master, many people are crippled by the idea of creating original content. To beat this, Gary suggests that you document your work instead of struggling with content creation.
Don’t Struggle. Hustle.
Another powerful lesson from Gary Vaynerchuk’s journey to great net worth is Do not Struggle. Keep Hustling. The social media expert says that there is no shortcut to success. You must work hard throughout to see desirable results in what you do.
You Must Have Patience
Gary says there is nothing like overnight success. Vaynerchuk says you must grind hard every day. Avoid stressing out when you do not see quick results. Be patient with your new business idea. Things take time.
Create Once, Publish Everywhere
Gary Vaynerchuk employs a marketing strategy called COPE. Create once and publish everywhere is a term that tells content creators to distribute content across all social media sites. From your LinkedIn blog posts to your YouTube videos.
Think Really Big
Another thing that Gary wants us to learn is to avoid limiting our thinking. According to Vaynerchuk, thinking big helps to create a state of open-mindedness. This opens you up to creativity and possibilities. This poses the question, how would you ever become a millionaire if you do not think about making huge money?
Make Your Personal Brand
This is quite self-explanatory. Building a reputable personal brand is what built Gary’s net worth to $200 million.
Fall Down Seven Times, Stand Up Eight
Fall down seven times and stand up eight is a popular Japanese proverb. This is the driving force behind Gary’s greatness. According to the Belarusian-American entrepreneur, rising after a fall makes you a master in your craft. The guy secretly hopes to lose all his wealth to build it up all over again.
Take Action
The best way to learn anything is by doing it. Gary is a millionaire who grew his wealth by getting his own hands dirty. Gary is not the type that orders people around to do what needs to be done. He takes action.
Stop Overthinking
Many people are very insecure. They spend most of their time thinking about what would happen if things went wrong. Gary Vee says that overthinking makes it impossible for you to do anything. It leads to the postponement of things.
Gary Vaynerchuk’s Investment Strategies
Gary Vaynerchuk has developed stock market investment tactics that many investors use today. Before investing, Gary puts up premium research and relies on evidence-based judgments. He weighs all the upsides and downsides of an investment before making it. He began angel investing with Facebook in 2009 after meeting Mark Zuckerberg.
FAQs
Did Gary Vaynerchuk Grow up Poor?
Gary Vaynerchuk is a wealthy businessman with a net worth of $200 million. The social media guru says he grew up poor. His poor background inspired him to work hard to achieve the business success he enjoys today.
How Much Does Gary Vaynerchuk Charge to Speak?
Gary Vaynerchuk’s income streams include speaking engagements. He charges between $80,000 and $100,000 per event.
How Much Is Gary Vaynerchuk’s Annual Earning?
Gary Vaynerchuk has many income streams. Therefore, we can only make estimates of his annual earnings. The social media marketing guru earns from his companies, book royalties, speaking fees, and stock dividends. Looking at his net worth growth from 2018 to 2023, Vaynerchuk has earned an average of $10 million to $20 million per year.
Conclusion
Gary “Vee” Vaynerchuk is a Belarus-born entrepreneur and one of the most successful businessmen in the United States. He has a huge net worth of $200 million. He is a serial investor and entrepreneur who built a net worth of $200 million, investing in social media advertising and marketing. Before his multi-million media companies, Gary made money in the wine business.
After taking over his family business, he transformed it into a wine retail store and took it online. The online business strategy grew the company from $3 million to $60 million in annual revenues in a few years.
