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House Passes Housing Bill, Daily Wire $2B IPO, Knicks Trash Can Lady Fired | PBD Podcast #823

Explore episode Jun 24, 2026

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Daily Wire: $2B IPO Dream or Slow-Motion Decline?

At 1:06:32 · chapter starts 56:05

Patrick Bet-David presents data from Semaphore's reporting on Daily Wire's confidential fundraising documents: $48M in EBITDA, subscriber growth that exploded during COVID and has now reversed to -16% in 2026, and bankers targeting a $2B IPO valuation within 18 months of a current $750M round. The panel debates what percentage of Daily Wire's value is tied to Ben Shapiro — estimates range from 50% to 80% — and whether the company survives if he stops creating content. Tom Ellsworth frames the $100M raise as a 'venture valuation,' comparing it to the sky-high multiples seen in Perplexity and Anthropic rounds, rather than a traditional PE deal that would imply a far lower price on $50M EBITDA. Humberto references BuzzFeed's disastrous SPAC IPO as a cautionary tale, while Elon Lekakou argues that 'commenting on political news is a well that is running dry.' Patrick concludes that what Daily Wire needs most is a 'real operator' CEO — analogous to what MrBeast did by hiring Jeffrey Housenholdt — who can diversify the brand beyond Shapiro's content, much like ABC built Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz into standalone assets while Oprah was still on air.

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