Graham Stephan

Graham Stephan is an American real estate investor, Youtuber, and financial commentator. Stephen built his following by posting about his experiences in real estate investing, frugal living and entrepreneurship.^[1] As of 2021, his Youtube channel has over 3.5 million subscribers.^[2]

Early life

In 2008, Stephan began his career in real estate at age 18, working as an agent in Los Angeles.^[3] By his mid-20s, he was involved in closing $125 million in residential real estate transactions and purchased multiple rental properties.^[3] By age 26, he became a millionaire, which Stephan attributes to his real estate investments, frugality, and content creation on Youtube.^[4][5]

Career

In 2016, Stephan began posting content on Youtube, focusing primarily on real estate topics and eventually posting content on personal finance such as budgeting, saving, and investing.^[6] A theme of his videos that gained widespread notoriety was his refusal to buy coffee, instead brewing coffee at home for about 20 cents per cup. This phenomenon inspired the name of his podcast, "Iced Coffee Hour."^[7] As part of his channel he has discussed economic trends, including interest rates, inflation, and the housing market.^[8][9][10] He has also discussed financial strategies such as how to strategize financially around policy changes such as with tariffs.^[10] Stephen has also talked about using AI tools like ChatGPT as a way of making regulatory compliance and investing easier for the average person.^[11]

By 2021, Stephan was earning $6 million annually from his online ventures, including ad revenue, sponsorships, and marketing.^[2] He has also been featured on CNBC's Millennial Money, where he discussed his income, lifestyle, and savings strategy.^[2] While he gained his fame from being frugal, he has since moderated his approach, stating that he was "overworked" and "taking on too much" to continue this strategy.^[12]

Reception

Stephan's work has been reacted to by Kevin O'Leary and has appeared in interviews on CNBC, Yahoo Finance, Glamour and Nasdaq.^[13][14][15] Stephan moved from Santa Monica to Las Vegas and has since commented on his rationale for making this move.^[16] Stephan cited Santa Monica's homelessness, increased crime, and housing affordability as key contributors to the problem. He stated that the "2020 riots" were the "nail in the coffin."^[16] This commentary spurred debate among the city officials with Councilwoman Caroline Torosis responding that the local economy was "thriving."^[16]

Personal life

Stephan lives in Las Vegas, Nevada.^[16] He no longer lives as frugally as he did in the start of his career, stating that this strategy was making him "overworked" and "taking on too much."^[12] He is known for his collection of watches and cars which he claims he gives to himself as a reward for reaching his financial goals.^[4]