Ever scrolled through your feed and wondered where all those high-production conservative videos actually come from? You’ve seen Ben Shapiro’s fast-talking rants or Matt Walsh’s documentaries, but the real story of who owns the Daily Wire is tucked away in corporate filings and billionaire bank accounts. It isn't just a Ben Shapiro solo project.
Honestly, the ownership structure is a mix of media savvy, Texas oil money, and some very deliberate Nashville-based corporate maneuvering.
Who Owns the Daily Wire Today?
Basically, the Daily Wire is owned by a parent company called Bentkey Ventures, LLC (which you might have previously known as Forward Publishing). If you want to get technical, it’s a private company. This means they don’t have to shout their internal equity splits from the rooftops like a public company on the New York Stock Exchange would. But we know the players.
The primary owners are:
- The Wilks Brothers (Dan and Farris Wilks)
- Jeremy Boreing
- Ben Shapiro
- Caleb Robinson
It started with a $4.7 million check. That’s the seed money Farris Wilks handed over in 2015 to get the whole thing off the ground. While Ben Shapiro is the face you see on every thumbnail, he isn't the sole boss. He’s more of the creative engine and "Editor Emeritus," while the actual business machinery is run by people like Jeremy Boreing and Caleb Robinson.
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The Role of the Wilks Brothers
You can't talk about Daily Wire ownership without talking about fracking. Dan and Farris Wilks are billionaires from East Texas who made their fortune in the petroleum industry. They aren't just passive investors; they are the financial backbone that allowed the company to scale from a small website to a media empire with a massive Nashville headquarters.
Farris Wilks, in particular, has been very open about using his wealth to support conservative and "pro-family" values. Through their investment vehicle, the brothers still hold a significant ownership stake. Without that Texas oil money, the Daily Wire likely wouldn't have the $200 million+ annual revenue stream it boasts today.
The Creative Founders: Boreing and Shapiro
Jeremy Boreing is often called "The God-King" by fans, which is a bit of an inside joke, but it points to his role as the visionary. He’s the CEO and the guy who actually builds the sets, directs the movies, and decides the business strategy. He and Shapiro met back in their Los Angeles days and realized they could build a counter-cultural media machine.
Ben Shapiro’s ownership is more about his "brand equity." He’s a co-founder and a shareholder, but his value to the company is his massive audience. If Shapiro left, the valuation of the company would probably crater. Caleb Robinson, the current CEO of the broader Bentkey umbrella, is the third co-founder who handles much of the heavy lifting regarding operations and growth.
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The Shift to Bentkey and Beyond
Lately, things have gotten a bit more complex. You might have noticed the name Bentkey popping up more often. In 2023 and 2024, the company began rebranding its parent structure to Bentkey Ventures to house more than just political news.
They’ve branched out into:
- Bentkey: A dedicated kids' streaming service meant to compete with Disney.
- Jeremy’s Razors: A direct-to-consumer brand born out of a spat with Harry’s Razors.
- DailyWire+: The subscription platform that hosts Jordan Peterson and movies like Lady Ballers.
This diversification is a smart business move. By owning the "plumbing" of their distribution and launching their own consumer products, they aren't just dependent on ad revenue from platforms like Facebook or YouTube, which have a history of demonetizing conservative content.
Is the Daily Wire Publicly Traded?
Nope. You can’t go buy "DW" stock on Robinhood. It remains a private entity controlled by the founders and the Wilks family. There’s been constant rumor-mill chatter about them going public via a SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) like Trump’s Truth Social did, but so far, Boreing and Shapiro have kept the keys to the castle firmly in their own hands.
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Staying private gives them a lot of freedom. They don't have to answer to a board of directors that might get nervous about controversial documentaries or political stances. They answer to themselves and their billionaire backers.
What This Means for You
Understanding who owns the Daily Wire helps you understand the content they produce. It’s a marriage of billionaire-backed ideological goals and savvy, Hollywood-style production. It’s not a "grassroots" blog that just happened to get lucky; it’s a well-funded, strategically managed corporation.
If you’re looking to follow the money or understand the influence of private equity in media, keep an eye on Bentkey Ventures' SEC filings. They recently aimed to raise another $120 million to fund their expansion into kids' entertainment. This suggests that while the Wilks brothers provided the spark, the company is now looking for a broader base of private investors to fuel its next decade of growth.
Your next move: If you want to see how this ownership affects the actual business, look into the "Bentkey" SEC filings from late 2023. It reveals how they are pivoting away from just "news" and into a full-scale media conglomerate that wants to own everything from your morning coffee to the cartoons your kids watch.