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, attributing this to his real estate investments, frugality, and content creation on YouTube.[4][5]
In 2016, Stephan began posting content on YouTube, focusing on real estate topics and eventually posting content on personal finance such as budgeting, saving, and investing.[6] A theme of his videos was his refusal to buy coffee, instead brewing it at home for about 20 cents per cup. This 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] Stephan has also talked about using AI tools like ChatGPT as a way of regulatory compliance and making investing easier.[11]
By 2021, Stephan was earning $6 million annually from his online ventures, including ad revenue, sponsorships, and marketing.[2] He has also appeared on CNBC's Millennial Money, where he talked about his income, lifestyle, and savings strategy.[2] While he gained his fame from being frugal, he has since moderated this, stating that he was "overworked" and "taking on too much" to continue this strategy.[12]
Legal issues and controversies
In March 2023, Stephan was named as a defendant in a proposed class action lawsuit alleging that finance influencers promoted the cryptocurrency exchange FTX prior to its collapse.[13] In May 2025, a federal judge dismissed most claims against a group of celebrity and influencer endorsers, while allowing certain claims to proceed and permitting plaintiffs to amend their complaint.[14]
In 2024, the bankruptcy and shutdown of Synapse Financial Technologies, a fintech intermediary used by multiple consumer finance apps, froze access to funds for many users of partner services.[15][16] The disruption drew attention to Yotta, a savings app that Stephan had previously promoted to his audience.
In contemporaneous reporting, Banking Dive stated that some Yotta customers blamed Stephan for heavily promoting the app prior to the freeze and reported that he appeared to have removed references to Yotta from his platform following the disruption; the outlet also reported that Stephan did not respond to a request for comment.[17]
Earlier coverage had noted that Stephan publicly described himself as an angel investor in Yotta. A 2021 article reported that he announced an equity investment in the company, including in a video titled I Bought a Bank, which was later removed from his channel.[18]
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