"Charlie Kirk was only a teenager when he launched a scrappy conservative student group out of his parents' suburban Illinois home. A decade later, that group-Turning Point USA-has grown into a political juggernaut, generating nearly a half-billion in total revenue in the 13 years since its inception, creating a sprawling network of campus chapters, and building a media machine that rivals legacy establishments."
"By channeling polarization and student engagement, Kirk not only built an empire that sits at the center of the American right's culture wars, but also made himself a multi-millionaire, according to the Associated Press-and one of the nation's youngest political power brokers, with a seat at President Donald Trump's table. A review of Kirk's and Turning Point's finances shows just how much Kirk benefited from and capitalized on two key trends of the last decade-plus:"
"Turning Point USA netted $85 million in revenue in 2024 alone, up more than 142% over the last five years. The vast majority, 99.2%, of that revenue comes from charitable contributions, including at least $350,000 from Kirk himself in 2024. According to Kolvet, the organization brought in approximately 350,000 grassroots, "small dollar" donors. "The goal was to get over 500,000 this year. And, given all that's happened, we've eclipsed that goal, and that's exciting," he added."
Charlie Kirk launched Turning Point USA as a teenager from his parents' Illinois home and grew it into a vast conservative organization with campus chapters and a rival media apparatus. Turning Point USA generated nearly a half-billion dollars over 13 years and netted $85 million in 2024, with 99.2% of revenue from charitable contributions. Kirk became a multimillionaire and a prominent conservative influencer with ties to business donors and President Trump. His Sept. 10 shooting death at a Turning Point event sparked conspiracy theories, calls for gun control, and left leadership, spending transparency, and the organization's future uncertain.
Read at Fortune
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]