Richard Tyler Blevins, better known as Ninja, is one of the most recognizable names in gaming. From his early days as a competitive Halo 3 player to becoming a Fortnite streaming sensation, Ninja’s rise reflects the explosive potential of the online gaming world.

He’s earned multiple accolades, including Streamy Awards for Gaming and Live Streaming, and was named Esports Personality of the Year at the 2018 Esports Awards. That same year, he became the first professional gamer to appear on the cover of ESPN The Magazine.

Since then, Ninja has expanded his brand far beyond gaming. He’s released a music album, appeared on reality TV, authored books, and in 2024, joined the Jerry Jones-backed gaming company Gamesquare as its Chief Innovation Officer.

From prize money and platform deals to books, merch, and executive roles, Ninja’s net worth has become one of the most-watched numbers in gaming.

Ninja’s Net Worth in 2025

 

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Ninja’s net worth in 2025 is a whopping $50 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. This amount is almost three times the net worth of his contemporaries, Adin Ross and Kai Cenat, who are estimated to be worth around $16 million and $14 million, respectively.

He was ranked 31st on Forbes’s Top Creators 2023 list. Ninja holds the Guinness World Record for being the most-followed user on Twitch, with over 19.2 million followers as of February 19, 2024.

The popular streamer was also included in Time magazine’s World’s 100 Most Influential People 2018 list.

Career Highlights

Esports Background and Halo Tournaments

Richard Tyler Blevins was born in Detroit, Michigan, on June 5, 1991. His father introduced him to video games, and he developed a passion for gaming early on. By the time he was in high school, he was already competing in tournaments.

Ninja began his professional gaming career in 2009 with Halo 3 and continued competing through the release of Halo 5, staying active in the competitive scene for nearly seven years.

 

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He played under major organizations like Cloud9, Team Liquid, and Renegades, and even clinched the MLG Fall Championship title in 2012. While competing in Halo, he discovered streaming in 2011.

 

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That same year, he told Forbes he was making around $100 a day streaming Halo on Twitch. Alongside Halo, he expanded his content to include titles like Titanfall, Call of Duty, H1Z1, and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (per Dotesports).

In 2017, Ninja joined Luminosity Gaming and began streaming for them, which helped grow his Twitch following. That year, he won the PUBG Gamescom Invitational Squads event under their banner. But his career truly exploded when he shifted his focus to full-time Fortnite streaming.

Fortnite Streaming and Breaking Twitch Records

Blevins’s Twitch following skyrocketed from 500,000 to 2 million within six months of playing Fortnite. By 2018, he became the first streamer on the platform to reach 3 million followers (per Dotesports).

That same year, Ninja saw a massive boost in visibility after streaming Fortnite alongside Drake, Travis Scott, and JuJu Smith-Schuster. The stream drew 635,000 concurrent viewers, setting a new Twitch record for the largest audience on an individual stream.

The moment pushed Ninja into mainstream media. It led to a New Year’s Eve Fortnite stream in New York and even landed him in a high-profile Super Bowl ad. While some of these moves sparked backlash from fans and fellow streamers, they undeniably helped bring professional gaming into the cultural spotlight.

Ninja has remained the most-followed user on Twitch throughout his streaming career (per Win.gg).

Move to Mixer

In July 2019, Ninja took his first break from streaming in over eight years. He had been broadcasting up to 12 hours a day and cited the increasingly toxic atmosphere in his chats as the final push to step away temporarily.

Image credits: @Ninja

He returned to streaming at the end of the month, but fans were stunned when, on August 1, 2019, Ninja announced via X that he would be leaving Twitch for Microsoft-owned platform Mixer.

He explained that he wanted to get back to his “streaming roots,” expressing frustration with Twitch’s guidelines and community. According to Business Insider, Microsoft reportedly paid him between $20 million and $30 million for the switch.

 

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His wife and manager, Jessica Blevins, later told The Verge that Twitch’s contract had restricted Ninja’s ability to branch out beyond gaming. Within a month of the move, he had already gained two million followers on Mixer.

But the momentum was short-lived. Mixer shut down in 2020, prompting Ninja’s return to Twitch, where he signed a new multi-year exclusive deal (per The Hollywood Reporter).

Image credits: @2kamra

Around this time, his YouTube channel also exploded, reaching 24 million subscribers, fueled by consistent uploads of stream highlights and content clips.

Brand Partnerships and Celebrity Collaborations

Amid his shifting presence across streaming platforms, Ninja was also expanding his brand beyond gaming. Following the viral success of his stream with Drake, Epic Games invited him to participate in Party Royale, a celebrity-pro player event at E3 2018.

Image credits: @ninja

Paired with electronic music artist Marshmello, Ninja won the event and became Fortnite’s first-ever Pro-Am champion (per Polygon). That same year, he broke his own Twitch record by drawing roughly 667,000 live viewers during Ninja Vegas 2018, a solo event hosted in Las Vegas (per VG247).

In June 2018, Ninja partnered with Red Bull Esports to host a special Fortnite event. The following year, Red Bull even released a limited-edition can featuring his image (per Dotesports).

How Does Ninja Make Money?

With nearly two decades of career, Ninja has built multiple revenue streams and helped push video game streaming into the mainstream.

 

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Over the years, he’s expanded far beyond the streaming world, launching business ventures, securing high-profile endorsement deals, and most recently, stepping into the role of Chief Innovation Officer at Gamesquare.

Streaming Revenue

In a 2018 interview with CNN, Ninja referred to Twitch and YouTube as his “bread and butter.” He later told ESPN that he earns seven figures a month through live streaming alone.

 

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On Twitch, his income comes from ad revenue, donations, and a three-tiered subscription system. One of his most notable donations to date was a staggering $40,000.

At his peak in 2018, Ninja made $300,000 monthly from subscriptions alone. He also earns significant income from YouTube ad revenue, with his videos regularly pulling in millions of views. He estimates that around 70% of his overall earnings come from Twitch and YouTube combined.

Sponsorships and Brand Partnerships

Image credits: Fortnite

Ninja’s massive popularity on Twitch played a major role in the explosive success of Fortnite Battle Royale. With 94,958 Fortnite kills in 2018 alone, he reportedly earned close to $10 million that year, while helping Epic Games reach an estimated $3 billion in profit, thanks in part to his influence.

In December 2018, he became the first PC player to surpass 5,000 Fortnite wins (per Dotesports). To recognize his impact on the game’s success, Epic Games introduced an official Ninja skin in January 2020 (per The Verge).

Image credits: Red Bull

His platform power didn’t stop with Fortnite. In 2019, Forbes reported that EA Sports paid Ninja $1 million to stream Apex Legends. He’s also landed major brand sponsorships with Samsung, Uber Eats, Adidas, and Red Bull, all of which have contributed significantly to his growing fortune.

Merchandise Sales and Business Ventures

In recent years, Ninja has capitalized on his popularity by branching into entrepreneurship. In 2024, he joined the influencer-led food and beverage wave by becoming co-owner, alongside Jo Weinand, of a “better-for-you” chocolate milk brand called Nutcase.

Image credits: Nutcase

He connected with Weinand through poker legend Phil Hellmuth, after being invited to a streamer poker game with fellow streamers MrBeast, Ludwig, and xQc.

Ninja continues selling merchandise through his official website, adding another revenue stream to his growing brand.

Books and Media Appearances

As if dominating gaming and streaming weren’t enough, Ninja has also ventured into music, publishing, and entertainment.

In 2018, Billboard reported the release of Ninjawerks: Vol. 1, an album featuring tracks from electronic music heavyweights like Tiësto, Kaskade, and Alesso. A year later, he published Ninja: Get Good: My Ultimate Guide to Gaming with co-author Will Partin.

He’s also released two graphic novels with writer Justin Jordan: Ninja: The Most Dangerous Game in 2019 and Ninja: War for the Dominions in 2021.

Outside of publishing, Ninja has made brief appearances on shows like Family Feud and The Masked Singer, and in September 2023, he launched a twice-weekly podcast, AFK w/ Ninja (per Variety).

Role of Chief Innovation Officer at Gamesquare

 

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In February 2023, Ninja joined Jerry Jones-backed gaming company Gamesquare as its Chief Innovation Officer with two million stock options. Given his extensive career as a professional gamer and streamer, this move aimed to bring Blevins on board to help revolutionize the esports gaming world..

Philanthropic Endeavours

We have been inspired by @vancityreynolds and @jimmyfallon who both made donations to @feedingAmerica We have donated 150,000 dollars, and encourage others to try and stay positive and practice social distancing. pic.twitter.com/FNFsNlMBON

— Ninja (@Ninja) March 20, 2020

Ninja has consistently used his platform to support causes close to his heart. In March 2020, he and his wife donated $150,000 to Feeding America to aid those impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, encouraging fans to contribute as well (per GamesIndustry).

He’s also shown strong support for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). In February 2018, during a nearly six-hour Fortnite charity stream, Ninja raised over $75,000 for the organization.

In March 2024, he publicly announced on X that he had been diagnosed with melanoma, a form of skin cancer. Just a month later, he shared that a biopsy revealed he was cancer-free.

Image credits: @Ninja

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Later that year, in September, Ninja and his brother BeardedBlevins raised $93,125 for the University of Michigan Health Rogel Cancer Center by streaming Fortnite live from Michigan Stadium (per Michigan Medicine).

FAQ

Does Ninja have a wife?

Yes, he does. Ninja met fellow gamer Jessica Goch, who is now known as Jess Blevins, in 2010, and the duo tied the knot in 2017. She used to manage the gamer until 2022.

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