Who is Josh Richards? The TikToker is building an empire online

Josh Richards is a TikTok star with an enterprising attitude.

The teenager is an actor with multiple business ventures and stakes in a TikTok competitor. Here’s everything you need to know.

Who is Josh Richards?

Born on Jan. 31, 2002, Richards grew up in Toronto, Ontario with two younger siblings, Olivia and William. The 19-year-old moved to the U.S. in 2020 to pursue a TikTok career full-time. He’s a founding member of the TikTok collective Sway House.

At the time of writing, Richards has 24.1 million TikTok followers, 7.4 million Instagram followers and 2.45 million YouTube subscribers. As an actor, he has appeared in the films Brother’s Keepers, Under the Stadium Lights and Summertime Drops.

What is Josh Richards’ net worth? He’s one of the highest-paid TikTok stars.

In 2020, Forbes claimed Richards had earned $1.5 million from June 2019 to June 2020 thanks to sponsorships with brands like Reebok and HouseParty. During that time period, Richards was the 5th highest-paid TikTok star.

Richards has turned his TikTok success into a career as an entrepreneur and investor.

Richards has become a force to reckon with in Silicon Valley. He is the chief strategy officer at Triller, TikTok’s competitor, and he co-founded Talent X, the management company responsible for Sway House and its spin-off collectives. He also owns an energy drink company with Bryce Hall called Ani Energy, dubbed “the world’s first lifestyle drink.”

“I’ve been someone that’s been business savvy since I was a little kid,” he told Newsweek. “When I was 12, 13 years old, I was starting a hockey T-shirt company. I was always doing things that were on the entrepreneurial side. So when I was able to grow such a large following, it just made sense.” 

Richards is also an angel investor in several companies including Breakr, VersusGame, Atmos, Lendtable, ReKT Global, AON3D, Poppi, Chalk Messaging, Stir and Humaning. In December 2020, he even announced that he was joining venture capital firm Remus Capital as a venture partner.

“One of the reasons I became an entrepreneur and investor is to actively shape the future,” Richards told Yahoo. “I am excited to join the Remus Capital team, a firm that represents my core values of unequivocally helping young founders achieve their dreams.”

He has a podcast with Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy.

Richards, of course, wouldn’t be where he is without the creative aspects of his persona. He co-hosts the podcast BFFs with Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, where they discuss their lives and careers.

Who is Josh Richards dating? He and TikToker Nessa Barrett have a complicated on-and-off relationship.

Richards and TikTok star Nessa Barrett are pretty famous for their relationship among their followers.

The couple started dating in October 2019 before breaking up in June 2020. But things got a little crazy when TikToker Chase Hudson claimed to have kissed Barrett in July. This didn’t come as a huge surprise to most fans, as in March, Richards and Hall released a diss trick called “Still Softish” about Hudson, accusing him of trying to pursue Barrett via DMs.

“We ain’t doing this for the bands / We doing this just to tell all your fans / You still be f****** with girls / Telling people Charli’s your world?” the lyrics said.

Richards said he wasn’t upset at Barrett, though he admitted he was a bit jealous.

“Just like I said with Chase, I’ve forgiven her for it,” he told Entertainment Tonight in July. “I wasn’t dating her, so it wasn’t my choice what she goes and does. Like, that’s totally up to her. It’s totally fine.”

On Halloween of 2020, rumors circulated that Barrett and Richards were back together when they posted a photo together looking closer than ever. In December 2020, Richards referred to Barrett as his girlfriend again — and though Barrett acted surprised about the label, the two have since confirmed that they are dating again.

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If you enjoyed this story, read more about controversial TikTok stars.

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