Jake Joseph Paul (born January 17, 1997) is an American professional boxer, influencer, and former actor. He began his career posting videos on Vine in September 2013 and had amassed 5.3 million followers and 2 billion views before the app was discontinued. He launched his YouTube channel, Jake Paul, in May 2014, and was ranked by Forbes as one of the highest-paid YouTube creators of the 2010s and 2020s.
As an actor, Paul's first role in a feature film was in the 2016 film Dance Camp. He went on to star as Dirk Mann on the Disney Channel series Bizaardvark (2016–2018) and appear in the films Airplane Mode (2019), Mainstream (2020), and A Genie's Tail (2022). He has also made guest appearances in the television series Walk the Prank (2016), The Price Is Right (2017), and Ridiculousness (2020).
Paul's boxing career began in August 2018 with a white-collar boxing match against Deji Olatunji, which he won via technical knockout. His professional boxing debut was against AnEsonGib in January 2020. He later faced and defeated former basketball player Nate Robinson and former MMA fighters Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley (twice), and Anderson Silva.
In February 2023, Paul lost to Tommy Fury via split decision in his first fight with an active professional boxer. He then built a winning streak defeating Nate Diaz, Andre August, Ryan Bourland, and Mike Perry. His November 2024 bout against Mike Tyson, which he won via unanimous decision in Texas, achieved the biggest boxing gate receipts in U.S. history outside of Las Vegas. In December 2025, Paul suffered his first stoppage loss to former two-time unified world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua. Earlier that year, Paul defeated former WBC middleweight champion Julio César Chávez Jr. by unanimous decision, which briefly earned him a top fifteen Cruiserweight ranking by the World Boxing Association.
In 2021, Paul founded Most Valuable Promotions, a boxing promotion alongside his adviser Nakisa Bidarian, and co-founded Anti Fund, a venture capital firm, with Geoffrey Woo. In 2026, The New York Times reported that Anti Fund managed $180 million after closing a $100 million growth capital fund.
Early life
Paul was born on January 17, 1997, in Cleveland, Ohio, and raised in Westlake, Ohio, with his older brother Logan, who is also a YouTuber and internet personality. They started filming themselves when Jake was ten. Their parents are Pamela Ann Stepnick (née Meredith) and realtor Gregory Allan Paul. He was raised in a church-going, Christian household.
Entertainment career
2013–2016: Vine, YouTube, and Bizaardvark
Paul began his career in September 2013 posting videos on Vine. By the time Vine was discontinued by Twitter Inc., Paul had amassed 5.3 million followers and 2 billion views on the app. Paul launched his YouTube channel on May 15, 2014. His channel became known for pranks, controversies, and his hip hop music.
After gaining acclaim on Vine and YouTube, Paul joined the cast of the Disney Channel series Bizaardvark, playing a character called "Dirk Mann" who accepted dare requests to perform. On July 22, 2017, during the middle of filming the second season of Bizaardvark, the Disney Channel announced that Paul would be leaving the series. The announcement followed a news report from KTLA about public complaints from Paul's neighbors regarding the noise generated by Paul's pranks, parties, hazards and large crowds of fans congregating in their neighborhood. Paul confirmed the news on his Twitter page, saying he would now focus more on his personal brand, YouTube channel, business ventures, and more mature acting roles. Paul later claimed in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that he was actually fired from Bizaardvark by Disney, who wanted to remove him from the show quickly, due to the controversy created from the KTLA article. The Hollywood Report claims that "For Disney, the KTLA news segment was the final straw".
2017–2019: Music, business, and Team 10
Paul launched entertainment collective Team 10 in 2016. On January 17, 2017, his 20th birthday, it was reported that he had launched media company TeamDom with $1 million in funding to create an influencer marketing management and creative agency around teen entertainment. Investors included Danhua Capital, Horizons Alpha, Vayner Capital, Sound Ventures & A-Grade Investments and Adam Zeplain.
Paul released the single "It's Everyday Bro", featuring Team 10, on May 30, 2017. It featured vocals from members of the team at the time, consisting of Nick Crompton, Chance Sutton, Ivan and Emilio Martinez and Tessa Brooks. It drew over 70 million views in one month and became YouTube's third most disliked video. The song debuted and peaked at number 91 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Its title refers to how Paul at the time posted a video every single day. In 2017, Paul released and later deleted singles including "Ohio Fried Chicken", "Jerika", "No Competition", "That Ain't on the News" and "Litmas". The singles were deleted for various reasons, including his 2018 break-up with Erika Costell.
On November 22, 2017, Paul released a remix of "It's Everyday Bro", featuring American rapper Gucci Mane in place of Team 10, alongside the new music video for it. On April 27, 2018, he released the single and music video for "Malibu" with now-former Team 10 member Chad Tepper. On May 11, he released another single and music video for "My Teachers", featuring now-former Team 10 members Sunny Malouf and Anthony Trujillo, along with the music video. On May 24, he released two singles, "Randy Savage" and "Cartier Vision". The former song features Team 10 and hip-hop duo Jitt & Quan, featuring vocals from Team 10 members at the time, consisting of Anthony Trujillo, Sunny Malouf, Justin Roberts, Erika Costell, and Chad Tepper; it was released along with the music video. The latter song features Anthony and the duo as well; the music video was released later on September 12.
On August 15, 2018, Paul released another single titled "Champion", with a music video. The song was a diss track towards Paul's boxing opponent Deji Olatunji (ComedyShortsGamer), the younger brother of British YouTube star, internet personality, boxer, and rapper KSI. Their fight took place ten days later on August 25. Throughout the summer of 2018, Paul and Team 10 went on a tour in North America, performing their songs. Gradually, the Team 10 members split up throughout the year.
Paul's varied business ventures ultimately led to his second-place ranking in Forbes' list of highest-paid YouTubers in 2018.
On March 1, 2019, Paul released the track and music video for "I'm Single". The song focused on Paul's feelings about being single and his breakup with Erika Costell. As the social media accounts for Team 10 have been inactive since September 2019, some assumed that Team 10 had disbanded and Paul had formed a new team.
In June 2025 he featured on the Forbes list as one of the world's highest paid creators with estimated earnings in 2024 of $50m.
2019–2020: More focus on music
On December 13, 2019, Paul released another single, "These Days", alongside a music video featuring model Julia Rose. The song features Jake rapping about his past long-distance relationship with his ex-girlfriend, Alissa Violet. Less than a year later, the song was removed from all streaming services.
On July 24, 2020, Paul released the single "Fresh Outta London", which was released alongside the music video. For the video shoot, he threw a party at his home in Calabasas, California on July 11, in which he garnered national attention after being criticized by Calabasas mayor Alicia Weintraub after videos and pictures of the party surfaced online.
On September 10, Paul released another single, titled "23", alongside a music video at his house which only starred his older brother Logan and also featured clips of him and a few of his friends. The title of the song refers to his age at the time, as well as American former basketball player Michael Jordan's jersey number.
On October 15, Paul released the single "Dummy", featuring Canadian rapper TVGucci, who is signed to fellow Canadian rapper Drake's record label, OVO Sound. The lyric video was published on Paul's YouTube channel six days later, on October 21.
2021–present: Sports business, startups, and investments
In 2021, Paul partnered with serial entrepreneur Geoffrey Woo to launch a venture capital firm called Anti Fund. In August 2021, Anti Fund led investment in sports gambling firm Simplebet Inc. raising $30 million in a financing round in August 2021. In August 2022, Anti Fund invested in defense technology and military contractor Anduril Industries.
Paul founded Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) with his business adviser, Nakisa Bidarian, in 2021, signing professional boxer Amanda Serrano to a promotional deal in September 2021. In tandem, Paul founded an organization named Boxing Bullies to help youth combat bullying.
In May 2022, Paul featured on the Forbes list for the highest paid athletes in 2022. Forbes estimated that Paul made $38 million from his three boxing bouts, and various other income streams in the period.
In August 2022, Paul founded Betr, a sports-media and mobile-betting company alongside Simplebet founder Joey Levy. Paul claims to have received $50 million in series-A funding for this venture. In March 2024, Betr raised $15 million at a $375 million valuation, led by Harmony Partners and 10X Capital, with its total funding reaching $100 million as it aims to expand its sports betting operations, including real-money fantasy sports product in 24 states and plans for a nationwide sportsbook brand.
In November 2022, Paul's brother Logan faced Roman Reigns in a wrestling match for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, headlining WWE Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia. Paul made an appearance during the match, entering the arena to his 2017 song "It's Everyday Bro" and rescuing Logan from an attack by The Usos and Solo Sikoa. Despite the intervention, Logan lost the match.
In January 2023, Paul signed a multiyear contract with the Professional Fighters League to cofound and compete in a new pay-per-view division, known as Super Fight, as well as adopt the official role of "head of fighter advocacy".
In June 2024, Paul launched a men's personal care brand called W, with products priced at less than $10 with retail partner Walmart. The company was incubated by Paul's venture capital firm Anti Fund. In July 2024, The Wall Street Journal reported that W has raised over $14M in venture capital funding from Shrug Capital and others including tennis star Naomi Osaka at a valuation over $150M.
In June 2026, The New York Times DealBook reported that Anti Fund had closed its first growth capital fund at $100 million, bringing the firm to $180 million in assets under management.
Boxing career
Early career
In 2018, Paul made his boxing debut in a white-collar match against English YouTuber Deji Olatunji. Paul vs Olatunji was the co-feature bout to Paul's older brother's fight, Logan Paul, against Olatunji's older brother, KSI. The bout took place on August 25 at Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Paul defeated Olatunji via technical knockout in the 5th round.
In 2020, Paul made his professional debut against English YouTuber AnEsonGib. The bout took place on January 30 at the Meridian at Island Gardens in Miami, Florida and was the co-feature bout to the WBO world middleweight title bout between professional boxers Demetrius Andrade and Luke Keeler. Paul defeated AnEsonGib via technical knockout in the 1st round and proceeded to call out KSI.
On November 28, Paul returned to the ring against Basketball Player Nate Robinson and was the co-feature bout to the exhibition match between Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. Paul defeated Robinson via knockout in the 2nd round.
Transition into MMA fighters
Paul vs. Askren
In 2021, after a back-and-forth on social media, it was announced that Paul would headline a bout with former Bellator MMA and ONE Welterweight Champion Ben Askren on April 17, 2021 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. Paul defeated Askren via technical knockout in the 1st round. The event reportedly generated 1.45 million pay-per-view buys as per Triller, however, the legitimacy of both the match and the numbers of the event have been heavily questioned by multiple personalities, fans, MMA fighters and boxers alike.
Paul vs. Woodley
Prior to the Paul vs Askren bout, Paul and one of his cornermen, American professional boxer J'Leon Love, were involved in a backstage confrontation with former UFC Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley. After Paul defeated Askren, Woodley called him out. On August 29 Paul fought Woodley at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio and defeated him via split decision, with one judge scoring the fight 77–75 for Woodley, while the other two judges scored it 77–75 and 78–74 in favor of Paul. After the bout, Woodley expressed his desires for a rematch and Paul offered him one if he tattooed "I love Jake Paul" on his body. The event reportedly generated 500,000 pay-per-view buys.
In December, Paul was originally scheduled to face English professional boxer Tommy Fury on December 18 at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, but Fury withdrew due to medical issues. On December 6, it was announced that Paul would be rematching Woodley instead. Paul defeated Woodley via knockout in the 6th round. The event reportedly generated 200,000 pay-per-view buys. After the bout, Paul was awarded the ESPN Ringside Award for "Knockout of the Year" over his victory on Woodley.
In 2022, Paul was scheduled to face Fury for August 6 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, but Fury withdrew once again due to travel issues. On July 7, it was announced that Paul would face American professional boxer Hasim Rahman Jr., however, the event was canceled on July 30 due to weight issues from Rahman.
Paul vs. Silva
After the cancellation, it was announced that Paul would be facing former UFC champion Anderson Silva on October 29 at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. Paul defeated Silva via unanimous decision with the judges scoring the bout 78–73, 78–73, and 77–74 in favor of Paul.
First defeat to Tommy Fury
After two previous attempts failing, on January 27, 2023, it was announced that Paul would face Fury on February 26 in Saudi Arabia. Fury defeated Paul via split decision despite Paul knocking Fury down in the 8th round. One judge scored it 75–74 to Paul, while the other two judges had it 76–73 to Fury. The event reportedly generated 800,000 pay-per-views.
After the bout with Tommy Fury, KSI's manager Mams Taylor revealed that he and Paul's team were in negotiations to have a bout with the YouTuber set for August at Wembley Stadium in London, England, however, Taylor stated that after the Fury loss, Paul exited the negotiations. Paul later confirmed that he opted out and chose to have a bout with Nate Diaz instead, whom he deemed the tougher opponent.
Paul vs. Diaz
On April 12, it was announced that Paul would face Diaz on August 5 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. Although the fight was originally scheduled to be 8 rounds, it was later extended to 10. Paul defeated Diaz via unanimous decision with the judges scoring the bout 98–91, 98–91 and 97–92 all in favor of Paul.
Moving up in weight and transition to professional boxers
On October 16, 2023, it was announced that Paul would be returning to the ring on December 15. On November 8, Paul's opponent was confirmed to be American professional boxer Andre August (10–1–1). The bout would take place at the Caribe Royal Hotel in Orlando, Florida as the headline bout of Most Valuable Prospects IV. This was Paul's first headline bout to not be on pay-per-view with Paul stating "so far, my entire boxing career has been on PPV, but now it's about more than business. Now I want to build my experience in the ring."
Paul defeated August by knockout in the first round.
On December 21, 2023, it was announced that Paul would be fighting on March 2, 2024, at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot in San Juan, Puerto Rico. On January 30, 2024, Paul's opponent was announced to be American professional boxer Ryan Bourland (17–2). Paul defeated Bourland by technical knockout in the first round.
Paul vs. Perry
On June 11, 2024, it was announced that Paul will face former UFC fighter and Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship "King of Violence" Mike Perry on July 20, 2024, after Mike Tyson was unable to compete on that date. On June 18, 2024, the bout against Perry was confirmed for July 20, 2024 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, FL. Paul won the fight by technical knockout in the sixth round.
Sanctioned bout against Mike Tyson
On March 7, 2024, it was announced that Paul would take on former undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson on July 20 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The bout was broadcast on Netflix. The bout marked Paul's debut fight at heavyweight. On April 29, 2024, it was announced that the fight would be sanctioned as a professional boxing match by Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations (TDLR). On May 31, 2024, it was announced that the fight was postponed after Tyson suffered an ulcer flare up aboard a plane. On June 7, 2024, it was announced that the fight would take place at the same arena on November 15, 2024.