Tyler Oakley Net Worth 2026

Tyler Oakley
Oakley in 2017
Born	Mathew Tyler Oakley (1989-03-22) March 22, 1989 (age 36) Jackson, Michigan, U.S.
Education	Michigan State University (BA)
YouTube information
Channel	TylerOakley
Years active	2007–present
Subscribers	6.65 million
Views	638 million
Last updated: October 20, 2025

Mathew Tyler Oakley (born March 22, 1989) is an American YouTuber, actor, activist, author, television personality and Twitch streamer. Much of Oakley's activism has been dedicated to LGBTQ youth, LGBTQ rights, as well as social issues including health care, education, and the prevention of suicide among LGBTQ youth.^[1][2] Oakley regularly posts material on various topics, including pop culture and humor.^[3][4][5]

Since uploading his first video in 2007^[6] while a freshman at Michigan State University, his YouTube channel has garnered over 683 million views, and, at its peak, had over 8 million subscribers.^[7] He was featured in the 2014 Frontline investigative report "Generation Like", a follow-up on how teenagers are "directly interacting with pop culture" to the 2001 report, "The Merchants of Cool".^[8][9]

From March to October 2013, Oakley co-hosted a weekly pop-culture news update—"Top That!"—with Becca Frucht for PopSugar.^[10] From 2013 to 2014, he performed the voice of Mr. McNeely in five episodes of the comedy web series The Most Popular Girls in School.^[11] In 2015, he released his first collection of humorous personal essays under the title Binge, via publisher Simon & Schuster.^[12]

Oakley was the host of The Tyler Oakley Show, which aired weekly on Ellen DeGeneres' ellentube platform.^[13][14] In 2017, he was named in Forbes "30 Under 30".^[15]

Mathew Tyler Oakley^[16] was born on March 22, 1989, in Jackson, Michigan. He has twelve siblings. When he was an infant, his parents divorced.^[17] When he was in the sixth grade, Oakley moved to Okemos, Michigan, and became involved in choir and drama. As a teenager, he had bulimia nervosa.^[18] Oakley came out as gay in high school.^[19]

Oakley graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in communication, marketing and social media from Michigan State University. While in college, he fell into a short depression after a breakup with a long-term boyfriend. Oakley admits he considered suicide at this time.^[18] His college years were also when he first became involved with YouTube, using the video sharing website to communicate with his high school friends, who were attending different schools.^[20]

Oakley began making YouTube videos in 2007, as video updates for his high school friends while he was in college. After graduating, he moved to San Fransico, California and began working there, while making videos after his shifts. He began to gain a larger following after posting videos about his obessessions - namely artists Lady Gaga and One Direction and the television series Glee.^[21] Oakley was also known for his frequent collaborations with fellow big name YouTubers - Troye Sivan, Connor Franta, Grace Helbig, Zoella, Hannah Hart, and more.^[22] Oakley saw great success during this time becoming one of the first monitized YouTubers and 2013, he had amassed 3.9 million subscribers.^[23] This era is often described as the "Golden Age" of YouTube, as it saw the rise of vloggers that went on tour, published books, was the founding for VidCon, and reached outside the online atmosphere.^[24]

Through his success, Oakley was able to interview and collaberate with a number of celebrities and notable figures. In 2013, he interviewed One Direction for their documentary tour film One Direction: This Is Us and took part in their promotional seven-hour-stream 1D Day.^[21]

In 2014, he was given the opportunity to meet then U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House^[25] and do a video with First Lady Michelle Obama talking about education issues.^[26]

The Advocate in their 2014 "40 under 40: Emerging voices" says that, due to Oakley's presence on YouTube, he is the first openly gay person that many people have met.^[1] Oakley was considered one of the world's leading celebrity influencers, having an Influencer score of 99 from the influencer marketing software Klear.

In 2015, Oakley was listed in TIME Magazine's "The 30 Most Influential People on the Internet" and The Hollywood Reporter's Top 25 Digital Stars.^[27][28] In December, he released his documentary film, Snervous, with Awesomeness Films. The film focused on his rise to fame and his journey on a sold-out tour.^[29] By 2019, he has reached over 7.5 million subscribers.^[30]

In December 2020, Oakley announced he was taking an indefinite hiatus from making YouTube videos.^[31] He is currently actively streaming on Twitch, and sporadically uploads on YouTube.

In 2025, Oakley was inaugurated into Vidcon's Hall of Fame for his early work and contributions to digital culture.^[32]

On screen, Oakley has done appearances on broadcasting platforms, with some airing on national TV. He was seen on Insider Tonight, featuring co-hosts Kevin Frazier and Thea Andrews. He has interviewed live from the 2014 Kids Choice Awards red carpet, along with many other events that have him meeting and speaking to celebrities.^[33]

Oakley, alongside best friend Korey Kuhl, competed in the 28th season of The Amazing Race, which aired in 2016.^[34] They finished in 3rd place.^[35] The two also participated in the 31st season of the show, which began airing on April 17, 2019.^[36] They finished in 2nd place.

In 2018, Oakley also appeared on the tenth episode of the tenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, where he was paired with Monét X Change for a makeover challenge.^[37][38][39]

In 2014, Oakley premiered a live show tour, "Tyler Oakley's Slumber Party", featuring him in pyjamas and doing skits, and interactive segments with the audience. His two initial shows sold out in 72 hours and the tour eventually added 40 cities internationally.^[40] Oakley had also been a part of DigiTour's 2014 US Summer tour of YouTube and Vine personalities.^[41] That same year, Oakley launched his podcast, Psychobabble, with his best friend, Korey Kuhl.

In October 2015, he released his memoir Binge, covering his life in Michigan, relationships, fame, and his struggles with eating disorders and domestic violence.^[42] The book was a New York Times bestseller for 11 consecutive weeks.^[43]

In 2017, Oakley appeared on the YouTube Premium show Escape the Night, appearing as "The Thespian" for 10 episodes in Season 2.

Oakley is an avid supporter of The Trevor Project, an organization for the prevention of suicide among LGBTQ youth.^[1] He interned with them in 2009, and since 2011 has co-hosted TrevorLIVE, the charity's annual red carpet event. Since 2013, Oakley has raised over a $1 million for the organization.^[44][45]

Oakley attributes his success only in part to his accessibility as a young gay man. "It's not all about me being gay. It's kind of like an underlying theme for me [with gay life] sprinkled throughout the videos."^[1] He has stated that Ellen DeGeneres was a role model: "She embodies what I want my experience to be and my influence to be, where it's a positive one, it's a happy one, it's not something about the bad parts of life or the downsides of a lot of things. She's using her influence for good, and everyone knows who she is, what she stands for, and that she is a lesbian."^[1] In 2012, singer Ricky Martin credited Oakley's 2008 "Coming Out Day" video as inspiration for his coming out.^[46]

In 2015, Oakley was honored by GLAAD, receiving the Davidson/Valentini Award for making a significant difference in promoting equality for the LGBT communtity.^[47]

• Binge. 2015.

• List of YouTubers

• Tyler Oakley at IMDb
• Tyler Oakley's official Wattpad profile