Riley Gaines Is a Controversial Activist and Fox Nation Podcast Host — What's Her Net Worth?

Aside from being a renowned NCAA athlete, Riley Gaines has also expanded her voice to the world of political commentary, podcasting, and controversial activism, particularly against the inclusion of trans athletes in women's sports. Her platform has expanded considerably since being introduced to the Fox Nation media brand with her show Gaines for Girls.

Though her stance on social issues may be polarizing, she has certainly earned a pretty hefty net worth during her time in the spotlight — and at one point, rumors even swirled that she had won a $10 million defamation lawsuit.

So, what's her net worth?

Born in Nashville, Tenn. to Vanderbilt football player Brad Gaines and softball player Telisha Gaines, Riley has always been involved in the world of sports, particularly at the college level. In 2019, she joined the University of Kentucky's swim team, where she competed in several NCAA championships and even qualified for the U.S. Olympic trials in 2021.

However, an NCAA incident in 2022 during which Riley tied for fifth place with openly trans swimmer Lia Thomas sent her on her path of political championing and social media stardom.

As mentioned, her Fox Nation podcast Gaines for Girls, in which she advocates against the inclusion of trans women in women's division sports, has earned her tons of popularity across the country. But how much money has she gotten from it? Reportedly, as of 2024, Riley has a net worth of around $2 million.

In October 2023, rumors swirled online that Riley was victorious in a major defamation lawsuit against television talk show host Whoopi Goldberg, earning her a cool $10 million. An article by outlet SpaceXMania fueled these rumors, reporting that Whoopi used her platform on The View to make disparaging comments about the swimmer which "transcended the bounds of permissible commentary and nudged into defamation."

This story permeated social media and other places on the internet until it became an accepted narrative — but per Snopes, the story was satire all along.

"As originally published, the SpaceXMania article featured a 'Satire' label above its headline. SpaceXMania describes its output as being humorous or satirical in nature," they wrote.

So while Riley's reported defamation lawsuit victory against Whoopi Goldberg was fake all along, and she isn't $10 million richer from it, she has still earned quite a large net worth from her platform and success in politics.