Twitch users, Fortnite, and eSports fans will be familiar with Turner Ellis Tenney. Better known as Tfue online, his work on the streaming platform and the popular battle royale game has made him a considerable net worth, currently estimated at $6 million.
By becoming one of the most skilful players in the world at the game, Tfue has leveraged its popularity to earn through various sources. The bulk of his wealth has come via streaming on Twitch and YouTube. He has also earned via sponsorships and donations, making him one of the world’s richest gamers.
How Much Money Does Tfue Make and How Does He Make It?
Ever since he found his niche in video game streaming, Tfue has been one of the burgeoning industry’s highest earners. There is no definitive figure for how much he makes a month or a year because his income sources are dynamic. The popular Fortnite gamer makes his money primarily from Twitch, ad revenue on YouTube, eSports tournaments, and fans’ donations.
None of the earnings from each source is set in stone, but based on available data, we can make an educated guess on how much he makes from them.
Twitch Streaming
The popularity of Tfue, which in turn, has reflected in his net worth, is best exemplified by his Twitch and YouTube following. In the former, where he is most connected to the video game community, he has more than 9.2 million followers and more than 241 million views. He averages 203.4 thousand views per stream, making him one of the biggest attractions on the platform.
His millions of followers mostly watch him play Fortnite, which holds more than 60% of the 8,000+ hours he has streamed on the platform. Outside of the battle royale game, Tfue plays other titles like:
- PlayerUnknown’s BattleGrounds
- Z1: Battle Royale
- Destiny 2
- Among Us
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
- Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout, among others.
But while his followership makes him popular, it is Tfue’s subscriber base that gives him his enviable net worth. According to Twitch policy, content creators make 50% of revenue from each subscription. Depending on the creator’s popularity, the split can rise to 70/30.
According to Twitchtracker, Tfue has 11.5 thousand active subs as of October 26, 2020, distributed between Tier 1 ($4.99), Tier 2 ($9,99), and Tier 3 ($24.99). Tfue’s October subscribers can be broken down into:
| Tier | Number of Subscribers (October 2020) |
| One | 7,163 |
| Two | 37 |
| Three | 24 |
| Total | $18,374 |
As mentioned earlier, subscription numbers are dynamic, and throughout 2020, Tfue’s subscriber count has averaged 16,317 subscribers. He had a peak of 24,896 subscribers in May, which earned him $33,626, and a low of 10,235 subscribers in September for $14,535.
YouTube Ad Revenue
One other prominent source of Tfue’s net worth is YouTube, where he uploads clips of his live streams and vlogs about his life. He has amassed more than 12.1 million subscribers on the platform and recorded over 1.3 billion views. His popular status on the channel means his videos are an attractive hub for YouTube ads.
But unlike Twitch that has a defined income policy, YouTube calculates ad revenue for creators via many variables. Although he has an average daily viewership of 626,393, not all of them are monetized. Views with ad-blocks and from YouTube Red and Premium users are exempted daily revenue count.
The latter two works with a similar revenue system like Twitch, but the numbers remain out of reach. Still, based on Socialblade’s analysis with consideration for cost per mille (CPM), the cost per 1,000 impressions in advertising, Tfue makes between $157 – $2.5k daily and between $4.7k and $75.2k per month.
Epic’s Support-A-Creator Program
It is one of the sources shrouded in mystery. Yet, Tfue claims it is one of his leading income sources and contributors to his net worth. Aside from Twitch earnings, Epic, who owns Fortnite, lets streamers make money through the game with its Support-A-Creator program.
The program allows creators to receive $5 for every 10,000 V-Bucks spent in-game by players who use his Support-A-Creator program. We do not have access to how many players use his code, but in an interview with the Washington Post, he claimed his earnings from the program tops his Twitch income.
However, noting his average income from Twitch, his fans would have to spend at least two billion V-Bucks a year in-game to match his earnings with over 80 million spent monthly. Given $80 gives a player 10,000 V-Bucks, Tfue’s code alone earns Epic more than $640,000 a month.
Earnings from eSports Tournament
Unlike most Twitch streamers who focus on streaming as a full-time job, Tfue still earns from pro-gaming. He has played under professional teams like FaZe Clan, Rogue, and Denial Esports. Since he took up professional gaming in 2017, he has earned more than $635k from over 50 tournaments.
Again, Fortnite has been the biggest driver of his earnings, winning more than $594.5k from tournaments based on the game. Other games like Fall Guys, Creative Destruction, and Call of Duty: Warzone also contribute to his eSports earnings.
How Much Money Does Tfue Make a Year?
- Twitch – $18.3K monthly minimum
- YouTube – $4.7k to $75.2k monthly
- Epic’s Support-A-Creator Program – equivalent or more than Twitch income
- eSports – won over $635k since 2017
Tfue’s $6 million net worth has come via various income sources resulting in a significant total per year. His ever-growing YouTube channel can make up him $4.7k to $75.2k monthly, translating to $56.4k to $902k per year.
His equally dynamic Twitch revenue earns him up to $18.3k monthly from subscriptions alone. He further makes money from donations and sponsored streams, which boosts his monthly earnings considerably, to an estimated $40,000 at a minimum. That translates to over $480,000 per year from the platform.
Suppose Tfue’s words to the Washington Post are valid, and Epic’s Support-A-Creator Program earns him the same or more than his Twitch income. In that case, we can guess he makes up over $400,000 a year via Fortnite too. His eSports earnings are sporadic, as they depend on his performance in each tournament. But since debuting in 2017, he has earned six figures in all but two years, earning as much as $478.8k in 2018. As of October 2020, he has made $24.4k.
Together, Tfue has been able to amass his $6 million net worth from a yearly income between $960.8k and $1.8 million a year.
Is Tfue Rich?
Unless you are a billionaire or a nine-figure multimillionaire, Tfue is very rich. A walk through his Instagram, where has over 5.3 million followers, shows he has put his significant yearly earnings to luxurious use. He owns a Tesla Model X and a warehouse he bought for use as an educational camp for aspiring streamers.
Most of his peers with a similar income level have splurged on mega-apartments and houses in California’s affluent locations. But interestingly, Tfue still lives with his family in Florida. He lives in Indian Rocks Beach, Florida, where he spends his days hanging out on boats with friends, digging for shark teeth when he is not streaming.
Does Tfue Make More Money Than Ninja?
Despite being two of the most popular players on Twitch, Tfue and Tyler Blevins, aka Ninja, are not best friends. The Florida-born gamer described Ninja as the Anakin Skywalker to his Darth Vader. But their stark differences are not limited to their personalities alone.
Tfue makes a lot of money, but nothing compared to Ninja, whose net worth puts him at the top 1% of video game streamers. Considered a more corporate-approved version of streamers, Ninja has a net worth of $25 million and makes over $500,000 a month. In 2019 alone, he made $17 million from various endeavours, including corporate sponsorships, which Tfue frequently turns down.
