Davie Fogarty tried to sell The Oodie three times. Once at $5 million in revenue, again at $20 million, and again at $50 million. He says he only tried because everyone told him a product like that could never do nine figures. It never sold, and he kept it.
That giant hooded blanket, once mocked as a fashion crime, has since sold more than 8 million units. By his own count it's now close to $1 billion in total sales.
So is Davie Fogarty a billionaire? Not even close. And the gap between "almost $1 billion in sales" and what he's actually worth is the most useful thing you can learn from his story. We went through the rich list figures, the Forbes interview, his own 
YouTube channel, regulator records and his coaching business to piece it together.
Quick Answer
Question | Short Answer |
|---|---|
Who is | An Adelaide entrepreneur, founder of The Oodie and the Davie Group, and a Shark Tank Australia investor |
| About A$150 million to A$170 million, based on Forbes Australia (2024) and the AFR Young Rich List (2021) |
How much has The Oodie made? | Over A$600 million in total sales by October 2024. He says it's now close to $1 billion |
How did he start? | With about $500, after six to eight failed businesses |
Other businesses | Calming Blankets, Pupnaps, Daily Mentor, and stakes in several smaller brands |
| 931K subscribers, 944 videos |
Who Is Davie Fogarty?
Davie Fogarty is an Australian founder based in Adelaide. He's best known for The Oodie, the oversized wearable blanket that exploded during the 2020 lockdowns. Forbes Australia named him on its first 30 Under 30 list in 2024, and he joined Shark Tank Australia as an investor when the show came back in 2023.
He's also one of the few rich-list founders who documents almost everything on YouTube, from buying his parents a house to trying to save failing small businesses.
But the part of his story most people skip is the part that matters most.
The Failures Before The Oodie
Davie Fogarty wasn't an overnight success. He's said he started selling things in primary school, baking cookies and selling them to teachers. After that came a long list of businesses that didn't work.
Business | What Happened |
|---|---|
Teen clothing brand | Failed in high school |
iPhone cases | Failed |
Headphones | Failed |
Gym clothing | Failed |
Seasoning mixes | Failed |
Vietnamese roll café | He says he spent two years trying to franchise it before it failed |
| His first real win: he says he sold one for $30,000 after leaving school |
instagramHe has called the café "one of my biggest failures and greatest learning curves". He told Forbes Australia it taught him his skill set didn't match his ambition. He was good at marketing online, not running a shop floor.
He also enrolled in a mining engineering degree and left before finishing. Between ventures he worked in warehouses and as a personal trainer.
The Weighted Blanket That Paid for Everything
The first big hit wasn't The Oodie. In 2017, scrolling 
Facebook groups for product ideas, Davie Fogarty found a mum who was making weighted blankets for her autistic child. Other parents in the comments wanted to buy one, and he couldn't find any Australian supplier.
So he made his own. Calming Blankets did around $10 million in sales in its first year, according to Forbes Australia.
That's the method he still teaches today: find people already asking for a product, check nobody is serving them properly, and move fast. Then he did it again.
How The Oodie Was Built
The Oodie launched in 2018 with about $500, a number Davie Fogarty still uses as his hook. His most-watched YouTube video, "How I Went from $500 to Half a Billion in 5 Years", has 5.3 million views.
Then 2020 happened. With much of the world stuck at home, search interest in The Oodie in the UK reportedly jumped more than 200% during lockdowns, and sales went vertical.
Year | Milestone | Source |
|---|---|---|
2017 | Calming Blankets launches, about $10M in first-year sales | Forbes Australia |
2018 | The Oodie launches with about $500 | ABC News, Davie's own videos |
2019 | Pupnaps calming dog beds launch, over $1M a month in year one | Dynamic Business |
2021 | About 205,000 Oodies sold per month, several $1M+ sales days | Yahoo Life |
2021 | Joins the AFR Young Rich List at an estimated A$170M | ABC News |
2023 | 8.1M+ units and about A$500M in total revenue | SmartCompany |
2023 | Joins Shark Tank Australia | Power Retail |
2024 | Over A$600M in total sales, Forbes 30 Under 30 | Forbes Australia |
2025 | Says The Oodie is close to $1B in total sales |
|
A big part of the growth came from licensing. The Oodie has run official collaborations with Disney, Warner Bros, Marvel, Pokémon, the AFL and Barbie, and media reports put licensed sales alone at over A$100 million. He's even posted a video called "How I Got Harry Potter to License My Brand".
The rules he built it on
In a podcast with an ecommerce agency, Davie Fogarty shared some of the rules behind the business. They're more useful than any net worth number:
Never launch a product without at least $30 of margin to spend on ads
Master one ad channel, like
Facebook or 
TikTok, before adding 
Pinterest or anything elseHire people who have already worked at the size you're aiming for
Hire a demand manager early. He says selling out of stock cost the business millions
He also listed "not believing in the business enough" as a mistake. That's how close he came: three near-sales. If any of them had gone through, he'd have sold for a fraction of what it became.
Davie Fogarty Net Worth in 2026
This is where most net worth sites get it wrong. You'll see headlines calling Davie Fogarty a "$500 million" or "$600 million" founder. Those figures are total sales of The Oodie across several years, not what he's worth.
Figure | What It Actually Is | Source |
|---|---|---|
A$170 million | His estimated wealth on the 2021 AFR Young Rich List | ABC News, December 2021 |
About $150 million | Forbes Australia's estimate of his net worth | Forbes Australia, October 2024 |
About A$250 million | A reported valuation of The Oodie business in 2023 | The West Australian |
A$600 million+ | Total Oodie sales since 2018, not profit | Forbes Australia |
$850 million+ | Total | Daily Mentor website |
Close to $1 billion | Total Oodie sales, his own claim |
|
For context, a business that turns over $600 million across six years doesn't hand its founder $600 million. There's stock, shipping, licensing fees, ads, staff, tax and a CEO to pay. In his own words on a podcast, a mature consumer brand might sell for around 2.5 to 4 times its yearly earnings (EBITDA), not its sales.
Our take: Davie Fogarty's net worth is most likely somewhere around A$150 million to A$170 million, possibly a little more today. He isn't on the 2025 AFR Rich List of Australia's 200 wealthiest people, and no credible source has ever put him near a billion. Anyone quoting $500 million or more is confusing sales with wealth.
Davie Fogarty's Businesses
The Davie Group now sits over roughly a dozen brands. These are the ones with public numbers attached:
Business | What It Is | Known Numbers |
|---|---|---|
The Oodie | Wearable blankets and loungewear | 8.1M+ units, A$600M+ in total sales |
Calming Blankets | Weighted blankets | About $10M in first-year sales |
Pupnaps | Calming dog beds, co-founded with Jye de Zylva | Over $1M a month in its first year |
Daily Mentor | Coaching community for ecommerce founders | Says it has 1,000+ members |
Fydoo | Indoor pet toilet, co-created with Sebastian Waddell | Pre-sales stage |
Suitor | Sydney men's suit hire | He invested $250,000 in 2023 |
He has also stepped back from running The Oodie day to day and hired a CEO, keeping a creative and strategic role. That's a big reason he has time for Shark Tank, YouTube and coaching.
Davie on Shark Tank and YouTube
On Shark Tank Australia, he sits alongside investors like Jane Lu and Robert Herjavec. One of his first deals was A$50,000 for 20% of skincare brand Boring Without You.
His YouTube channel is where most people now meet him. At 931K subscribers, it's a huge audience for a founder who still runs a product business. These are his most-watched videos:
Video | Views |
|---|---|
How I Went from $500 to Half a Billion in 5 Years | 5.3M |
| 2.1M |
Beginners Complete Dropshipping Tutorial (11+ hour guide) | 1.5M |
If I Had 1 Year to Make $10M, This Is My Plan | 1.4M |
I bought my parents a house | 1.3M |
Can I Save This Failing Donut Shop? | 1.1M |
Lately the channel has shifted towards rescue-style videos, like trying to save a failing restaurant in 30 days, plus AI 
Shopify store experiments. One recent upload, "I Accidentally Created Australia's Most Viral Cookie", has nearly 600,000 views. For someone who started out selling cookies to his teachers, that's a nice full circle.
His free course and Daily Mentor
Davie Fogarty gives a lot away. His 11-hour dropshipping tutorial and 3-hour Shopify tutorial are free on YouTube, and the 
Davie Free Ecom Course covers product research, Shopify setup with 
Zendrop, ads on Facebook and 
Google, and email with 
Omnisend.
The paid side is Daily Mentor, a coaching community for founders who already have a store. It runs on 
Skool, pairs members with mentors, and doesn't list a public price. You apply first.
Detail | What We Found |
|---|---|
Who it's for | Ecommerce founders, mostly with established stores |
Price | Not public. Apply on the website |
Common praise | Knowledgeable mentors, strong ad training |
Common complaint | One September 2026 review says support after payment was slow and booking a specific mentor was hard |
That's a strong rating, and the company replied to the negative review the same day. If you're a beginner, though, start with the free course. Daily Mentor is built for people who already have sales.
Controversies and Criticism
No founder at this scale gets through without some problems. These are the ones on the public record.
Issue | What Happened |
|---|---|
ACCC penalty (July 2024) | Davie Clothing paid A$101,280 in penalties after the ACCC alleged it sold over 2,400 Kids Beach Oodies without mandatory fire danger warning labels. The company voluntarily recalled the products |
New Zealand warning (2024) | The Commerce Commission warned Davie Clothing over wearable towels that didn't meet children's nightwear safety standards |
Delivery delays (December 2024) | New Zealand customers reported late Black Friday orders. The company blamed stock transfer issues |
House tour backlash (2023) | A video of his Adelaide Hills home was criticised as out of touch during a cost-of-living crisis |
Microplastics (2021) | Academics raised concerns that polyester fleece products shed microplastics |
The ACCC penalty is the most serious of these, and it's a real lesson for anyone selling kids' products. But nothing on the public record involves fraud claims, which is more than many ecommerce gurus can say.
What We Could and Couldn't Verify
Claim | Verified? |
|---|---|
Founded The Oodie in 2018 | Yes, multiple outlets |
Started with about $500 | His own claim, repeated by ABC News |
8.1M+ units sold by 2023 | Reported by SmartCompany |
A$600M+ in total sales by 2024 | His figure, reported by Forbes Australia |
Close to $1B in sales | His own claim only |
Net worth of about $150M to $170M | Rich list and Forbes estimates, not audited |
Billionaire | No, no credible source says so |
ACCC penalty of A$101,280 | Yes, ACCC media release (paid via six infringement notices) |
What You Can Learn From Davie Fogarty
The lessons are less glamorous than the YouTube thumbnails, and more useful:
He failed six to eight times before anything worked, and kept going
His big wins came from spotting demand in
Facebook groups, not from guessingHe built margin into every product so he could afford ads
He nearly sold too early three times, so believe in what's working
He hired a CEO once the business outgrew him
If you want to try the same path, start with our guides on how to start dropshipping, what it really costs and how much dropshippers actually make. And before you jump in, read whether dropshipping is dead in 2026.
Want to compare him with other ecom YouTubers? See Biaheza's net worth, our Kamil Sattar (Ecom King) review and Kevin Ervald's business.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Davie Fogarty's net worth?
Around A$150 million to A$170 million, based on Forbes Australia's 2024 estimate and the 2021 AFR Young Rich List. Headlines saying $500 million or more are quoting The Oodie's total sales, not his wealth.
Is Davie Fogarty a billionaire?
No. The Oodie is close to $1 billion in total sales by his own count, but his personal wealth is estimated at a fraction of that.
How did Davie Fogarty start The Oodie?
He launched it in 2018 with about $500, after his weighted blanket brand Calming Blankets took off. Sales exploded during the 2020 lockdowns.
How much has The Oodie made?
Over A$600 million in total sales by October 2024, according to Forbes Australia. Davie Fogarty says it's now close to $1 billion.
Where is Davie Fogarty from?
Adelaide, South Australia, where he still lives.
Is Davie Fogarty's course free?
Yes. His beginner ecommerce course and long Shopify and dropshipping tutorials are free. His paid program, Daily Mentor, is for established store owners and requires an application.
Is Daily Mentor legit?
It has a 4.8 rating from 231 
Trustpilot reviews and real mentors. The price isn't public, and at least one recent reviewer complained about support after joining.
Bottom Line
Davie Fogarty is the real thing: a founder who failed repeatedly, found demand in a Facebook group, and built a brand that has sold millions of units. He's worth an estimated A$150 million to A$170 million, which is a lot, but nowhere near the half-billion headlines.
The best part of his story isn't the number. It's that he almost sold The Oodie three times for a fraction of what it became. If you're building something that's working, that's the lesson worth keeping.
