Internet fame can be dangerous, especially when it’s used with foul intentions. Years ago, Andrew Tate rose to online stardom thanks to his brand of controversial takes which he proudly self describes as misogynistic. His content boasted his luxurious lifestyle and was aimed at young and middle-aged men, gaining Tate a fortune and millions of followers across social media, as well as a massive share number of detractors whom he considered necessary for the expansion of his brand.
However, that story had a bitter ending. Fast-forward to today; Andrew faces several serious criminal accusations in the UK and Romania. He also sees his former social media empire fall, as his infamous reputation bites him on the back.
So how did Andrew go from being a seemingly infallible influencer to being investigated in two countries? What role does his brother play in this, and what is the current status of the criminal cases against him? Keep with us to find out more about Andrew Tate’s rise and fall!
Who Is Andrew Tate?
Although many people know Andrew Tate for his career as an influencer, he gained some fame long before his controversial social media brand took off. His first taste of worldwide popularity came in the 2000s, when he participated in several kickboxing championships and was considerably successful, gaining him the famous ‘Cobra Tate’ nickname.
Through his kickboxing career, Andrew was established in the UK, where he has been living since his mother based herself in the country following her divorce from Andrew’s father in the late 1990s. Andrew and his two siblings were born in the US from a biracial marriage, their father being Afro-American and their mother being Caucasian and British.
At some point in the 2010s, being a kickboxer just wasn’t enough for Andrew, who eventually joined the cast of the UK-based reality show “Big Brother” in 2016. His stay on the show lasted less than a week, as the public uncovered Twitter (now X) posts he made that included racist and homophobic slurs. Producers only affirmed that his tweets weren’t the cause of his exit, but other actions he’d done outside of the show, but it was later revealed that he was sacked because of a then-open investigation, accused of sexual abuse.
Rise to Fame
The “Big Brother” controversy was enough for Andrew Tate to gain notoriety, which he took full advantage of in the following years. Starting in 2016, he consistently built himself a brand of machismo on social media, gaining notable traction by sharing controversial messages about sexual assault, women, the LGBTQ+ community, and people of color. Andrew also publicly defended the anti-Islam personality Tommy Robinson from online criticism.
It was during that time that Andrew moved to Romania, later insisting that the country met his requirements of high corruption. As the years went by, Andrew gained more notoriety for his controversial ideas, despite having his social media accounts banned due to his derogatory language. In 2021, he founded Hustler’s University, which offered courses aimed at young men who wished to earn money in non-traditional ways, such as managing e-commerce and crypto-currencies.
This wasn’t Andrew’s first rodeo at offering courses though, as before that, he’d been offering dating courses and social media pick-up techniques, putting words such as ‘pimp’ in the program’s titles. However, while those courses had a one-time price of $500, Hustler’s University was noticeably more expensive in the long run, due to its subscription format and included an affiliate marketing program, prompting its members to join the communities, while attracting others to do the same thing.
The Beginning of His Downfall
It isn’t hard to see that Andrew Tate’s rise to fame positively impacted his finances and influence, even if he did it in controversial ways. According to a BuzzFeed report, the business content that Hustler’s University produced was commonly filled with ‘anti-LGBTQ and anti-women rhetoric’.
There was also The War Room, which was an online group worth over $4000 per access ticket, and was marketed towards Hustler’s Academy subscribers. The business model was so successful that at some point the courses had over 160,000 subscribers, meaning that Andrew was making millions per month. Later investigations by BBC revealed that The War Room had been used to ‘groom’ women into prostitution ,by teaching members techniques of exploitation.
Another important detail about Andrew’s finances was his involvement in a sexual industry enterprise alongside his younger brother Tristan. The business lured men into paying for webcam model services at ‘their own risk’, which reportedly led many of those users to spend their life savings or incur debt to afford to keep in contact with one or several of the over 70 models who took part in the business. Both Tate brothers openly admitted their business was a ‘scam’, though at that point the money was already in their pockets.
Legal Issues
The first time Andrew Tate wcame under investigation was in 2015, as authorities believed he had sexually abused two women. The case led to his temporary arrest in the UK, and the aforementioned exit from “Big Brother”, though the charges were dropped in 2019.
Later in December 2022, Andrew was arrested in Romania for being a suspect in a case of human trafficking. According to reports, the authorities were tipped off by a woman in Florida whose daughter was allegedly held captive in Andrew’s property in Bucharest. At some point, Andrew’s property was bugged and he was later arrested in a raid, the start of a criminal investigation in which he was accused of human trafficking. Around $4 million in assets was seized by Romanian authorities in the course of their investigation.
Iftar and an exclusive with Andrew Tate @Cobratate
We had a wide ranging discussion that covers his legal issues, the future of social media, geopolitics and much more.
The interview will be dropping soon @trtworld 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/3KyGwHUlJg
— Yusuf Erim (@YusufErim34) April 1, 2024
Tate denied the accusations, claiming that ‘the matrix’ had ‘sent their agents’, which were terms he used in The Real World, a course of business he formed after Hustler’s Academy. Fast forward to July 2023, Tate, his brother, and two other individuals had their charges changed to ‘human trafficking in the continued form’, on top of being charged with one count of rape. The investigation against them went on while they were under house arrest, which also gave Andrew and his brother time to sue a former Marine Sergeant for defamation for having reported them to the authorities -he case was dismissed, though.
Tax Case & Dark Future
As the Tates battled their human trafficking case, further accusations against them dropped. For a start, they were accused of tax evasion by UK authorities, who sought £2.8 million out of the £21 million in revenue the brothers had made from their online courses and other online money-making escapades. Later on, four British women accused Andrew of physical assault and rape.
On top of that, it was revealed that Andrew had associated with Romanian politicians to discredit the women who accused him of rape. In August 2024, the case against the Tates took another dark turn when they were accused of trafficking and sexually abusing minors, on top of the charges they were already facing, leading them to be held under house arrest again. According to reports from late 2024, there’s a chance Tate, his brother, and other people involved in their case might be extradited to the UK.
Following the effective seizing of part of his fortune in December 2024 due to tax evasion, Andrew revealed his intentions to become Britain’s Prime Minister. However, any political aspirations he might have need to wait, as investigations are still ongoing, and so his future uncertain.
