Evan Hafer Net Worth (Updated 2022)

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Evan Hafer is the CEO and founder of the Black Rifle Coffee Company. His brand is known for its conservative and pro-veteran practice.

Hafer is a veteran who wanted to help bring attention to the life of other veterans. His company is a family-run business, with his father working as facilities supervisor.

NameEvan Hafer
Date of Birth:1977 (44-45 years old)
Place of Birth:Idaho, USA
Height:5 feet 6 inches (1.68m)
Profession:CEO and veteran
Marital Status:Married
Children:2 children
Parents:Ed Hafer (Father), Mother unknown
Company$10 million
Net Worth Estimate:Black Rifle Coffee Company

Net Worth

An exact figure of Hafer’s net worth is not known. However, a likely estimate is around $10 million. Hafer’s business, Black Rifle Coffee Company, was valued in 2021 at $1.7 billion and had a revenue of $205 million.

Its revenue outlook for 2022 is $315 million. The majority of Hafer’s net worth comes from this company. He also made some of his fortunes from his time as a veteran, although the exact amount is unknown.

Career

After serving time in the military, Hafer found it difficult to get back into work, as he had no qualifications to offer. He began selling coffee beans as part of his friend’s website. This coffee was called “Freedom Roast.” Its success prompted Hafer to begin his company “Black Rifle Coffee Company” in 2014. He remains the CEO to this day. 

Hafer said he started the company to help veterans in America. From his own experience, many of them struggle with employment and also enjoy drinking coffee.

He also disliked the pretentious attitudes of baristas in certain coffee shops. So, Hafer wanted to take the experience of good coffee wherever he went and based his business model around veterans. The company employs men who are retired from the army, and it supports law enforcement.

Hafer constantly worked hard to support his business and his family. He slept approximately 4 hours per night during the first year of creating the business. Hafer often stayed in the office and slept on a futon. However, Hafer said this did not seriously affect his mental health because his military experience helped him conserve sleep.

In 2015, the company earned $1 million in revenue. This was just one year after Hafer launched BRCC.

Later, Hafer’s friends Mat Best and Tom Davin became co-owners of Black Rifle Coffee Company. Like Hafer, the pair previously served in the army. Best is a former CIA contractor similar to Hafer, while Davin was part of the Marine Corps. Davin is co-CEO of the franchise, and Best is the executive vice president.

For Hafer, creating a business with his friends was an easy decision. He enjoys the leadership position but does not like making each decision, so he prefers Davin to make the executive choices.

In 2018, gross sales for Black Rifle Coffee Company were roughly $30 million, which almost tripled the next year to $80 million. The company has 550 employees working across three coffee shops, and Hafer plans to open more in the future. The company sells its beans to over 1700 locations in the United States alone.

Career Highlights

  • Created Black Rifle Coffee Company in 2014
  • Hit a revenue of $1 million in 2015
  • Gross sales reached $30 million in 2018, followed by $80 million in 2019
  • Revenues reached $205 million in 2021
  • Forecasted revenue of $315 million for 2022
  • Company valued at $1.7 billion in 2021
  • Created magazine company Coffee or Die

Early life

Hafer was born in northern Idaho, and the majority of his family worked as loggers. He lived in a small town when he was younger, with a population of approximately 800 people. Almost everyone in the town had some connection to felling trees.

From a young age, he had a close relationship with his father. His father, a logger, encouraged Hafer to spend time in nature. Hafer spent a lot of his youth near the Clearwater River in Idaho. This involved hiking along the North Fork and playing in the mountains. Since he had so much fun in the wilderness, he had a good lay of the land and formed a strong relationship with his father.

When Hafer was 10, he travelled through the woods with his father and his father’s brother. Unfortunately, they got lost as it began getting dark. However, Hafer managed to find the way out without any guidance. After, Hafer’s father began to rely on him more during their trips to the wilderness.

Hafer’s father and grandfather owned their logging businesses. So, from a young age, Hafer learned about the difficulties of being self-employed. 

Hafer claims that he was a shy child and often played pranks on his father. One of these involved Hafer mowing the lawn naked when his father arrived home. Hafer often saw his father drinking coffee in the morning, which helped start Hafer’s interest in the drink.

As Hafer got older, he started getting into trouble. It is unclear what this trouble involved, but Hafer claims he was a “dysfunctional youth” who frequently caused problems. 

Many of the men in Hafer’s family joined the army, served their time, and then returned to logging. Hafer did the same thing and joined the National Guard once he finished high school. During this time, he decided to get his life on the straight and narrow and went to university. He studied at the University of Idaho. In 2000, he graduated with a degree in Political Science and Government, although it’s unknown what his GPA was.

Eventually, Hafer progressed through the military ranks and served in many different roles. This included being a Special Forces Soldier and an infantryman. In the same year as his graduation, Hafer became a Green Beret. Later, he served in Afghanistan and Iraq as part of the US security department. Hafer served the military for 20 years, including time as a CIA contractor.

However, Hafer decided to leave the military in 2014. His time as a soldier caused Hafer serious psychological distress, which affected him deeply. At this time, Hafer began to enjoy drinking coffee regularly. In 2006, Hafer started roasting coffee and took the beans with him whilst serving abroad. This gave him plenty of experience with perfecting coffee blends.

Personal Life

Hafer is married to his wife, Kate, and the pair of them have two daughters together. Hafer’s first daughter was born in 2013, shortly before he began Black Rifle Coffee Company. Hafer and his wife struggled at first to manage the business and their newborn child. 

Kate had experience working for a coffee shop, so she helped Hafer with the customer service. A few years later, Hafer’s wife gave birth to another daughter.

Hafer struggled when his first child was born as he was very nervous about being a father. He was unsure if he could have a proper relationship with her. Hafer believes his time in the military caused this fear because he became numb to many feelings.

Luckily, his fears were not true, and he has a very close relationship with both of his children. As a father, he inspired his children to follow a similar path to him. He taught his eldest daughter how to use a rifle, and he often takes her to shooting ranges.

In 2017, Hafer adopted a dog which soon became part of his family. The Hafer family lives in San Antonio, Texas, where Black Rifle Coffee Company is based. Originally, they lived in Salt Lake City in Utah but relocated to Texas once Hafer’s business became more successful.

Fun Facts

When Hafer’s business first started, he dealt with every aspect of coffee-making himself. This included packing each box to be shipped, roasting all the coffee beans, and solving any customer issues.

Hafer’s favourite kind of coffee is black. He believes that this is the best way to taste all the flavours.

While fighting for the US military, Hafer continued to roast his coffee and drink it. The weirdest place he made a cup of coffee was on an HMMWV, a type of tactical vehicle. This was during the invasion of Iraq.

Outside of business, Hafer enjoys mathematics. He enjoys solving equations in his free time to keep himself mentally aware and tries to do them as fast as possible. Hafer also likes sketching with pencils.

During the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic games, Black Rifle Coffee Company became an official sponsor for the USA archery team. This involved helping NBC to cover the events across Washington DC, Dallas, and other US cities. 

One of Black Rifle Coffee Company’s major rivals is Starbucks. In 2017, they mocked a Starbucks advertisement campaign to hire 10,000 refugees by claiming BRCC would hire 10,000 US veterans instead. 

Hafer’s company sells merchandise along with coffee, like clothing and apparel that includes the BRCC logo. However, this has sometimes got Hafer into hot water. 

In 2020, conservative Kyle Rittenhouse was accused of murdering two individuals during a protest in Wisconsin. He wore a t-shirt with the BRCC logo on it at his trial. A Capitol terrorist who broke into the building wore a BRCC hat the following year. Hafer and other leading members chose to distance the company from these individuals. 

Hafer wants to give back to those protecting US freedoms.

In 2021, BRCC donated $3 million worth of coffee to the US military and emergency services. He also donated $1.2 million worth of coffee to charities and veterans.

Hafer runs a magazine for BRCC named “Coffee or Die.” This magazine focuses on content related to veterans across the world. With the outbreak of war in Ukraine, they also covered content on the ground. They have three writers currently based in Ukraine. 

In 2020, Hafer launched a podcast with some of the company’s co-founders, including Mat Best. It is called Free Range American and focuses on outdoor adventures, like hunting and fishing. Soon after, Hafer also launched an online store and magazine for Free Range American. Like Hafer, the company has a conservative outlook.

Hafer believes that starting BRCC was the most difficult moment in his life. He says that although being in the military is difficult, everyone around you has trained for that moment. Starting a business was psychologically challenging because his wife and newborn daughter relied on him. So, Hafer said he would rather enter the military than go through this process again.

Hafer’s company faced some challenges in 2022 when it faced a lawsuit. 1791 Management claimed Hafer had committed fraud by not being clear with shareholders.

Hafer is a Proud Ashkenazi Jew

His religious beliefs are important for his business and vision for the world.

In 2017, Donald Trump Jr. spoke about meeting with the leaders of BRCC, including Hafer, and he publicly supported the company. During the 2020 presidential elections, Hafer endorsed Donald Trump and voted for him. However, the spokesperson for BRCC stated that the company did not support any political party. These views were only Hafer’s.

Hafer prefers living in the mountains to being near the ocean. His favourite places to visit are the more remote areas in America because he believes they are more spiritual.

In 2020, Hafer set a goal for BRCC. He wanted the company to have at least 50% of its employees be veterans. By June of the same year, he had achieved this goal. He aims to hire at least 10,000 veterans by 2024.

Growing up, Evan played many pranks on his father. One of the biggest ones involved putting a bull snake in a cooler. Hafer saw his father painting the shed and offered the cooler to him as a reward. He claimed there was a sandwich inside. When Hafer’s dad opened the cooler to see the snake, he jumped almost 10 feet high.

Hafer claims that his biggest inspiration is his father because he continues to work hard, despite his age. Hafer claims his father regular outperforms many of his employees.

Summary

With a valuation of $1.7 billion, Evan Hafer’s company has grown at an extraordinary with an IPO. It is unknown how much stock he holds, but it’s sure to be worth quite a bit. As of 2022, his net worth is estimated to be $10 million.

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