Karl Stefanovic is reportedly drawing on cash reserves as he faces mounting costs associated with his high-end lifestyle, dwindling Channel Nine income and a growing dispute over the future of his podcast venture.
As the future of his podcast business remains uncertain and his conflict with business partner Keshnee Kemp moves through the Supreme Court, Stefanovic is understood to be using savings and the remaining proceeds of his television settlement to meet everyday expenses before returning to air.
Rumours suggest Stefanovic requires between $100,000 and $200,000 each month to service his $20million property portfolio and support the luxury lifestyle he shares with wife Jasmine and their daughter.
He is believed to have secured a six-figure settlement linked to his $2million Channel Nine contract after leaving Today shortly after interviewing far-right figure Tommy Robinson on The Karl Stefanovic Show podcast. The June 22 interview is understood to have led to his departure.
The podcast operation, launched in January with One Nation leader Pauline Hanson as its first guest, has generated more than $1million in sponsorship agreements and approximately $80,000 a month in programme revenue.
Across the 66 episodes released so far, Stefanovic has interviewed guests including billionaire and political hopeful Clive Palmer, as well as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Karl Stefanovic is believed to need between $100,000 and $200,000 a month to cover his expenses on his $20m property portfolio and his uber comfortable lifestyle with wife Jasmine (the couple pictured in May)
Keshnee Kemp’s swift legal action to head off a plan to dump her as director of Stefanovic’s joint podcast company could prove an expensive final parting of the ways from his wife’s childhood friend
Stefanovic (centre) with wife Jasmine, and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, who was his debut podcast interview. He has since lost as a sponsor Ringers Western, makers of his inaugural podcast clobber
Early backers of the show included Rode Microphones, wellness company Revive5 and wagering giant Neds. However, country clothing label Ringers Western, whose clothing Stefanovic wore for the Hanson interview, did not renew its sponsorship this month.
Stefanovic’s debut episode, which featured Pauline Hanson unloading on Anthony Albanese, Labor and the ABC, has attracted more than 300,000 views on YouTube.
But the venture has gone quiet, with no new episodes released in the past three weeks, with the exception of one pre-recorded months ago with Adrian Portelli on Wednesday night.
Advertising revenue has stalled amid a bitter legal dispute with business partner Keshnee Kemp, who posted an Instagram story of the departures board at Sydney International Airport on Wednesday, indicating she may be travelling overseas.
Kemp, a former magazine editor, Nine producer and Woolworths social content strategist, spent five months producing the podcast while Stefanovic was still at Today, helping secure sponsorships and commercial partnerships.
The controversy exploded following Stefanovic’s interview with Tommy Robinson, during which he labelled then-UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer a ‘w**ker’. Amid widespread backlash, the episode was pulled from the internet less than 12 hours after it was uploaded.
The fallout ultimately cost Stefanovic his job and lucrative seven-figure salary after Nine executives drew a line in the sand, bringing to an end his 25-year association with the network.
It was around this time that relations between Stefanovic and Kemp began to unravel.
Insiders say the former Today host has since come to regret not retaining a controlling stake in the company, instead agreeing to an equal 45 per cent shareholding alongside Kemp.
Keshnee Kemp, right, husband Jason Ibrahim, second left, and Karl and Jasmine Stefanovic were once besties but the falling out over the Tommy Robinson interview which prompted Karl’s exit from Nine proved fatal for the friendship
Stefanovic and his business adviser Anthony Bell (pictured above in 2023) reportedly planned a coup for director of 123 Podcast Keshnee Kemp, but she headed it off in the Supreme Court this week
Their increasingly acrimonious ‘business divorce’ escalated further when Stefanovic moved to oust Kemp from 123 Podcast Pty Ltd at what sources describe as a ‘contentious’ meeting scheduled for Friday morning.
Under the proposal, Stefanovic would combine his 45 per cent holding with the 10 per cent stake owned by his financial adviser, Anthony Bell, to secure the numbers required to remove Kemp as a director.
Kemp, whose married name is Keshnee Ibrahim, launched urgent legal action in the NSW Supreme Court on Monday.
Through her litigation lawyer, Monica Allen of BlackBay Lawyers, Kemp sought an urgent injunction preventing Stefanovic, his company and 123 Podcast Pty Ltd from convening a meeting scheduled for September 18.
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Court documents filed overnight also sought to block any vote aimed at removing Kemp, whose full legal name is Keshnee Deborah Ibrahim, as a director of the company.
Stefanovic’s plan was to remove Kemp from the board and replace her with his longtime manager, Sharon Finnigan.
In separate filings, Kemp alleged Stefanovic had engaged in conduct that was ‘unfairly prejudicial or discriminatory’ following the suspension of the podcast in August.
Justice Hammerschlag granted an injunction preventing the meeting from proceeding and ordered the pair to jointly appoint an independent expert to value 123 Podcast ahead of a potential share buyout.
The business is understood to be worth more than $2million, although its valuation is expected to be fiercely contested unless the parties can reach an agreement before next month’s hearing.
His Honour left the door open for a negotiated settlement ahead of the October 13 court date, telling the parties he would welcome ‘some sort of mediation’ if they wished to resolve the dispute without further litigation.
Keshnee Kemp and Karl Stefanovic plotted the podcast together and it launched in January to much fanfare, but after an interview with UK far-right figure Tommy Robinson, it all fell apart
Episodes of The Karl Stefanovic Show had already dried up before the escalating dispute with business partner Keshnee Kemp spilled into the courts.
The Daily Mail has contacted Stefanovic’s longtime manager, Sharon Finnigan, to ask when the podcast will return, and has also sought clarification from Nine as to whether the former Today host remains on the network’s books in any capacity.
With his reported Channel Nine payout due to run out at the end of the year, a looming buyout of Kemp’s stake and a potential payout tied to her directorship, Stefanovic could be facing a significant funding gap as he attempts to transition to a sole income stream from the podcast business.
Earlier this year, it emerged that Karl and Jasmine Stefanovic were undertaking an ambitious multimillion-dollar redevelopment of their Sydney north shore home.
The couple purchased the Castlecrag property for $3.2million in 2021 and secured approval three years later for a $4.5million rebuild featuring a lift, wine cellar, television equipment room, and dedicated storage spaces for surfboards, bicycles and tools.
They also own Villa Isabelle, a $3.6million holiday home at Sunshine Beach near Noosa.
Stefanovic’s Nine contract was due to expire in December. Before his departure, the former breakfast television king was widely believed to be Australia’s highest-paid TV presenter, earning an estimated $2.8million a year.
Stefanovic had planned to dump Keshnee Kemp in a meeting on September 18 and install his longtime manager Sharon Finnigan. (He is pictured with Finnigan at his 2018 wedding to Jasmine Yarbrough in Mexico)
At present, Stefanovic remains bound by directors’ duties, requiring him to act in the best interests of 123 Podcast Pty Ltd while the dispute remains unresolved.
He is understood to be taking advice from celebrity accountant and longtime friend Anthony Bell.
Should 123 Podcast ultimately be wound up following next month’s hearing before Justice Hammerschlag, industry figures speculate Stefanovic could simply launch a new entity to continue producing the show.
The situation stands in stark contrast to the optimism that accompanied the podcast’s launch in January.
At the time, Kemp said she was ‘proud’ of the venture, revealing the partnership with Stefanovic had grown from conversations during a holiday about a concept he had been considering for years.
‘He absolutely loves people, talking to people and bringing out the nuances and very human experience of their stories,’ she wrote.
The once-close relationship has since deteriorated dramatically. Kemp and Jasmine Stefanovic, who were childhood friends, have more recently unfollowed each other on social media, a small but telling sign of the widening rift.