The Motley Fool (Opinion)
U.S. center-left
Background
The Motley Fool was founded in July 1993 by David Gardner, Tom Gardner, Todd Etter, and Erik Rydholm as a small print newsletter produced in a backyard shed in Alexandria, Virginia. The company moved online in August 1994, launching on AOL and later building its own website; by 1997 it was reaching more than 500,000 monthly visitors. Through the late 1990s it expanded into newspaper columns, radio, a monthly magazine, and a book series, becoming a broad personal-finance brand. In February 2002 it shifted to a subscription-based model with the launch of Stock Advisor, which provides paying members with monthly stock picks and investment analysis. Over its history the company has raised roughly $106 million in outside funding, including venture capital from Maveron and the Mayfield Fund. It has been rated Left-Center by Media Bias/Fact Check and Lean Left by Ground News, with both organizations giving it high marks for factual accuracy. During the Trump administration's second term (from January 2025), its coverage has been notably skeptical of tariff policy, presidential interference with the Federal Reserve, and the administration's bullish market claims, reflecting a financially grounded but editorially critical posture.
Sources
- The Motley Fool – Wikipedia
- The Motley Fool – Bias and Credibility – Media Bias/Fact Check
- The Motley Fool Bias and Reliability – Ad Fontes Media
- The Motley Fool – Ground News
- History of The Motley Fool, Inc. – FundingUniverse
- The Motley Fool – Crunchbase
- Stock Market Crash Under President Trump in 2026? – The Motley Fool
- Trump's Feud With the Fed: Should Investors Be Worried? – The Motley Fool
Profile compiled 2026-07-23; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.