Walking out of the tunnel at T-Mobile Arena for UFC 310 in Las Vegas, Dana White is greeted like a mixed martial arts champion, rather than the suit who pays them.

Fans shout his name, initiate high fives and lean in for selfies.

“You’re the greatest man in the world,” one tells him after snapping a photo.

The 55-year-old CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship takes it all in stride. “Thank you so much for helping our president,” says another. “Right?” White responds. “Thank God we won.”

Over the past two decades, White has turned mixed martial arts, or MMA, into a global phenomenon and, in turn, made his UFC into a behemoth, generating an estimated $1.3 billion in revenue last year—with staggering margins (EBITDA) of almost 60%. Along the way, he’s become more famous than any of the fighters who step into his Octagon and amassed a net worth that Forbes estimates to be more than $600 million. “People ask me all the time, ‘Did you ever envision this? Did you ever think it would be this big?’” White tells Forbes. “And the answer is always yes.”

White leveraged that fame, fortuitously concentrated among a large swath of young, politically apathetic males, to support Donald Trump’s 2024 election triumph. First, he provided Trump with pre-culture cover when few others would. They were often seen side by side for UFC ring walks after he left office amid the stench of the January 6 insurrection, again after his federal indictment for election interference in 2023 and continuing through last year’s presidential campaign. He also coordinated Trump’s appearances on numerous bro-heavy podcasts most notably with longtime UFC announcer Joe Rogan. That combination served as a backbone for turning out a demographic famously resistant to voter turnout efforts, swamping the impact of more traditional Hollywood celebrities who came out in support of Kamala Harris.