Andrew Breitbart
A polarizing media entrepreneur who harnessed the disruptive power of the internet to build a conservative news powerhouse.
1969–2012 (age 43)·American journalist·Birthday: February 1·Generation X
Biography
Andrew Breitbart's career was forged in the early internet culture wars. Starting as a researcher for Matt Drudge, he grasped the potential of online aggregation and viral content long before traditional media did. He was a co-founder of The Huffington Post but soon channeled his energy into creating his own distinct, combative ecosystem of websites. Breitbart News, launched in 2007, became his flagship—a platform known for its aggressive style and focus on stories it claimed the mainstream media ignored. He saw himself as a guerrilla warrior in a political information battle, using spectacle and controversy to drive narrative. His sudden death in 2012 left a formidable and contentious media institution in his wake.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Andrew was born in 1969, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Andrew Was Born
The biggest hits of 1969
#1 Movie
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Best Picture
Midnight Cowboy
#1 TV Show
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Andrew's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1969Born
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1974Started school
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1982Became a teenager
Michael Jackson releases Thriller
Gas: $1.22/galHome: $55,200Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Physical" — Olivia Newton-JohnBest Picture: Gandhi
1985Could drive
Live Aid concerts raise money for Ethiopian famine
Gas: $1.12/galHome: $62,900Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Careless Whisper" — Wham!Best Picture: Out of Africa
1987Could vote
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1990Turned 21
Hubble Space Telescope launched; Germany reunifies
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.80/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Hold On" — Wilson PhillipsBest Picture: Dances with Wolves
1999Turned 30
Columbine shooting; Y2K panic builds
Gas: $1.17/galHome: $113,900Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Believe" — CherBest Picture: American Beauty
2009Turned 40
Michael Jackson dies; Bitcoin created
Gas: $2.35/galHome: $148,500Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Boom Boom Pow" — The Black Eyed PeasBest Picture: The Hurt Locker
2012Died at 43
Curiosity rover lands on Mars; Sandy Hook shooting
Gas: $3.64/galHome: $143,200Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Somebody That I Used to Know" — GotyeBest Picture: Argo
Key Achievements
- Founded Breitbart News, which became a highly influential outlet in American conservative media.
- Co-founded the news aggregation website The Huffington Post.
- Pioneered the use of online aggregation and viral political content as a form of activism.
- Played a key role in the media strategy surrounding several major political controversies.
Did You Know?
He worked as a child actor, appearing in a 1978 episode of *The Waltons*.
He was a film studies graduate from Tulane University.
His first major web project was the pop culture site Breitbart.com.
He authored the book *Righteous Indignation: Excuse Me While I Save the World!*.
““Politics is downstream from culture.””
