Luke Davies
Joe Rogan ‘rejected’ the opportunity to have one of his most wanted guests on his podcast, the ‘Joe Rogan Experience’.
Rogan, 57, is a man of many talents, including being a comedian and UFC commentator as well as hosting the world’s most popular podcast.
The 57-year-old has sat across from some of the most controversial, famous and intelligent people on the planet in thousands of hours of podcasts.
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U.S. President Donald Trump, billionaire Elon Musk and even sporting icons such as Mike Tyson have all featured.
But there is one man who has yet to make an appearance on the show, despite fans’ requests.
During a 2020 episode, Rogan delved into the life of crime boss Michael Franzese, who was born into the Italian-American Colombo family in New York City.
His father, Sonny, was second in command, and Michael, having dropped out of Hofstra University after his dad was sent to prison for 50 years for armed robbery, ended up becoming a major player and claims he made around $8-10 million per week at his peak.
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Rogan said: “He's a motivational speaker now? He sounds like a f***** hustle. I saw him being interviewed recently. Wait a minute, they contacted me! Really recently, I got a request to have him on."
He added: “I don't know if I want him to know where we are.”
Despite Rogan’s stance, Franzese has featured on several other podcasts including Steven Bartlett’s ‘The Diary of a CEO’ in 2024.
The former mobster claimed that he made roughly $10m per week by collecting gasoline taxes using shell companies based in Panama.
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He credits his expertise in business and making money to one simple technique.
“You can learn so much from people just when they talk, and you can keep quiet,” Franzese said on 'The Diary of a CEO'.
“There's other times when you're not the smartest person in the room - and by keeping quiet, nobody knows that.
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"It's a tremendous technique, and in that life it was extremely valuable for me. I was always the last guy to talk. It helped me master that art because you had these guys [in the mafia] that were very smart. If they hadn't been successful in that life, they'd have been somewhere else."
Despite Rogan's concerns about Franzese's past life, the 74-year-old is more than happy to link up with the iconic podcaster.
Speaking on his show several years ago, he said: "Everybody's telling me 'Mike, Joe Rogan mentioned you on his show he spoke about you for five or six minutes'.
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"I haven't seen it but I heard he had a graphic up about me, was reading things about me him and his guest for a couple of minutes.
"Everybody is saying 'Mike you've got to get on Joe Rogan'. Hey, it's not up to me to go to him, if he would like to invite me, I'd be happy to go.
"He is the number one guy no doubt about it. In podcasts he does a brilliant job."