Who are Andrew and Tristan Tate? The brothers are not strangers to South Florida

The Tate brothers once said Miami is for rich people. They joked around on the balcony of their hotel room and talked about how much money they needed to spend to have fun in Miami in a vlog-style video they uploaded online two years ago.

Now, the controversial brothers appear to be back in South Florida, landing in Fort Lauderdale after being released from Romania, where Andrew and Tristan Tate have lived for several years while facing human trafficking charges.

Their unexpected arrival revealed a divide between Gov. Ron DeSantis, who declared the duo unwelcome in the state, and President Donald Trump, who had reportedly advocated for their release, although he denied it.

READ MORE: Trump and DeSantis plead ignorance on Andrew Tate’s flight to Florida

The brothers had been under investigation in Romania since December 2022 on charges of human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal group to exploit women.

Although not in custody, they were barred from leaving the country as part of the ongoing probe. On Thursday, Romania’s anti-organized crime agency lifted the travel ban, allowing them to board a private jet from Bucharest to Fort Lauderdale just hours later.

Neither DeSantis nor Trump had an explanation for why the brothers were allowed into Florida. When asked if his administration pressured the Romanian government to release the Tates, Trump said he was in the dark.

“I just know nothing about it,” the president said. “We’ll check it out, we’ll let you know.”

Andrew has publicly shown his support for Trump ahead of the 2024 election and encouraged his followers to vote for him.

DeSantis said Thursday that the state was examining its jurisdiction regarding the brothers’ conduct, emphasizing that such behavior is unwelcome in Florida.

“I think my brother and I are largely misunderstood,” Andrew told reporters at the Fort Lauderdale airport on Thursday. “There’s a lot of opinions about us, a lot of things that go around about us on the internet. We’ve yet to be convicted of any crime in our lives ever,” according to a video posted by Sky News.

Shortly after they landed in Florida, the Tampa Bay Young Republicans invited the brothers to speak to the group on an X post, which drew criticism from the right as well as the left.

“As free speech absolutists, the Tate’s haven’t been formally convicted of any crimes and are welcome to speak to our group,” the post read.

So who are the Tate brothers?

Andrew Tate, 38, born Emory Andrew Tate III, and his younger brother Tristan Tate, 36, are U.K.-U.S. citizens born to Emory Tate, an African American international chess master, and mother, Eileen Tate.

Collectively they have amassed nearly 14 million followers on the social media platform X, and base much of their content on their self-proclaimed misogynistic views.

In a recent post to X, Andrew — the more popular and controversial brother — wrote: “Bitter old hoes always mad the hot young girls get the money men.” The post was a response to an X user questioning why a 30-year-old man would want to date an 18 to 23-year-old girl.

Andrew started his professional career as a kickboxer and appeared on TV reality show Big Brother in 2016, but was kicked off the show following the emergence of a video that appeared to show him attacking a woman. Tristan has also worked as a kickboxer and has made reality TV appearances.

Both brothers transitioned from sports to business ventures and social media influencing. Andrew, in particular, gained notoriety for his controversial views and statements on various topics, including masculinity and wealth. He amassed a significant online following, especially among young men, with his content often sparking debates about societal norms and personal development.

Self-proclaimed billionaire

Andrew operates “The Real World,” an online platform, where members can pay a $49.99 monthly membership fee to receive instruction on ways to make money outside of traditional employment.

When clicking the link to the site, it opens up to an intro of Andrew and a quote from him: “I grew up broke and now I am a Billionaire.”

The site says it has over 110,00 subscribers.

The Real World is a rebrand of Andrew’s previous online academy “Hustler’s University.” The Guardian reported that the program was key in kickstarting his online presence by encouraging followers to sign up and earn commission by posting videos of him and get referrals for the site.

Around 2021, controversial videos of Andrew began circulating , including him saying women are a man’s property and rape victims are to blame for their assault — a purposeful move so that Andrew could gain attention, according to The Guardian, and be pushed on various social media sites including TikTok.

The site shut down in 2022, saying it has “no future”, according to The Guardian.

The Tate brothers seem to have decided to forego traditional social media sites, only being active on X and posting long-form videos on Rumble—a video-sharing platform popular among far-right content creators.

Andrew and Tristan chronicled their stay in Miami in a series of videos uploaded to Rumble on their “Tate Confidential” channel.

The brothers could be seen doing typical tourist activities like jet skiing, going out to restaurants and indulging in Cuban cigars

In a video titled “JET SKI MAFIA IN MIAMI”, the brothers along with their friends can be seen drinking beers in a car. At some point, the car’s driver asks for a beer and chugs it down as the brothers laugh and film.