Matthew James Roloff is a businessman, television personality, author, Public Speaker, and farmer. As of September 2022, Matt Roloff has a net worth of $6 million. One of Roloff’s primary sources of earnings is starring in the TLC reality program Little People, Big World. With his farm being the primary source of income.
In 1990, the Roloff couple purchased an old farmhouse in Helvetia, Oregon, and turned it into an ‘amusement park’ farm theme. Over the next several years, they further expanded the area to 109 acres. In terms of tourist attractions, the farm has a Medieval castle, volleyball court, football (soccer) field, a three-story tree house, underground tunnels, a mine shaft, and a big lake with a pirate ship, a huge pumpkin field, and restored barns. His farm opens to the public during the pumpkin season. The farm received over 30,000 visitors annually.
He has diastrophic dysplasia (a disorder of cartilage and bone development) when he was born. This symptom runs in Matt Roloff’s family. In other words, dwarfism.
Early Life
Matthew James Roloff was born in the city of San Francisco, California on October 7, 1961. His parents are Peggy and Ron Roloff, who currently live in California, and appeared on several episodes of Little People, Big World. His older sister is named Ruth, she has a normal height. Matt Roloff underwent fifteen operations when he was young due to his diastrophic dysplasia condition. His younger brother, Sam, also had an identical condition. Matt Roloff’s younger brother, Joshua, passed away at age 34 due to several heart malformations he had since birth.
Career
In the 80s, Roloff had roles in several films, the most notable one was the 1981 comedy Under the Rainbow. In 1985, Roloff was cast as an Ewok character in the fantasy adventure film Star Wars Vintage: Ewoks: The Battle for Endor. After a short stint as an actor, he worked at various companies as a computer programmer in Silicon Valley, and later moved to Beaverton, Oregon, to work for a software company called Sequent Computer Systems in the late 80s.
In 2006, TLC ran a reality television series called Little People, Big World, the show is about the lives of the six-member Roloff family farm near Portland, Oregon. It premiered on March 4, 2006. As of this writing, it has aired more than 340 episodes over 21 seasons. The show is still currently running more than 16 years later, with the last one aired on July 19, 2022, Season 23, episode 10. Matt was an executive producer for several episodes. In 2012, the cable television channel TLC aired a six-episode spin-off called Little People Big World: Wedding Farm as part of a wedding special. Other series specials include Conquering Mt. St. Helens and Welcome to the Jungle.
Matt Roloff is also a motivational speaker and member of the National Speakers Association. Roloff had been invited to many universities and events, including an Association of Legal Administrators conference and the Kids Included Together International Conference on Inclusion. He also appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, in which he shared his experience about his day-to-day life as a small person and the reality TV series he starred in. Roloff was a also celebrity guest on shows such as Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (a weekly race against time as a team has just seven days to rebuild an entire house), The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The View, and numerous other television shows.
Matt has authored three books: Against Tall Odds: Being a David in a Goliath World (1999). In 2007, Matt published his second book titled Little Family, Big Values: Lessons in Love, Respect and Understanding for Families of Any Size, and a children’s book titled Little Lucy, Big Race published in 2018. As an avid reader, Roloff gave away his children’s books to schools around his region, the book is especially dedicated to his grandchildren.
