Who is Joseph’s Machines? Joseph Herscher Bio: Net Worth, Age, Parents, Height, Girlfriend, YouTube, Videos
Biography
Joseph Herscher is a celebrated American kinetic artist and YouTube personality best known for his channel Joseph’s Machines, where he crafts elaborate, humorous Rube Goldberg-style contraptions using everyday objects to solve mundane problems in absurdly complex ways.
Born in New York City, he grew up in Auckland, New Zealand, and returned to the U.S., where he built his first machine—a lollipop dispenser—at age five.
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Now based in London, Herscher runs global workshops for kids blending physics, humor, and play to spark creativity. His work includes the 2015 web series Jiwi’s Machines and the 2019 show What’s Your Problem?, earning him a 2013 Artist-in-Residence spot at the McColl Center for Art + Innovation.
With millions of followers, his videos celebrate the joy of mechanical mayhem and kinetic whimsy.
| American kinetic artist and YouTuber | |
| Joseph’s Machines | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Wiki Facts & About Data | |
| Real Name: | Joseph Herscher |
| Stage Name: | Joseph’s Machines |
| Born: | 14 January 1985 (age 40 years old) |
| Place of Birth: | New Zealand |
| Nationality: | American, New Zealand |
| Education: | Victoria University of Wellington |
| Height: | 1.83 m |
| Parents: | David Herscher, Miriam Herscher |
| Siblings: | N/A |
| Spouse: | Not Married |
| Girlfriend • Partner: | Not Dating |
| Children: | N/A |
| Occupation: | Kinetic Artist • YouTuber |
| Net Worth: | $16 million (USD) |
Early Life & Education
Joseph’s Machines was born Joseph Herscher on January 14, 1985, in New York City to David Herscher and Miriam Herscher, both musicians who performed together as the klezmer-influenced duo The Jew Brothers Band.
The family moved to Auckland, New Zealand, when Joseph was still very young, and he spent most of his childhood there. Growing up in a Jewish household steeped in music and humor, Herscher built his first Rube Goldberg-style contraption—a lollipop dispenser—at age five.
He has spoken openly about his Jewish heritage and identity, and later in life came out as gay. Details about siblings remain private, but the creative, playful atmosphere fostered by his parents clearly left a lasting mark.
His religion is Judaism, aligning with his family’s heritage.
After completing secondary school in Auckland, Herscher studied at Victoria University of Wellington, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in computer science, followed by an extra honors year in logic and computation. This technical foundation would later inform the precision and timing of his elaborate kinetic machines.
Career
Joseph Herscher transitioned into building machines full-time after his early YouTube videos went viral while he was still working as a software developer in New York.
Two creations from 2011 and 2012 marked the turning point: an elaborate newspaper page-turning machine powered by candles, dominoes, and a rolling pin, and a birthday-cake–serving contraption that concluded with a hammer smashing a piñata and a slice of cake landing perfectly on a plate.
The cake machine’s popularity skyrocketed—it was featured during YouTube’s inaugural Comedy Week in 2013 and has since attracted tens of millions of views.
That same year, Herscher became an Artist-in-Residence at the McColl Center for Art + Innovation in Charlotte, North Carolina. There, he built room-scale kinetic installations and began leading hands-on workshops that blended physics, engineering, and physical comedy.
A few years later, he moved back to New Zealand to co-create and star in Jiwi’s Machines, a twenty-episode children’s TV and web series that solved everyday problems in the most unnecessarily complicated ways.
In 2019, he developed, hosted, and engineered the primetime show What’s Your Problem? for TVNZ 2, inviting viewers to submit everyday annoyances and then constructing massive gadgets to solve them—whether passing the salt across a table or helping someone put a duvet cover on a blanket.
After relocating to London in 2020, Herscher shifted toward large commissions, public installations, and live performances. His permanent interactive machines are now on display in major science museums, including the Exploratorium in San Francisco, the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, and Questacon in Canberra.
Corporate clients such as Google, Dropbox, and HSBC have also commissioned bespoke mechanical artworks. In 2023, he toured his first theatre production, Joseph’s Machines LIVE, across New Zealand and Australia.
His YouTube channel has surpassed 8 million subscribers and over 600 million total views. Despite global recognition, Herscher continues to personally design, film, and edit nearly every machine.
Alongside producing videos, he travels internationally to lead creativity and engineering workshops for all ages, with his contraptions frequently featured in science museums, classrooms, and advertising campaigns celebrating the joy of playful, over-engineered solutions.
Social Media
- YouTube: Joseph’s Machines
- Facebook: Joseph’s Machines
- Instagram: Joseph’s Machines (@josephsmachines)
- Twitter: Joseph’s Machines (@josephmachines)
- Wikipedia: Joseph’s Machines
- TikTok: Joseph’s Machines (@josephmachines)
Personal Life
Joseph Herscher, the creator behind Joseph’s Machines, was born on January 14, 1985, making him 40 years old.
As an openly gay man, he has no wife, and there are no public records of any marriages or long-term partners.
Herscher has no children, and he tends to keep his personal life private, with no known details of his dating history available in public sources.
His height is 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m), though he appears to be of average build in his videos and public appearances.
Net Worth
Joseph Herscher, the kinetic artist behind the YouTube channel Joseph’s Machines, has built a substantial fortune through his viral videos, commissioned installations, TV series, and global workshops.
His estimated net worth stands at approximately $16 million, mainly derived from ad revenue on his channel—which boasts over 8 million subscribers and 600 million views—plus earnings from corporate gigs with brands like Google and HSBC, museum exhibits, and live tours.
Earlier estimates from 2023 pegged it closer to $5 million, reflecting rapid growth from his expanding brand.
Recent monthly YouTube earnings alone hover around $63,000, underscoring his savvy monetization of playful engineering.
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