MrBeast: How the most popular YouTuber made his fortune

August 22, 2023

By Kim Komando

Are you a Netflix fan, or do you prefer binge-watching YouTube videos late into the night? Tap or click here for the magic number that may dictate your preference.

If you have young kids or grandkids, you may have heard of MrBeast. He’s an internet sensation whose viral videos consist of stunts, comedy and massive acts of philanthropy. 

At 24, Jimmy Donaldson, aka MrBeast, has built an empire around his YouTube channel. 

Let’s talk numbers

Donaldson was born in Wichita, Kansas, on May 7, 1998, and raised in Greenville, North Carolina. He graduated from Greenville Christian Academy and briefly attended East Carolina University.

MrBeast posted his first YouTube video in 2012 and has since become the most subscribed individual on the platform. Check out these incredible stats:

• The MrBeast channel has 178 million subscribers. 
• MrBeast’s videos have been viewed over 30 billion times. 
• Donaldson’s estimated net worth is $500 million. 
• Between cash, cars and other prizes and donations, MrBeast has given away millions of dollars. 

Big giveaways

As MrBeast approaches 750 uploaded videos, let’s take a look at some of the highlights of his philanthropic efforts:

• A fundraiser for the Arbor Day Foundation raised over $20 million to plant 20 million trees.
• Donated over 100 cars. 
• Adopted every dog in a shelter.
• Raised over $30 million to remove 30 million pounds of trash and waste from oceans, rivers and beaches.
• Funded cataract surgery for 1,000 people.

Viral fun

Some of the most popular MrBeast videos revolve around simple premises such as counting to 100,000 and building a fort out of plastic cups. He also ran the marathon in the world’s largest shoes.

You’d think a video of a young man reading wouldn’t be so popular, but MrBeast garnered millions of views just by doing that. He’s read the entire dictionary, the “Bee Movie” script and the longest English word — it’s 190,000 characters and took nearly two hours to read. Now, that would make for a strong password! 

His most popular video, a real-life recreation of the hit Netflix series “Squid Game” has been watched nearly half a billion times:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e3GPea1Tyg

A nice change of pace

MrBeast shows that you don’t need to post risky or dangerous content to get more views. While he does hold contests and challenges, they consist of spending a million dollars in an hour, hide and seek, or sitting in the world’s largest bowl of cereal. 

MrBeast’s audience consists of millions of young people, and you won’t find him persuading them to lick batteries or lie down on the freeway. Instead, he inspires them to have fun and do good deeds for others.

Sure, MrBeast has had his share of controversy — he recently caught flak for asking fans to fix Walmart displays for his Feastables chocolate bars. He also gave a waitress a brand new car covered in ads of his YouTube logo and chocolate brand. 

Nobody’s perfect, and some MrBeast content is downright silly. But hey, it’s better than Tide Pod challenges and twerking videos! 

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