Jimmy Donaldson, aka MrBeast, is an American YouTube sensation
(Picture: Getty Images for Amazon's Crown )American YouTuber and reported millionaire Mr Beast has surpassed PewDiePie to become the most subscribed YouTube account globally.
Swedish national Felix Kjellberg, who creates content under the name PewDiePie, held the title for almost a decade after becoming the most subscribed YouTuber in 2013.
But Jimmy Donaldson, aka MrBeast, has overtaken him, gaining his 112 millionth subscriber in November, placing him just above PewDiePie’s 111 million.
Mr Beast videos prove wildly popular due to the huge amounts of cash and prizes that are given away and impressive stunts carried out.
The YouTuber started as a gaming streamer but became an internet sensation, making hime one of the richest YouTubers of all time while still in his 20s.
Forbes reported that Donaldson earns $54 million a year for stunts including attempting starvation for 20 days and spending 50 hours buried alive.
He has also become famed for his generous giveaways and feel-good challenges, as well as viral stunts such as recreating Netflix’s Squid Game.
Outside YouTube, Donaldson has other ventures including his Mr Beast Burger virtual restaurant, another food company named Feastables, and a number of investment funds and fin-tech companies.
In contrast, PewDiePie is one of the most famous online gamers, known for his Let’s Play videos of horror and action video games.
In 2016 he was named in Time magazine as one of the world’s 100 most influential people.
In 2019, the Christchurch mosque shooter uttered “subscribe to PewDiePie” while livestreaming the attack on worshippers in New Zealand.
Mr Kjellberg almost immediately responded by tweeting, “I feel absolutely sickened having my name uttered by this person. My heart and thoughts go out to the victims, families and everyone affected by this tragedy.”
He has also shown support for MrBeast taking out the title for the most subscribed YouTuber.
He said in a video from August: “I can’t wait for it to be over. He definitely deserves it. I hope he does it.”
MrBeast or PewDiePie’s channels aren’t the most subscribed channel overall on the platform. Indian music video company T-Series, which has more than 229 million subscribers, takes that title.
