Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson isn’t your typical YouTuber. With a whopping global fanbase of 366 million subscribers and over 844 fast-paced and high-production videos, the 26-year-old star is officially the most followed YouTube creator on the planet (per Search Engine Journal).
Chances are you have encountered the internet’s top celebrity, philanthropist, and entrepreneur while scrolling on your phone. Donaldson was born May 1, 1998, and grew up in a middle-class household in Greenville, North Carolina.
In his early YouTube days, he relied on a 480p camera that felt like “rubbing sandpaper on the lens” (per Curiosity Stream), only to earn hundreds of millions of dollars in the process.
At first glance, MrBeast might look like “a trust fund baby” who grew up wealthy, but he was a struggling child of a single mother who worked in the military. His first videos were “horrible” and made no money for years.
“You grind, and you grind, and you grind, year after year, after year after year,” Donaldson recalled. “It definitely does hit you, but I had more reasons than just wanting to be famous or just wanting money…I like helping people because it just makes me happy. ”
Fast forward to today, and his cause crowned him the most popular YouTuber on earth, thanks to his mega-budget videos showcasing over-the-top stunts — spending 100 hours inside the Pyramids — and high-stakes contests — 50 YouTubers fighting for $1,000,000.
Here’s the lowdown on his hard-earned money, ultra-viral YouTube videos, record-breaking Amazon Prime Video gameshow, and gigantic business empire.
What is MrBeast’s Net Worth?
Forbes named MrBeast the world’s top content creator with a whopping net worth of $85M in October 2024. His wealth grew substantially in just a few months, officially hitting the $1 billion mark as of 2025 (per Celebrity Net Worth).
Unlike other content creators, Donaldson is more than happy to reveal how much cash he earns off YouTube. MrBeast deliberately revealed that he earns around $600 million to $700 million yearly but still doesn’t think he is rich. “I mean, not right now,” he told Time Magazine. “I’m not naive; maybe one day. But right now, whatever we make, we reinvest.”
Though Donaldson officially joined the billionaire ranks, he claims his bank statements don’t qualify him as a millionaire. In a confessional interview with Steven Bartlett during The Diary of a CEO podcast, MrBeast opened up about his shockingly low account balance (per Independent).
When questioned whether he is a billionaire or not, he replied, “On paper, yeah, but I mean, in my actual bank account, I have less than a million dollars.”
According to Donaldson, the megabucks he earns from his lucrative YouTube channels and other businesses don’t land in his bank account. More appallingly, he claimed not to even have access to this money, even if it did go to his account. “I don’t have access to any of my bank accounts,” Donaldson previously disclosed. I have a CFO and everything, but [Parisher’s] the one who has access to the master bank account.”
MrBeast’s enormous net worth puts him on top of other YouTube celebrities like Logan Paul, whose estimated net worth is $150 million (per Celebrity Net Worth).
Famous YouTuber PewDiePie’s net worth also pales in comparison to MrBeast’s. Though he was crowned the world’s highest-paid YouTuber in 2016 (per Forbes), he still trails behind Donaldson with a net worth of $45 million (per Celebrity Net Worth).
So far, MrBeast has devoured all his top competitors, who struggle to keep up with his rapid financial ascent.
How MrBeast Makes Money: YouTube and Other On-Screen Ventures
Image credits: @MrBeast
The scale of MrBeast’s online presence is certainly above-average. Apart from his main MrBeast channel, he also runs several other successful ones that translate directly to his revenue.
Beast Reacts (previously BeastHacks), MrBeast 2 (previously MrBeast Shorts), MrBeast Gaming, and the philanthropy channel Beast Philanthropy are among Donaldson’s top-performing channels with hundreds of millions of subscribers.
He brings in decent cash through YouTube ad revenue, brand sponsorships, content licensing, syndication, and merch (per Business Insider).
According to a set of documents filed in the court in October 2024 (per DNyuz), Donaldson was also being wooed by brands like Ford, Walmart, CarMax, and General Motors. The documents, which were dated between December 2022 and March 2023, disclosed 163 slides of his pitches for these famous brands.
MrBeast reportedly charges brands about $2.5 million to $3 million just for a single shout-out in his viral-to-be videos (per UNILAD Tech).
The world’s most influential YouTuber recently blew the internet with the announcement of the “biggest reality competition show ever,” Beast Games. First premiered on December 19, the blockbuster reality gameshow raked in 50 million views following the release of only five of its ten episodes (per Forbes).
Hosted by Donaldson himself, Beast Games follows a massive 1,000 contestants as they vigorously compete for a lifetime opportunity to win $5 million dollar in cash — though he doubled the grand prize in the finale to become a whopping $10 million.
Beast Games has become No. 1 on Prime Video in over 80 countries, the second-best Prime Video series release of 2024, and the show is credited with the second-most growth in subscribers for the year.
The Labour-intensive Process Behind MrBeast’s Viral Content
Image credits: @MrBeast
MrBeast and his gang shell out millions of dollars on his ultra-viral videos, with each one costing almost the same as creating an independent film. “In some of my videos, I’ve literally given away over a million dollars,” he revealed in the Curiosity Stream documentary.
When questioned about his budget for each video, MrBeast responded to All-In Podcast, “I think now it is around $2.5 million each video,” adding, “I don’t think it’s that crazy though” (per Unilad).
Donaldson further elaborated, “Because then they’re getting a hundred million views in seven days. So, in any other media, outside of social media, that got that kind of viewership, their budget would be like 50 times that.”
Sometimes, it takes a long 12,000 hours of footage for MrBeast to create a 15-minute video. “Each video does a couple million in ad revenue, a couple million in brand deals,” Donaldson shared with Time Magazine. “I’ve reinvested everything to the point of — you could claim — stupidity, just believing that we would succeed. And it’s worked out.”
His Secret Sauce for Success?
Image credits: @mrbeast
Almost like a ritual, fans eagerly await MrBeast’s newest videos, which often live up to the hype. Donaldson has attained a firm grasp of YouTube’s algorithm, a clever recommendation system that ranks videos according to the likelihood that viewers will click and watch them.
His clickbaity videos often find their way to the feed of millions of users, some of which are non-subscribers to his top-performing channel — at least not yet.
Cut out to be a super YouTuber, MrBeast has mastered the art of winning thumbnails. His covers often feature bold, vibrant colors and excellent-quality backgrounds, complete with a photo of his instantly recognizable, expressive face. He also brilliantly hooks viewers right from the start, letting them know what to expect in his videos’ first 10 short seconds.
More impressively, Donaldson doesn’t obsess over YouTube’s analytics but rather uses his own gut as guidance. “Now it’s just like, how can we make people feel something?” said Donaldson. “When you see the thumbnail, do you say, ‘How did they do that? What the f-ck? Is that real?’ When you have one of those three reactions, you have to click.”
Beyond YouTube: MrBeast’s Grand Business Empire
Image credits: @mrbeast
MrBeast’s massive popularity has inevitably led to the building of an equal-sized business empire. Donaldson made headlines in Dec. 2020 when he launched the innovative virtual restaurant MrBeast Burger. The delivery-only fast-food restaurant chain was an immediate success in America, with the grand opening of its first physical location breaking the one-day record for the most burgers sold by only one store (per IMDb).
The top YouTuber grossed $223 million in revenue in 2023 alone thanks to his burger business, as revealed during court proceedings related to quality concerns (per Whop).
His business acumen also manifested in a mission-driven chocolate bar brand, Feastables.
This is the biggest announcement of my entire life, let me know what you think pic.twitter.com/xtND5vNkPH
— MrBeast (@MrBeast) February 17, 2024
It’s hard to miss this feel-good snack with its bright blue packaging during your grocery shopping routine. His first foray into the snacking niche proved tremendously successful, selling over 1 million chocolate bars in the first 72 hours after the Feastables release (per Business Insider) and grossing $10 million in sales.
The devour-worthy, creamy chocolate first hit the shelves in January 2022 and has since become one of the fastest-growing chocolate brands in the world (per Charm.io). Now, that is the real definition of sweet success!
MrBeast Is Officially A Billionaire But Says He Can’t Touch His Money — Here’s Why Bored Panda
