Social media has become a gold mine for most of its users as some stars have successfully turned their followers into fortunes. Let us see what puts ‘MrBeast’ at the summit of a 50-man list by Forbes.
This year, the 50 honorees on the second annual Forbes Top Creator list harnessed their combined 2.6 billion followers to haul in an estimated $700 million in earnings. That figure alone has ‘MrBeast’ accounting for $82 million out of it according to the social media research firm, Influential Marketing Hub.
Who is Jimmy Donaldson (MrBeast)?
James Stephen Donaldson (born May 7, 1998), in Wichita, Kansas, United States and known professionally as MrBeast (or Jimmy Donaldson), is an American YouTuber, entrepreneur and philanthropist.
He was mainly raised in a middle-class household in Greenville, North Carolina with his brother CJ. He moved often and was under the care of au pairs due to his parents working long hours and serving in the military.
His parents divorced in 2007. In 2016, Donaldson graduated from Greenville Christian Academy, a small private evangelical Christian high school in the area. He briefly attended East Carolina University before dropping out according to Wikipedia.
How huge is his followership?
With an impressive number of 312 million followers, according to Forbes, the YouTube influencer sits on the summit of the these top creators for 2023 by making waves in entertainment and advertising on social media.
MrBeast whose followership is nearly as large as the U.S. population, performs stunts like spending 50 hours buried alive and attempting starvation for 30 days makes him hit a net of $54 million a year.
The predictably high viewership of antics like these explains why Jimmy Donaldson, popularly known as MrBeast has made most of his money from ads on his YouTube videos.
The 25 year-old aho is resident in Greenville, North Carolina, earned the No. 1 spot on this list not only because he’s making more than anyone else, but also because his restaurant concept, MrBeast Burger, is a truly entrepreneurial mechanism for the YouTuber to monetize his fame.
Rather than invest in cooking equipment or delivery infrastructure, MrBeast created the ghost kitchen operation in December 2020, in which people order a MrBeast Burger online and an affiliated restaurant with extra staff prepares the order for delivery.
With more than 300 million followers, MrBeast’s fan base is nearly as large as the U.S. population. MrBeast’s power and popularity stem from his high production videos and stunts that include surviving in Antarctica for 50 hours and building a Wonka chocolate factory.
The YouTube titan, has used his massive clout to earn a fortune in digital ad dollars—and build a real-world empire.
Beast-based brands include Feastables snack bars and the MrBeast Burgers restaurant chain, plus Donaldson’s sprawling merch line. (Disclosure: Donaldson is slated to become a member of Forbes’ board when a planned sale of the company is completed.)
View Profile
What else do you know about his personal life?
Donaldson describes himself as an introvert. Donaldson admits to having difficulty maintaining a social life due to his obsession with YouTube and his intense work ethic. Donaldson’s mother, Sue, attributes his withdrawn lifestyle to their frequent relocations and his struggles with Crohn’s disease.
Donaldson dated Maddy Spidell, a YouTuber, from 2019 to 2022. He has dated Thea Booysen, a gaming streamer, since 2022.
In June 2023, Donaldson stated that he was invited to go on a tourist expedition to view the wreck of the Titanic in the OceanGate submersible Titan but declined the offer. The submersible imploded in the Atlantic Ocean, killing all five aboard.
What is MrBeast YouTube information?
| Channel | MrBeast |
|---|---|
| Years active | 2012–present |
| Genres | Comedy entertainment vlogs gaming reaction |
| Subscribers | 186 million (main channel) 309 million (combined)[a][2] |
| Total views | 32.8 billion (main channel) 50 billion (combined)[2] |
| Associated acts | Karl Jacobs PewDiePie Marques Brownlee Mark Rober |