(NewsNation) — Jimmy Donaldson, known as MrBeast on YouTube, can officially be labeled a billionaire.
Donaldson has his own YouTube channel, merchandise, food brands and, according to Benzinga, a future Amazon streaming deal. All of this has put the YouTuber’s net worth at $1 billion, according to Celebrity Net Worth, with an estimated monthly salary of $50 million.
Donaldson seemingly confirmed his billionaire status recently, while on a livestream alongside fellow YouTuber Adin Ross, according to Uniladtech.
“Jimmy, are you a billionaire? Be honest,” Ross asked Donaldson.
Donaldson answered in the affirmative. “Yeah,” he said. “What would you say the largest YouTube channel in the world is worth?”
In 2024, Donaldson was No. 1 on Forbes’ Top Creators list, which listed his net worth at $85 million. However, a court case related to MrBeast Burgers in 2024 showed that he had made $223 million in 2023 and was on track to make another $700 million in 2024.
Unlike many other billionaires, Donaldson, who was born in North Carolina, started his career from the bottom and worked his way up. According to Benzinga, he began creating gaming videos on YouTube as a teenager.
MrBeast shoots to popularity after counting to 100K on video
Donaldson created a video in 2017 titled “I Counted To 100,000!” in which he spent 44 hours counting to 100,000. This video skyrocketed his popularity, according to Celebrity Net Worth, and has been viewed over 31 million times.
Some of his other well-known videos include:
- Counting to 200,000
- Reading the dictionary
- Reading the script of the “Bee Movie”
- Using Uber to travel across the country
- Saying Logan Paul’s name 100,000 times
- Watching Jake Paul’s music video for “It’s Every Day Bro” on repeat for 10 hours
The MrBeast account has more than 396 million subscribers on YouTube and garnered more than 83.1 billion views. Donaldson has been nominated for several awards, including Vlogger of the Year at the Shorty Awards in 2019. He has won the Breakout Creator award and the 2020 YouTuber of the Year award.
MrBeast says he will give all his money away before he dies
In 2023, Donaldson faced backlash after releasing a video that showed him paying for 1,000 blind people to have surgery, according to Benzinga. He was criticized for turning philanthropy into content.
Donaldson responded to the backlash, saying, “I promise to give away all my money before I die. Every single penny.” He reportedly made a similar statement in 2019, saying, “I know most people prob won’t believe this, but my main goal in life is to just make a bunch of money, and then give it all away while doing as much good as possible before I die.”
Much of Donaldson’s content is geared toward philanthropic work. He has donated more than 100 cars, given away $1 million in a YouTube video and raised $20 million to plant 20 million trees.
MrBeast’s other business ventures
Along with his extremely popular YouTube channel, Donaldson also offers branded merchandise and has partnerships with companies such as Walmart and Microsoft. He also owns Beast Philanthropy, a nonprofit initiative that funds his larger-scale projects. Some other ventures include:
- Beast Burger: Donaldson holds a stake in the food delivery app Beast Burger, which reportedly makes $2.3 million monthly. However, he filed a complaint in 2023, claiming the company had poor quality control and was damaging his reputation.
- Juice Funds: Donaldson has launched the $2 million Juice Funds, which offers creators up to $250,000 for a stake in their channels and videos.
- Feastables: His chocolate brand has gained popularity and reportedly helps fund the MrBeast YouTube videos. Started in 2022, the company released three versions of its chocolate bars and generated over $10 million in revenue within the first few months, according to Axios.
- Cryptocurrency and NFTs: Donaldson has invested in Bitcoin and CryptoPunks NFTs.
- XCAD Network: He invested in this decentralized finance market and plug-in for YouTube, which allows creators to earn revenue from their content with one-click NFTs.
- Coinbase and Refinable: He is also involved in these crypto companies.
Donaldson has also reportedly struck a $100 million deal with Amazon for an exclusive TV series.
Donaldson is reportedly the eighth youngest billionaire in the world, and out of 16 billionaires in mid-2024 who were under 30, he was the only one who did not inherit a fortune, according to Celebrity Net Worth.