MrBeast videos are essentially what you’d expect if a wildly imaginative 9-year-old suddenly had access to a seemingly endless supply of cash.
Donaldson delights in destroying high-end automobiles, bestowing unsuspecting individuals with life-altering sums of money, and orchestrating bizarre contests to determine who can endure silly challenges the longest.
In 2023, these antics secured him an astonishing 99 million new YouTube followers, nearly doubling the growth rate of any competitor. Like many influencers, his presence isn't confined to one platform; he boasts approximately 100 million followers on TikTok and 50 million on Instagram, accumulating over 425 million fans globally.
He estimates his appearances on screens worldwide hit around 30 billion views annually. “By now, we pretty much have a handle on what resonates,” Donaldson admits. “I can turn almost anything into a viral sensation.”
The meteoric ascent of Donaldson has been fueled by seismic shifts in the media ecosystem, where individuals now overshadow traditional entities in curating entertainment and information.
The Beginning of MrBeast
Long before all these huge and expensive videos, MrBeast was simply Jimmy Donaldson—a regular kid with a burning desire to make it big on YouTube.
It took years of persistent content creation, but a breakthrough viral hit eventually catapulted him to internet stardom, catapulting his work to tens of millions of eager viewers.
Initiating his YouTube journey in 2012 at the tender age of 13, MrBeast—originally known as MrBeast6000—dove into the content creation with videos primarily about "Minecraft," a typical interest for someone his age.
The trajectory wasn't always destined for the stratosphere. Like many successful YouTubers, MrBeast began with humble beginnings, tweaking his videos and mastering the algorithm over nearly a decade.
He dropped out of college
It may not be the textbook route to success, but countless individuals have carved out remarkable careers for themselves by stepping off the traditional educational path. MrBeast, who hails from Greenville, North Carolina, received his diploma from Greenville Christian Academy in 2016, according to Business North Carolina. However, his stint in higher education was brief.
MrBeast, in his own words, ventured into college life post-high school but hung in there for only two weeks before deciding to drop out. He famously told his mother, "I'd rather be poor than do anything besides YouTube." Understandably, this declaration was not met with enthusiasm from his mother. Revealing this in a Twitter thread, MrBeast shared that his decision prompted his mom to ask him to move out, not out of anger but from a place of tough love, hoping to steer him towards conventional success. At the time, with fewer than a million subscribers, YouTube seemed a precarious venture to his mother.
Nonetheless, as MrBeast would put it, "Things change quick on YouTube." Just a year after his bold move, he surpassed the million-subscriber mark and now he's on track to becoming the most subscribed-to YouTuber. His earnings from his YouTube career have not only validated his early gamble but have also allowed him to give back, including a notable $100,000 to his mother. A commendable feat for someone who once faced skepticism as a college dropout.
First Viral Video
MrBeast didn't have a viral video until he'd been on YouTube for five years. His first massive video, "I Counted to 100,000!" was uploaded on January 8th, 2017. Counting to 100,000 was MrBeast's first big "challenge" video, and creating it certainly tested his stamina – not to mention the patience of anyone trying to watch the entire video. The counting took over 40 hours, so to be able to upload it to YouTube, Mr. Beast had to speed up certain segments to make it just 24 hours long.
Within just five days of its release, the video exploded, amassing over 5 million views and catapulting MrBeast into the limelight. Years later, it continued to attract viewers and comments, accumulating well over 24 million views. It remains a mystery how many people watched it from start to finish.
Charitable MrBeast
MrBeast quickly understood that his audience was enamored with his elaborate and charitable stunts. He began finding creative ways to give away money; sometimes that meant giving small amounts of cash to random Twitch users, and at other times it meant giving away $10,000 to homeless people in his city (via The Verge). He even once gave a waitress enough money to make her quit her job. Most of the money MrBeast gave away came from brand deals, but by 2018 he'd donated over a million dollars and earned himself the title "YouTube's biggest philanthropist."
His generous acts not only did considerable good but also significantly boosted his channel's popularity.
In 2019, MrBeast escalated his charitable efforts by initiating the #TeamTrees campaign in celebration of reaching 20 million subscribers. His goal was ambitious: raise $20 million to help the Arbor Day Foundation plant 20 million trees. The campaign kicked off with a bang, raising $4 million on its first day. MrBeast didn't stop there; he expanded his environmental activism in 2021 with #TeamSeas, aiming to remove 30 million pounds of trash from the oceans by again raising $30 million. These campaigns marked MrBeast's enduring commitment to large-scale philanthropy, significantly impacting both his legacy and the environment.
Earnings
Far from a typical businessman, Donaldson is unusually candid about the financials of his operations—raking in roughly $600 million to $700 million yearly.
Interestingly, he denies being wealthy. “Not at this moment,” he clarifies, “I’m not ignorant; perhaps someday. For now, every dime we make is plowed right back into the business.” His videos are costly productions, with up to 12,000 hours of footage condensed into just 15 minutes. “Each video generates millions in ad revenue and brand deals,” Donaldson explains. “I’ve reinvested to the brink of what some might call folly, fully betting on our success. And indeed, it has paid off.”
Most social media influencers hit a peak, then quickly fade away, either from financial woes or a drought of fresh ideas. Not so for Donaldson, who has sustained his YouTube presence for 12 years by churning out consistently wholesome content, demonstrating that his endurance and rigor are as expansive as his aspirations. When questioned about the secret to his remarkable success, his response is straightforward: he simply out-hustled everyone else. “It's like being on an eternal treadmill,” Donaldson remarks. “It’s harsh. You’re perpetually in the spotlight, under tremendous pressure. And it all hinges on 200 million people just deciding to tune into my next video out of the blue.”
Donaldson’s influence has surged to the point that in 2022 he debuted a snack line, Feastables, which by 2023 had expanded internationally and is projected to generate $500 million in yearly sales. Celebrities like Tom Brady and Justin Timberlake now feature in his productions, and the Charlotte Hornets sport a Feastables logo on their jerseys. Modeling his professional ethos on Steve Jobs with a hint of Melinda French Gates’ humanitarian spirit, Donaldson uses his secondary channel, Beast Philanthropy, to execute grand charitable gestures: saving 100 neglected dogs, distributing 20,000 pairs of shoes, and aiding in the delivery of $30 million in food otherwise destined for waste. In December 2020, he launched MrBeast Burger, which expanded to an impressive 1,700 virtual outlets and amassed $100 million in revenues by August 2022, despite later legal entanglements. Additionally, he’s involved in a toy partnership and is reportedly near closing a deal with Amazon that could be worth nine figures.
Offensive tweets
As MrBeast’s popularity surged, a report by The Atlantic brought to light some troubling remarks from his past. The influencer had used gay slurs and made offensive jokes about homosexuality in his tweets. One particularly egregious tweet included him using a slur in his responses to other users, and in 2018, his Twitter bio jokingly stated, "just because I'm gai doesn't mean I'm gay." Furthermore, he once wore a shirt in a video that read, "I'm not gay, but $20 is $20," which seemed to trivialize the issue for comedic value.
When confronted with these past comments, MrBeast’s response was dismissive. "I'm not offensive in the slightest bit in anything I do," he claimed, deciding to "just ignore it" as he felt it was unimportant to his audience. However, following the backlash, he took actions that suggested a recognition of his missteps: he deleted all tweets containing homophobic slurs and set the criticized video to private. His Twitter bio was updated to a more positive and inclusive message: "I want to make the world a better place before I die."
These changes indicate a shift in MrBeast’s understanding and sensitivity towards the content he produces and shares. In 2021, his team further addressed the issue, stating to The New York Times that these remarks were made when MrBeast was a teenager and that he has since "grown up and matured," evolving away from such derogatory language. This progression highlights an attempt by MrBeast to rectify his past errors and improve his influence on social media.
MrBeast Accused of creating a toxic workplace
In May 2021, The New York Times released a report casting new shadows over MrBeast’s management practices amid the rapid expansion of his YouTube empire. MrBeast, who now employs around 50 people and has consolidated his operations into a large warehouse, is facing varied employee experiences within his burgeoning business.
Former employee Matt Turner shared that his tenure under MrBeast involved daily verbal lashings from the boss himself. Turner claimed that his contributions were consistently overlooked, saying, "I'd ask for credit, he'd credit someone else." Another ex-employee, Nate Anderson, took his grievances public with a YouTube video titled "My Experience Editing for Mr. Beast (Worst Week of My Life)," which attracted a barrage of hateful responses and death threats from MrBeast's fervent fanbase, forcing him to eventually take down the video.
However, these experiences aren’t universally echoed across MrBeast’s workforce. Josh Hyman, another employee, painted a more harmonious picture of the work environment, describing it as "like family" and noting that "Everyone employed there was a friend of a friend." As of now, MrBeast has not publicly responded to the allegations brought up by the Times report.
Not every MrBeast project sees the light of day
Despite the prolific number of videos MrBeast uploads to YouTube, a significant amount of footage never makes it to publication. In a candid Twitch stream, MrBeast responded to a question about any videos he regretted not releasing. He recounted an ambitious but ultimately unsuccessful attempt to climb a building using plungers. Hours were spent researching the best suction plungers and strategizing their use, only for the project to fall through.
MrBeast also revealed other instances where elaborate video concepts were filmed but discarded before ever reaching his YouTube channel. In one scrapped video detailed in an April 30, 2020 vlog, he and his team crashed a car at a hundred miles per hour into a wall, only to realize that a crucial shot was blurred—rendering the footage unusable. In another costly misadventure, MrBeast spent approximately $90,000 to film his friends visiting the Seven Wonders of the World, but the project was abandoned when he lost his camera at the Roman Colosseum.
These unaired videos underscore MrBeast’s uncompromising commitment to quality.
Although they never made it to YouTube, these failed projects perhaps more dramatically highlight his dedication to creating exceptional content than many of his viral hits.
