YouTube sensation Jimmy Donaldson, or as most people know him, MrBeast, grabbed the top spot on YouTube for 2024 once again, earning as much as $85 million this year. Surpassing even his past records, such a figure has maintained his headship not only as one of the successful YouTubers ever but also as a pioneer in this online entertainment world.
On Monday, Forbes unleashed the lineup of creators, ranking them by aggregate followers, engagement rates, and entrepreneurial influence. MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, leads with 503 million followers and a very healthy engagement rate of 2.38%. The creativity and innovative video concepts have paid off, because he leads with an entrepreneurship score of 4 and more than doubled the earnings of the second-place creator, Dhar Mann, who brought in $45 million in earnings.
What has helped MrBeast surge in this platform is his uniqueness. There isn’t any other rival matching his videos on the internet, filled with ‘my jaw drops’ stunts and marathon challenges, not forgetting unbelievable giveaways that always leave his viewers on the ‘toe of their seats’. His latest hits include “Surviving in a Cave for a Week” and “Spending 100 Days in a Bunker to Win $500,000.” Such stunts are not only a question of high production value but also of MrBeast’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of what content can be.
MrBeast is known for some of the most mind-blowing challenges and charitable activities; therefore, he creates content that primarily inspires a wide variation of audiences. His videos are not only entertaining, but they reflect someone who actually understands what his set of followers wants to see. “I always try to do something for my viewers that they can’t see anywhere else,” MrBeast says in the recent interview. “It’s all about pushing the limits while delivering hard-hitting, memorable experiences.”
What really separates MrBeast is not only his willingness to take on such huge projects but also the scale involved. He doesn’t just try to do funny challenges; he organizes them to include dozens, sometimes hundreds, of people to create something that viewers can only find on his channel. The result has been record-breaking viewership, including nearly 9 billion views just in 2024 alone.
MrBeast, who started his channel in 2012, made it under the name MrBeast6000. He created videos of himself playing video games and trying to guess how much money other YouTubers were earning. In fact, he didn’t even go viral until 2017; his viral video was one where he had literally counted to 100,000. This video was 24 hours long and brought in a lot of viewers that helped him gain his following.
MrBeast didn’t stop at YouTube; he expanded his brand into various entrepreneurial ventures. In 2020, he launched MrBeast Burger, a virtual restaurant available in over 1,000 locations across the US and UK. He also introduced Feastables, a candy bar line, and Lunchly, a food and snack brand similar to Lunchables. These ventures have significantly contributed to his income and diversified his revenue streams.
MrBeast is also known for his philanthropic efforts. He co-founded Team Trees, a fundraiser for the Arbor Day Foundation that raised over $24 million, and Team Seas, a fundraiser for Ocean Conservancy and The Ocean Cleanup that raised over $30 million. His Beast Philanthropy channel focuses on supporting the homeless, hungry, and poverty-stricken.
It’s not uncommon for beasts to have other signature moves; another one for MrBeast is charity. He has co-founded several significantly successful fundraisers, such as Team Trees for the Arbor Day Foundation-lifting over $24 million-and Team Seas for Ocean Conservancy and The Ocean Cleanup-raising over $30 million. His Beast Philanthropy channel dedicates its content to assisting the homeless, starving, and poverty-stricken.
His success hasn’t gone unnoticed: he won Creator of the Year at the Streamy Awards for four consecutive years-2020 to 2023-and Favorite Male Creator at the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards for three years in a row-2022 to 2024. MrBeast still is one of YouTube’s biggest forces, having virtually passed 320 million subscribers on his main channel and almost 9 billion lifetime views in the year 2024.
Even with these mind-blowing achievements, MrBeast has not been shielded from challenges. His Amazon Prime show “Beast Games”, in 2024 was accused of having unsafe working conditions. Contestants complained of getting “limited sustenance” and “inadequate medical staffing”. They were competing in fights for a $5 million prize. MrBeast responded to these accusations by hiring new executives and giving more training to employees.
The charges claimed that MrBeast accomplice, Ava Kris Tyson, was being inappropriate with minor kids. Tyson denied these tattles, and MrBeast nevertheless tapped a law firm to investigate it. No proof of sexual misconduct was found during the investigation, whereas several isolated incidents of workplace harassment and misconduct were discovered.
In 2024, some older videos surfaced of MrBeast making racist jokes, and he then apologized. It furthered scrutiny he was under about comments and behaviors from his past.
MrBeast was also under probe for allegedly being involved with crypto in pump and dump schemes. He reportedly made millions by shilling low-cap IDO tokens heavily and then immediately dumping to make prices crash. An investigation showed the connectivity of MrBeast’s primary crypto wallet at least to more than 50 other wallets for coordinated operations.
YouTuber Rosanna Pansino in late 2024 claimed MrBeast was part of a Telegram chat in which employees shared pictures of an underage Ivanka Trump. Pansino reported the information to the FBI while MrBeast denied wrongdoing.
Probably one thing people appreciate the most from MrBeast is simple gratitude. Even though he has seen monumental success, he always seemed pretty down to earth and approachable, often sharing behind-the-scenes glimpses into his life and speaking freely.