MrBeast, the internet sensation known for his jaw-dropping giveaways and viral stunts, has officially joined the billionaires’ club — and he’s the only one under 30 who did it without a family fortune. At just 26 years old, the YouTuber has carved a space for himself in business history with a self-made empire that started with a humble gaming channel.
Highlights:
- MrBeast is the only billionaire under 30 with no inherited wealth.
- He built his $1 billion fortune entirely through YouTube and digital ventures.
- His main channel is the most subscribed on YouTube, with 270 million followers.
- MrBeast reinvests most of his earnings into creating bigger and bolder content.
- His business empire is projected to generate $700 million in revenue in 2024.
Main Story:
Born Jimmy Donaldson on May 7, 1998, in Greenville, North Carolina, MrBeast started his content journey at age 12 under the alias “MrBeast6000.” He later dropped out of college to pursue YouTube full-time, a gamble that turned out to be wildly profitable. Today, his collection of channels — including MrBeast, Beast Reacts, MrBeast Gaming, and MrBeast Philanthropy—boasts over 415 million subscribers globally.
MrBeast’s breakthrough came in 2017 with a bizarre but mesmerizing video where he counted to 100,000 — a feat that took 44 hours and racked up over 21 million views. That viral moment laid the foundation for what would become his signature style: high-effort, high-reward challenges. He went on to push boundaries with stunts like reading the dictionary cover to cover and enduring long hours of repetitive tasks, all for content.
By 2018, MrBeast had shifted gears into what fans now call “stunt” philanthropy”—creating outlandish challenges with eye-popping cash rewards. He started by giving $1,000 to strangers. Fast forward a few years, and he was organizing contests where the last person touching a pile of cash walked away with $1 million.
The more he gave, the more viral he became — and the more money he earned. MrBeast is known for pumping nearly all of his revenue back into content creation, constantly upping the stakes with each video.
In 2023, his burger venture, MrBeast Burgers, along with other business operations, brought in $223 million in revenue. That figure was projected to triple by the end of 2024. By June 2024, financial records confirmed that MrBeast had officially crossed the billionaire threshold, making him the only self-made billionaire under 30.
His empire is now valued at over $1.5 billion, with major interest from investors and brands alike. In 2024, Forbes crowned him the highest-earning YouTube creator, while Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
