How Mr. Beast Turned Content into a State

Mr. Beast’s empire is not only video revenue, but also a multi-billion dollar portfolio of business assets. How much money does Mr. Beast really have? This question is of interest to many fans of the famous YouTuber. According to Forbes, Donaldson’s total fortune reaches $500 million, and with the successful sale of a stake in his media company, this figure could grow to $1.5 billion.

Where does the richest YouTuber’s money come from?

Mr. Beast has held the position of the highest-paid content creator on YouTube for several years in a row. In 2021, the blogger received approximately $54 million from video alone, and Forbes experts predicted a possible increase in revenue to $110 million next year. However, as Donaldson himself says: “The chances of becoming a billionaire increase if you do not set this goal. You just need to focus on building a really cool company.” His philosophy turned out to be correct — in addition to YouTube, Mr. Beast is developing several business areas at once.

Media Empire and Content Studio

Donaldson operates a network of YouTube channels, each of which generates significant revenues:

• MrBeast – 142 million followers
• MrBeast Gaming – 32 million followers
• Beast Reacts — 22.5 million subscribers
• MrBeast Shorts – 21.5M followers
• MrBeast 2 — 21.5 million followers
• Beast Philanthropy — 12.6 million subscribers

All production activities are concentrated in Greenville, the town where the blogger himself grew up. It houses the main studio, which is gradually being upgraded to three large media centers. Donaldson plans to turn this place into a center of attraction for other content creators. At the moment, the studio team consists of about 50 employees: scriptwriters, video editors, assistants and administrators. Many of them are friends and relatives of Mr. Beast, who from the very beginning believed in his ambitious plans to conquer YouTube.

MrBeast Burger and Other Commercial Assets

In addition to content, Donaldson is developing a fast food chain. In December 2020, he launched the first MrBeast Burger point in Greenville with free food distribution, which attracted a car queue of more than 30 km.

The key feature of MrBeast Burger is the virtual format of the restaurant. Orders come exclusively through the application, and cooking takes place in partner cafes, which made it possible to quickly scale the business. In the first three months, more than a million burgers were sold, and in August 2022, the first fully functional offline restaurant opened.

At the same time, Mr. Beast launched a line of Feastables snacks - MrBeast Bar chocolate and MrBeast Cookies. For promotion, in January 2022, he organized a grand promotion with a drawing of cash prizes and the search for golden tickets in packages. The finalists competed in the preparation of desserts under the judgement of the famous British chef Gordon Ramsay. The winner received a chocolate factory inspired by Willy Wonka. According to Business Insider, Feastables has grown revenue by more than $10 million in just a few months since its launch.

Revenue that continues to grow

Mr. Beast’s total income comes from several sources: YouTube video monetization, restaurant chain profits, online food sales, and retail chains, including Walmart. Such diversification allows him not only to maintain a leading position in earnings among YouTubers, but also to systematically increase his capital. The fact of speaking at Harvard Business School confirms his status not just as a blogger, but as a serious entrepreneur. So the question of how much money Mr. Beast has a clear answer – it’s a multi-billion dollar empire that continues to expand.