MrBeast

James Stephen "Jimmy" Donaldson (born May 7, 1998), better known as MrBeast, is an American YouTuber, media personality, businessman, and philanthropist. The founder of Beast Industries, a conglomerate that holds various media channels, MrBeast Burger, Feastables, Lunchly, and more, he produces high-paced YouTube videos built around elaborate challenges and grandiose philanthropic efforts, that are noted for their high production values. With more than 488 million subscribers, his main channel is the most subscribed on YouTube. He is also the third most followed account on TikTok. Donaldson was born in Wichita, Kansas, and raised in Greenville, North Carolina. He began posting videos to YouTube in early 2012 under the handle MrBeast6000. His early uploads ranged from Let's Play videos to estimations of other YouTubers' wealth. In January 2017, after his video "I Counted to 100,000!" drew tens of thousands of views within days, his productions quickly became more extravagant. As the audience expanded, Donaldson brought longtime friends into the brand and launched companion channels including Beast Reacts (inactive as of 2026, formerly BeastHacks), MrBeast Gaming, MrBeast 2 (formerly MrBeast Shorts), and Beast Philanthropy. He co-founded Team Trees—a fundraiser for the Arbor Day Foundation that has raised more than $24 million—and launched Lunchly, a food and snack brand rivaling Lunchables. He also co-founded Team Seas, a fundraiser for Ocean Conservancy and The Ocean Cleanup that has raised over $30 million, and created the reality competition series Beast Games. In 2025, he co-founded Team Water, another fundraiser that raised over 40 million dollars for WaterAid. Donaldson won the Creator of the Year award at the Streamy Awards in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. He also won Favorite Male Creator at the 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. In 2023, Time named him one of the world's 100 most influential people, and the magazine included him in its 2025 Time 100 Creators list. Forbes ranked him first among the highest-paid YouTube creators in 2024. Fortune estimated his net worth at $2 billion in 2026.