Jimmy Donaldson, known as MrBeast, is an American YouTuber, entrepreneur, and philanthropist who is the most-subscribed individual creator on YouTube with over 340 million subscribers. He pioneered the big-budget challenge video format, investing millions of dollars into individual videos that feature elaborate stunts, massive cash prizes, and large-scale philanthropy. His media empire, valued at over $1 billion, spans YouTube channels, the Feastables snack brand, the Beast Burger restaurant chain, and the Amazon Prime competition show Beast Games.
Born on May 7, 1998, in Wichita, Kansas, Donaldson grew up in Greenville, North Carolina. He uploaded his first YouTube video at age 13 in 2012 and spent years studying the platform's algorithm and what makes videos go viral. His early content included gaming videos and 'worst intros' compilations. His breakthrough came in 2017 with a video of himself counting to 100,000, which took 40 hours and demonstrated his willingness to do whatever it took to create compelling content.
MrBeast's videos are distinguished by their scale and production value. He has buried himself alive for 50 hours, recreated the Squid Game set for a real competition with $456,000 in prize money, given away dozens of cars and houses, and funded hundreds of surgeries to cure blindness through his philanthropy channel, Beast Philanthropy. His main channel averages 100-200 million views per video, with his most-watched videos exceeding 500 million views each.
His business ventures have grown to match his YouTube success. Feastables, his chocolate and snack brand launched in 2022, reached $500 million in annual revenue. Beast Burger operates through virtual kitchens nationwide. In 2024, he launched Beast Games, a competition show on Amazon Prime with a $5 million prize — the largest cash prize in television history. He employs over 250 people and reinvests the vast majority of his revenue into creating bigger, more expensive videos.
MrBeast has donated over $100 million to various causes through Beast Philanthropy, including planting 20 million trees (Team Trees, 2019), removing 30 million pounds of trash from oceans (Team Seas, 2021), and funding eye surgeries across developing countries. His philanthropic model — packaging donations as viral entertainment — has been both praised for its impact and debated for its approach. He has consistently stated that his goal is to give away all his money before he dies.
