Making MrBeast: How Jimmy Donaldson went from shy kid to YouTube's top creator and built a business worth billions

Business Insider

30-04-2025

MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, is the biggest YouTuber on earth. For an influencer, the 26-year-old keeps some personal details close to the vest.
Donaldson's unlikely rise started in Greenville, North Carolina — the small city where he still resides, and where his burgeoning company, Beast Industries, is headquartered.
Beyond online stardom, Donaldson has taken Hollywood by storm with his hit streaming show, " Beast Games." He's also building a slew of consumer brands and plans to proliferate his IP in the vein of Disney.
Donaldson has also made charity work a key part of his career and personal mission, and has de-emphasized his own personal wealth despite his vast ambitions.
Here's everything you need to know about who MrBeast is and how he's built his career.
Early life and background
MrBeast was born James Stephen Donaldson on May 7, 1998, and grew up in Greenville, North Carolina. After Donaldson's parents separated, his mother, Sue, raised Donaldson and his older brother CJ as a single parent, he said on "The Diary of a CEO" podcast. Donaldson has said he prefers not to speak about his dad.
Donaldson was an extremely quiet child growing up and didn't have many friends, he said on the "Dhar & Jay Show."
From an early age, Donaldson was obsessed with YouTube and uploaded his first video under the username MrBeast6000. Initially, Donaldson tried to game the YouTube algorithm with different types of videos — from "let's play" gaming streams to commentary videos about other YouTubers. At the time, he was mostly off-camera.
In 2016, Donaldson briefly enrolled at East Carolina University but dropped out within weeks to pursue a YouTube career, he said on Instagram.
Unlike some other creators who are an open book, Donaldson keeps mum about many personal details, including his political beliefs.
That said, he frequently discusses living with Crohn's disease, an inflammatory bowel disease.
On the relationships front, Donaldson proposed to his fiancée Thea Booysen, the content creator and novelist, on Christmas in 2024.
MrBeast's rise on YouTube
After experimenting with different kinds of videos, Donaldson went viral in 2017 for a video in which he counted from zero to 100,000, a feat he said took more than 40 hours. That year, he surpassed 1 million subscribers.
Other early stunts included reading every word in the dictionary and spinning a fidget spinner for 24 hours. Endurance and last-person-to-leave challenges are still his bread and butter, even as the productions have grown in budget and scope.
In 2020, the average MrBeast video cost $300,000 to make, Bloomberg reported. By 2024, that figure was roughly $3.5 million, he told the creators of "The Colin and Samir Show."
Over time, Donaldson started enacting big-budget stunts with an altruistic bent, such as tipping thousands of dollars to lesser-known Twitch streamers, waitresses, and Uber drivers. By 2018, he said he'd given away $1 million.
Donaldson is also known for fastidiously fine-tuning his thumbnails and video titles to maximize engagement.
Donaldson surpassed the Indian production company T-Series as the most-subscribed-to YouTube channel in June 2024. His main MrBeast channel is approaching 400 million subscribers. His most popular video, "$456,000 Squid Game In Real Life!" has over 780 million views.
He's also the third most-followed creator on TikTok, with over 115 million followers.
As his channel grew, Donaldson worked on videos with several of his childhood friends, such as Ava Kris Tyson, Chandler Hallow, and Jake Franklin — though Tyson and Franklin are no longer associated with the company.
MrBeast's business ventures
While brand deals helped fuel Donaldson's ambitious early videos, over time, he came to build his own brands.
His company, Beast Industries, generated $473 million in revenue in 2024, according to a pitch deck obtained by Business Insider. The company expects that figure to roughly double in 2025.
Still, Donaldson said in February 2025 that he had less than $1 million in his bank account, as he prefers to reinvest profits back into the company. Because of this, Donaldson's net worth is largely comprised of his stake in Beast Industries.
Some of Beast Industries' businesses include the candy brand Feastables, packaged food brand Lunchly, a collectible action figure line dubbed MrBeast Lab, and Viewstats, an analytics platform for creators.
Donaldson is embroiled in a legal battle with Virtual Dining Concepts, his former partner in the ghost kitchen business, MrBeast Burger. He sued the company for making "terrible quality" burgers under his name, and Virtual Dining Concepts fired back with a breach-of-contract suit.
On the media front, Donaldson has grown his content operation beyond YouTube. He had a $100 million deal for the Amazon Prime show, "Beast Games." While it drove record viewership for Amazon, Donaldson said he lost tens of millions on the first season.
MrBeast's philanthropy and social impact
Over the years, Donaldson has incorporated his knack for virality into various charity efforts, including a 2019 campaign to plant 20 million trees, which Elon Musk contributed to.
Donaldson's philanthropic work includes his own charity organization, Beast Philanthropy. However, at times, some of this work has backfired, such as when he was accused of gifting eye surgeries for clout. Donaldson has shrugged off the criticism and said he plans to give away "every penny" he makes to help people before he dies.
Despite his success, Donaldson has often discussed how he prefers to eschew the finer things in life.
"No matter how big I get I'll never own a mansion, yacht, Lamborghini etc," he tweeted in 2022. "All I want is to make the best videos possible and help as many people as I can while doing it."
MrBeast allegations, criticism, controversy, and lawsuits
With great visibility comes great scrutiny. Donaldson has been no stranger to controversy over the years. In 2024, he was involved in multiple scandals.
In July 2024, Donaldson's childhood friend and coworker Ava Kris Tyson was accused of inappropriately messaging a 13-year-old. Tyson apologized for "bad edgy jokes" on X but said she'd never groomed anyone. She said that she and Donaldson had "mutually decided" to cut ties.
Donaldson said on X that he was "disgusted" by the allegations and had hired a third party to investigate. The investigation into various issues at the company ultimately concluded that claims of sexual misconduct between employees and minors were "without basis." The alleged victim also said on X that the grooming claims were false.
Donaldson's "Beast Games" series was also beset by controversies.
Contestants on the show alleged a number of safety concerns, including a lack of access to food and medical care, and injuries during a preliminary shoot. News of the allegations was first reported by The New York Times.
A rep for MrBeast previously told BI that the shoot "was unfortunately complicated by the CrowdStrike incident, extreme weather, and other unexpected logistical and communications issues."
One former "Beast Games" crew member also told BI he was nearly crushed by a concrete-like structure on set in Toronto. After BI contacted Donaldson's team for comment, the crew member said a production rep had contacted him, saying they were "here to support me and provided me some things I can't share."
Five of the contestants on the show filed a class-action lawsuit in September 2024, alleging sexual harassment and dangerous conditions.
In November, Donaldson addressed some of the allegations around the show on X, saying they were "blown out of proportion."
Around the same time as the "Beast Games" controversy, Donaldson also acknowledged an old clip that resurfaced on social media in which he could be seen making homophobic and racist comments. A spokesperson said in a statement to multiple outlets at the time that Donaldson "repeatedly apologized and has learned that increasing influence comes with increased responsibility."