Latest news with #BeastIndustries
CNBC
23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CNBC
Inside Mr. Beast's media empire: We're trying to make kindness go viral, says Beast Industries CEO
Jeff Housenbold, Beast Industries president and CEO, and Jeffrey Allen, Beast Games Season 1 winner, join 'Squawk Box' to discuss the rise of Mr. Beast's business and media empire, the making of 'Beast Games' show, what to expect in season 2, Mr. Beast's global reach, and more.
Time Magazine
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Magazine
TIME100 Most Influential Companies 2025: Beast Industries
What is the value of a company that can deliver billions of fans, most of them teenagers? That's the question posed by Beast Industries. Because MrBeast, aka Jimmy Donaldson, the 27-year-old king of YouTube, makes videos that are so popular and expensive—the big ones cost an average of $3.5 million, he says—advertising alone can't pay for them, so he created Beast Industries in 2021. Last year Donaldson expanded into the streaming world, executive producing Beast Games for Amazon Prime Video, which became the most-viewed unscripted series in the platform's history after debuting in December. Having raised close to half a billion dollars from investors, Beast Industries can expand the products marketed on MrBeast media channels. The most profitable is Feastables, a line of chocolate, but the company also distributes a packaged lunch through Target and owns a creator-friendly software company. So far, Beast Industries still doesn't make enough to fully cover the cost of the videos—but it's getting closer. Eventually, Donaldson told TIME last year, the company will 'only promot[e] things we own.'
Axios
26-06-2025
- Business
- Axios
Celeb brands are winning without spending on ads
From Beast Industries to Bravo to the "Bring It On" fandom, celebrity and creator-led brands are cash cows. Why it matters: Many of them attribute the lack of marketing spend as a reason for their business success. Driving the news: In a conversation with Axios alongside Cannes Lions, Beast Industries CEO Jeffrey Housenbold said he was working with Jimmy Donaldson to build the "Gen Z and Gen Alpha version of Disney, a diversified media and entertainment, consumer products and services company" with an IPO on the horizon. Understanding how to tap into virality is a major advantage, says Housenbold. "We create endemic, intrinsic, contextually relevant ads, and we build a platform that's bounded by data," he said. "We look at over 800 million data points a day. We know what's going viral. We know how to engineer virality across all the social platforms.…Our lifetime value to customer acquisition ratios are so different than the industry because we don't have to spend very much money on marketing, which allows us to plow our profits back into innovation, into lower price, into faster distribution, into collabs and new flavors," he added. Zoom in: Loverboy, the spirits brand founded by Bravo star Kyle Cooke, benefits from a similar playbook, he told Axios. "We've grossed over $50 million having not spent $1 on [marketing]. When you think about what brands, particularly in alcohol, spend, one of the biggest line budgets is advertising, and so to kind of think about things differently and launch brands digitally first, or in collaboration with someone who has a platform, it's kind of a game changer." Amanda Batula said her self-named swim line also spent very little on marketing given that the concept for the product was launched on the Bravo show "Summer House." "Everyone was highly anticipating this [swimwear launch]. Our third drop just sold out, which is what you hope for. We had to up our orders because everything sold out so fast the first time," she said. Yes, but: For these ventures and brand partnerships to be successful, Housenbold, Gabrielle Union, Cooke and Batula all say authenticity is key. "I wanted to build a brand that actually reflected my morals, my values, and that contributes to my peace," Union told Axios alongside Cannes Lions. "For me, corporate values are huge. I do background checks on everybody. I'm not going to sign up for something because you've given me the whole song and dance. I need to know who's running the show. I look at board of directors. I look at the company makeup.… You have to walk it like you talk it," she added. Plus, it's about knowing who your audience is and activating them, said Hiltzik Strategies CEO Matthew Hiltzik. By the numbers: 4 in 10 say they are "die-hard" or "avid" fans of celebrities or influencers, according to a recent Morning Consult survey. Roughly half of those surveyed say they are willing to make purchases based on the recommendations or involvement of their favorite public figures. And Gen Z and millennial consumers are the most likely to vote with their wallet. What to watch: The talent to content to commerce business model is one that more public figures are looking to tap into — and Peter Micelli said he launched management company Range Media Partners to solve for this. "For us, it was, how do we restore equity positions and opportunities for talented people that have community and the trust of audiences? And the data we look at is that celebrities that are authentic can have more impact on moving community than the corporation does. So as we're doing content plays, we're also looking at the broader business plays and how to build communities who are eager to be consumers," he said.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'I Literally Have Almost No Money'—MrBeast Shocks Fans by Borrowing Wedding Funds from His Mom
Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, recently surprised fans by revealing on X that he's borrowing money from his mother to pay for his upcoming wedding. The disclosure comes despite an estimated $1 billion net worth and a business empire reportedly valued at $5 billion, highlighting a paradox of the creator economy: being asset-rich but cash-poor. "I literally have almost no money," MrBeast said in a June 2 post on X.. "I've just been reinvesting everything into content and 'literally' had to borrow money from my mom to help with my wedding lol." Don't Miss: Maker of the $60,000 foldable home has 3 factory buildings, 600+ houses built, and big plans to solve housing — 'Scrolling To UBI' — Deloitte's #1 fastest-growing software company allows users to earn money on their phones. This comes as his businesses—collectively known as Beast Industries—were reported by Bloomberg in February to be raising funds at a $5 billion valuation. "I think this year we'll spend around a quarter of a billion on content," Donaldson continued. According to Business Insider, his business generated just under $500 million in revenue last year. This high spending is driven by projects like MrBeast's Feastables snack brand and the Amazon Prime Video series, "Beast Games," which require substantial upfront capital. The show awarded a $10 million prize to its first-season winner—making it one of the most expensive game shows ever produced, Forbes reported. Despite financial constraints, Donaldson and his fiancée, Thea Booysen, are opting for an intimate, low-key wedding. "This will definitely be more family and friends—definitely more private. I don't take much vacation because of how hard I work... It will be the ultimate way to take some time away and enjoy things," MrBeast told People. Trending: Maximize saving for your retirement and cut down on taxes: . Booysen echoed the sentiment, telling the New York Post that they were considering holding the wedding on an island, away from public attention, and described the event as "nice but certainly intimate," focused on close family and friends. Goldman Sachs estimates that the creator economy could reach $480 billion by 2027, powered by more than 50 million active creators. However, MrBeast's experience illustrates that building billion-dollar ventures may come at the cost of short-term personal liquidity. Donaldson said on the "The Diary of a CEO" podcast that while he may be a billionaire "on paper," he has "less than a million dollars" in his actual bank account. Read Next: Invest where it hurts — and help millions heal:. The average American couple has saved this much money for retirement —? Image: Shutterstock UNLOCKED: 5 NEW TRADES EVERY WEEK. Click now to get top trade ideas daily, plus unlimited access to cutting-edge tools and strategies to gain an edge in the markets. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? APPLE (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report TESLA (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report This article 'I Literally Have Almost No Money'—MrBeast Shocks Fans by Borrowing Wedding Funds from His Mom originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Entrepreneur
03-06-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
MrBeast Borrowing Money From His Mom to Pay for Wedding
YouTube megastar Jimmy Donaldson, a.k.a. MrBeast, posted on X that he's borrowing money from his mom to pay for his wedding to Thea Booysen. He's the top YouTuber in the world with 400 million subscribers, but his mom is still paying for his wedding. So why does 27-year-old Jimmy Donaldson, a.k.a. MrBeast, need to borrow cash for his upcoming nuptials to YouTuber Thea Booysen? Posting on X, Donaldson explained, "I personally have very little money because I reinvest everything." I personally have very little money because I reinvest everything (I think this year we'll spend around a quarter of a billion on content). Ironically i'm actually borrowing $ from my mom to pay for my upcoming wedding lol But sure, on paper the businesses I own are worth a lot. — MrBeast (@MrBeast) June 2, 2025 Hard to say if he is being tongue-in-cheek about it. Donaldson goes on to write, "But sure, on paper the business I own are worth a lot," and there's nothing ambiguous about that. Bloomberg reports that Beast Industries made over $400 million last year and is raising money at a $5 billion valuation to found a holding company to own and control all of his businesses, including the chocolate brand Feastables, the snack business Lunchly, and his video production company. Related: MrBeast's Holding Company Could Be Worth $5 Billion After Its Latest Fundraising Round Jimmy Donaldson started his YouTube channel in 2012, which became wildly popular thanks to his wild, high-budget challenge videos like "$456,000 Squid Game In Real Life!" and "Last To Leave Circle Wins $500,000" that have garnered hundreds of millions of views. In 2024, he launched "Beast Games," an Amazon Prime-exclusive game show with a $100 million budget. The show faced financial troubles — during an appearance on the podcast Diary of a CEO, Donaldson explained that the show went way over budget and that he had to spend "tens of millions" of his own money to cover the difference. Hopefully, he didn't call his mom for help with that bill. Season Two of Beast Games does not yet have a release date, but if you think you have what it takes to take on their next bonkers challenge, you can apply here to compete. Related: YouTuber MrBeast Makes More Money From This 'Sweet' Side Hustle Than From His Videos
