Latest news with #BeastIndustries
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- 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
Business Insider
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Insider
MrBeast says he's borrowing money from his mom to pay for his wedding. There's a simple explanation.
MrBeast may be getting some financial help, but his 400 million fans shouldn't be surprised or concerned. The YouTube megastar and self-made mogul said Monday on X that he is borrowing money from his mom to help pay for his wedding. Donaldson got engaged to YouTuber Thea Booysen about six months ago, on Christmas Day. While the revelation about MrBeast borrowing money may shock followers of the 27-year-old wunderkind creator, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, there's a simple explanation for it. "I personally have very little money because I reinvest everything," Donaldson wrote. Donaldson said this year, his company, Beast Industries, would spend about a quarter of a billion dollars on content. For context, last year the business made just under $500 million in total. By aggressively reinvesting, MrBeast can keep growing his business. The company is forecasting revenue of $899 million in 2025, Business Insider previously reported. Donaldson wrote on X that "on paper, the businesses I own are worth a lot." In February, Bloomberg reported Beast Industries was raising money at a $5 billion valuation. MrBeast's YouTube channel, which he started in early 2012, just reached 400 million subscribers. That makes him YouTube's top star. He's known for creating viral stunts and outside-the-box challenges, including giveaways with eye-popping cash prizes. Contestants in his videos can win huge sums by spending 100 days in a nuclear bunker or surviving in the wilderness. Hollywood is increasingly embracing creators like MrBeast. Amazon teamed up with the YouTuber for a show called "Beast Games" for Prime Video and was apparently pleased by the results, as it renewed the show for a second (and third) season. While "Beast Games" was financially costly for Donaldson — he previously said he "lost tens of millions of dollars" — the megastar said he didn't regret the Amazon deal.
Business Insider
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Insider
Making MrBeast: How Jimmy Donaldson went from shy kid to YouTube's top creator and built a business worth billions
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."
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
YouTube's Biggest Star MrBeast Makes More Money From Chocolate Than Videos
(Bloomberg) -- MrBeast is the biggest YouTube star in the world. But his real moneymaker isn't creating viral videos — it's selling chocolate. NJ College to Merge With State School After Financial Stress NYC Congestion Pricing Toll Gains Support Among City Residents Where New York City's Zoning Reform Will Add Housing Buffalo's Billion-Dollar Freeway Fix Is on Ice, But Not Because of Trump Inside the 'Not Architecture' of High Line Designers Diller Scofidio + Renfro MrBeast's company, Beast Industries, is majority owner of Feastables, a chocolate business that generated sales of about $250 million last year and a profit of more than $20 million, according to documents sent to potential investors. Over the same stretch, MrBeast's media business, which includes his YouTube channel and his reality show for Inc.'s Prime Video, produced similar sales but lost almost $80 million. MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, has spent the past few years leveraging his fame on YouTube and other social platforms to build businesses that have nothing to do with media. In addition to Feastables, Beast Industries is a shareholder in the snack brand Lunchly and the owner of Viewstats, a software firm that sells digital tools to fellow content creators. To fund those businesses, Beast Industries has raised more than $450 million over the past four years, according to people familiar with its past fundraising. The company is now looking to raise a couple hundred million dollars more, according to the documents, which provide performance data for the first three quarters of 2024 and estimates for the final three months of the year and into the future. The goal is to expand its existing divisions and move into several new areas, including video games, beverages and wellness. The Verge previously reported on some of the documents. Last year, Alpha Wave, an investment firm with ties to the United Arab Emirates, led a $300 million Series C round that valued Beast Industries at about $5 billion, up from roughly $1.5 billion a few months earlier, according to people familiar with the terms — a hefty valuation for a company that has lost money three years in a row, including almost $60 million in 2024. Speaking on the The Colin & Samir Show podcast in January, MrBeast noted that scaling a business 'is very, very difficult.' But Beast Industries has an unusual advantage — it's built around one of the most famous celebrities in the world. The pitch to investors positions MrBeast as the second most-followed person on social media, trailing only soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo. For certain investors, MrBeast's star power is likely to make the business more appealing than the average startup. Among companies founded by a social-media creator or celebrity, Beast Industries already ranks as one of the most valuable, on par with Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty and Kim Kardashian's Skims. Donaldson started posting to YouTube when he was 11, filming himself playing video games Call of Duty and Minecraft. Years later, after spending countless hours studying what types of videos worked best on the platform, he eventually dropped out of college and made YouTube his full-time job. Before long, MrBeast took off with young viewers by staging large-scale stunts and giveaways with enticing, often self-explanatory titles, such as 'Ages 1-100 Fight for $500,000' and 'I Spent 50 Hours Buried Alive.' He now generates billions of views a year across several YouTube channels. In his home state of North Carolina, MrBeast has built an operation with hundreds of employees, including 200 staffers who work on production. The extravagant videos don't come cheap. Because each one typically features a unique challenge, MrBeast's crew is constantly traveling to far-flung locations and erecting intricate new sets. The average video for MrBeast's main channel now costs between $3 million and $4 million, according to people familiar with the company's financials. Recouping the lavish production budgets isn't easy. There is only so much money a channel can make on YouTube, especially when only posting a couple of videos a month. To take his entertainment business to the next level, MrBeast approached major streaming services with an idea for a TV show. In the end, Amazon paid MrBeast about $100 million to produce the first season of Beast Games, one of the most expensive deals in the history of reality TV. Even so, Beast Industries wound up losing money on the first season after spending in excess of $100 million. At one point during filming, MrBeast decided on the spot to double the prize money for contestants, adding to the overruns. 'I lost tens of millions of dollars on Beast Games,' MrBeast later said on the Diary of a CEO podcast, noting that he just wanted to make the show as good as possible. A few months before Beast Games debuted, rival YouTuber Rosanna Pansino posted a series of videos about the poor conditions on its set, which led to months of bad press — potentially dampening demand from potential commercial sponsors. In the end, the show's primary sponsor was MoneyLion Technologies Inc., a financial technology company. The show debuted in December, timed to compete with the second season of Netflix's Squid Game. Amazon has since said that Beast Games it its most successful reality TV program ever, and it has agreed to make two more seasons. Budgets have yet to be agreed upon. 'I hope I break even on seasons two and three, but I'm not good at breaking even,' MrBeast said on The Colin & Samir Show. Last year, MrBeast hired venture capitalist Jeffrey Housenbold to serve as president and chief executive officer of Beast Industries. Housenbold has since filled out the executive team with a chief financial officer, a chief product officer and a general counsel while also building teams for brand partnerships and strategy. Ahead of a potential initial public offering, he's now attempting to professionalize the business, clean up some of the spending waste and expand into new areas. Housenbold says he will cut an estimated $100 million in costs this year while turning the company into a profitable business. The company is estimating a profit of about $300 million in 2026. He attributes the past losses to the kind of mistakes that startups often make early on when they are rapidly expanding. Among other savings, Housenbold believes the company can bring down its cost of production. Beast Industries is forecasting that it will spend less money on production in 2025 and 2026 than it did last year and that the media division will turn a profit as well. Still, it's clear that the entertainment wing of the company is increasingly a means of selling other products. 'We have an unprecedented platform in terms of reach and fandom,' Housenbold said. 'We have the opportunity to launch multiple business on the backs of that center of reach and distribution.' Plenty of other major social-media stars are attempting a similar transition. Podcast host Alex Cooper has rolled out a drink line, Unwell. YouTube star turned podcast host Emma Chamberlain has built up a coffee business. And Logan Paul, an early YouTube performer, has co-founded Prime, an energy drink, and is partners with MrBeast on Lunchly. Starting such brands may prove to be easier than sustaining them. MrBeast's early foray into hamburgers resulted in a bruising legal battle with his partner in the business. But so far, such stumbles haven't diminished MrBeast's appetite for diversification. He started Feastables in 2021 with help from Jim Murray, the former president of the protein bar company RXbar. They introduced the chocolates by giving away prizes and inviting some of the winners to compete for a $500,000 cash purse in a MrBeast video. At first, Beast Industries made some mistakes, including a packaging mishap. But customers weren't deterred. More than 100 people now work on Feastables, and the chocolate bars, which were initially only available at Walmart, have since expanded to Europe, Africa and Asia. Beast Industries forecasts that Feastables will triple in size over the next couple of years. Meanwhile, the company is projecting that by 2026, media revenue will only account for one-fifth of its total sales. Content and media are 'a marketing investment in everything else we do,' Housenbold said. (Corrects executive's title in 15th paragraph.) 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