Latest news with #Jimmy'MrBeast'Donaldson
Express Tribune
02-06-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
MrBeast borrows money from his mom for wedding despite being a billionaire
YouTube megastar Jimmy 'MrBeast' Donaldson has revealed that he's borrowing money from his mother to fund his upcoming wedding—despite being considered a billionaire on paper. The surprising financial detail came to light after MrBeast responded to a post by Dexerto on X, which highlighted him as 'the only billionaire under 30 to have not inherited his wealth.' In his reply, the 26-year-old clarified that he has 'very little money' in his personal account because he reinvests nearly all of his earnings into content creation. 'I think this year we'll spend around a quarter of a billion on content,' MrBeast wrote. 'Ironically, I'm actually borrowing money from my mom to pay for my upcoming wedding lol. But sure, on paper the businesses I own are worth a lot.' MrBeast has famously built his YouTube empire through extreme challenges and philanthropic stunts, often spending millions on videos. In a previous interview on the Diary of a CEO podcast, he confirmed his billionaire valuation but admitted to having under a million dollars in liquid assets. His Amazon Prime project, Beast Games, reportedly cost tens of millions to produce—an investment he sees as a step toward expanding his business empire. As per Bloomberg, Donaldson is currently seeking hundreds of millions in outside investment, with his ventures estimated to be worth around $5 billion. Despite the temporary loan, MrBeast's mother likely has little concern about repayment, considering the monumental value of her son's brand and ventures.
NZ Herald
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- NZ Herald
Men v gorilla v the rest of us: Why masculinity contests go viral
Jimmy 'MrBeast' Donaldson, a content creator who draws audiences in the hundreds of millions by staging elaborate stunts, joked on X: 'Need 100 men to test this, any volunteers?' 'Sure, what's the worst that could happen?' X owner Elon Musk replied. Men v gorilla isn't the first debate about men's abilities – and limits – to blow up online. In 2019, Twitter ground to a halt to discuss whether an untrained man could beat a women's tennis professional like Serena Williams in a match. To the horror of athletes and experts, many thought they could. In 2023, a YouGov survey trended after it found many men without flying experience believe they could successfully land a passenger plane. These viral hypotheticals have something in common, according to social scientists. All of them ask whether men could maintain dominance and control against incredible odds. You won't find viral memes asking whether men could collaborate with a gorilla – or whether women could do any of the above. A preoccupation with battling gorillas, which can weigh 500 pounds, might reflect an absurd overconfidence on the part of human men, said Samuel Perry, a sociology professor at the University of Oklahoma who studies the connection between masculinity and ideology. But it more likely reflects a deeper insecurity, he noted. Research increasingly indicates young men today fare worse than past generations in terms of educational achievement, employment and romantic relationships, Perry said. Combine that with the growing cultural and financial power of women and gender-non-conforming people, and you get a world where men are increasingly anxious about their place in society. According to Pew Research data from 2024, 31% of Republican men believe women's advancement in society has come at the expense of men. Some research, meanwhile, suggests men might behave more aggressively when they feel their masculinity has been threatened. 'This runaway meme of men fighting a gorilla and all of the similar memes that we've seen over the years, I think they land in the fertile soil of young men who are quite insecure in their masculinity,' Perry said. A cultural reckoning with masculinity fuels more than trending memes, said Theresa Vescio, a psychology professor at Pennsylvania State University who studies gender and power. If gorilla fights are the tip of the iceberg, there's a larger battle swirling underneath, according to Vescio. Online spaces, specifically for young men, have seen their influence balloon in recent years. Leading up to the 2024 presidential election, for instance, Donald Trump's social media team arranged appearances for him on a variety of podcasts and video shows with hosts that promote traditional views of masculinity. The strategy paid off, Trump strategists said: men between the ages of 18 and 29 shifted drastically rightward since 2020, network exit polls indicated. Some of the biggest boosts to the online gorilla debate came from male conservative commentators and creators with largely male audiences, including Donaldson, Musk, Walsh and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) YouTube channel. It shows how quickly and broadly the so-called manosphere, like other powerful online networks, can disseminate information, said Jacob Johanssen, an associate professor at St. Mary's University at Twickenham who wrote a widely-cited 2021 book on the topic. Much of the gorilla debate was lighthearted. But some onlookers still felt uneasy. Emma Gray, co-creator of the culture newsletter Rich Text, said she struggled to find comparable memes about women's strength and abilities. The closest thing she could think of was a trend from last year in which women debated whether they'd rather run into a man or a bear when alone in the woods. 'For men, viral debates are about estimating their own skills,' Gray said. 'For women, it's trying to assess what's dangerous to our safety. I think that tells us a lot about the state of gender at this moment.' Hillary Lucas, a 47-year-old from Tennessee, watched the debate play out all week as she scrolled through TikTok, Facebook and X. She felt exasperated, she said. 'There's so much happening right now – breaking news, executive orders, attacks on women's reproductive rights – and these guys just want to fight a gorilla,' she said. Not so fast, though, said Tara Stoinski, a gorilla expert and president and chief scientific officer of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. Male gorillas may be big, strong and aggressive in some circumstances, Stoinski said, but at the end of the day they are gentle creatures who enjoy spending time with their families. Our fascination with battling them to the death may say more about us than it does about them. 'Gorillas form life-long friendships,' Stoinski said. 'They mourn the loss of family members, and they take care of their most vulnerable.'
Express Tribune
09-04-2025
- Express Tribune
MrBeast sues former employee for stealing confidential files and installing hidden cameras in company offices
YouTube superstar Jimmy 'MrBeast' Donaldson has filed a lawsuit against former employee Leroy Nabors, alleging theft of confidential company data and unauthorized surveillance. As reported by Dexerto, the legal complaint accuses Nabors of misappropriating trade secrets, breaching his employment contract, and secretly recording within Beast Industries' offices. Nabors was initially hired in 2023 as an IT contractor responsible for managing the company's network, including servers that stored post-production content. He was later reassigned to the company's 'special projects' team, where he focused on content development, fundraising, and political advocacy. His employment was terminated on October 1, 2024. The lawsuit, first reported by Polygon, claims that Nabors downloaded more than 1,000 confidential files from the company's Google Vault before his termination. These documents allegedly included sensitive business strategies, financial records, internal communications, and personal details about employees. The complaint suggests Nabors anticipated his dismissal and took proactive steps to retain the information. Beyond the alleged data theft, the lawsuit also claims that multiple hidden cameras were discovered inside the office premises. Nabors was reportedly known among colleagues for covertly recording meetings and is believed to have installed and operated the surveillance devices. This legal action adds to MrBeast's ongoing history of internal disputes. In 2024, former employee Dawson French (also known as DogPack404) accused Donaldson of fostering a toxic work environment and engaging in fraudulent behavior. MrBeast's legal team responded with cease-and-desist letters, citing violations of non-disclosure agreements and disputing the claims. As of now, representatives for both MrBeast and Nabors have not issued public statements. The case remains pending in North Carolina state court.
