Mar 11, 2024
Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson is notorious for shelling out hundreds of thousands of dollars (or even a Tesla) to subscribers, medical patients and folks who participate in his grandiose challenges.
But although the 25-year-old told TIME Magazine in an interview that he brings in around $700 million a year in revenue, he doesn’t consider himself rich.
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“I mean, not right now,” he added. “I’m not naive; maybe one day.”
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So, what exactly does he mean? Donaldson explained that he reinvests most of what he earns back into the company and continues to grow his brand, splurging on increasingly adventurous stunts and cash giveaways.
“It’s a never-ending treadmill for the content obviously,” he said. “It’s brutal. You’re always on, and it’s a lot of pressure. And this whole system is based around 200 million people just magically showing up and watching my next video.”
MrBeast reinvests his millions back into the brand
Donaldson isn’t afraid to cough up the cash in order to produce attention-grabbing content — he’d previously told Business Insider in 2022 that he spends upwards of $8 million a month on his business.
His most popular video, a $456,000 Squid Game Challenge, inspired by the eponymous Emmy-winning Korean TV show, has more than half a billion views on YouTube, while another video shows the YouTuber paying for the cataract surgery of 1,000 blind and near-blind people around the world.
“Each video does a couple million in ad revenue, a couple million in brand deals,” Donaldson told TIME. “I’ve reinvested everything to the point of — you could claim — stupidity, just believing that we would succeed. And it’s worked out.”
That doesn’t mean he isn’t holding onto any funds for himself — TIME reported that the multimillionaire has a personal chef and trainer.
However, he also admitted that he doesn't have access to his bank accounts, and that his mom is "the one who has access to the master bank account," though he also has a CFO.
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Why reinvesting is a smart financial strategy
MrBeast’s strategy is a sound one — and it’s similar to, say, reinvesting your cash dividends into purchasing more shares of a stock. Investors get to supercharge their long-term returns thanks to the power of compound interest.
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Donaldson, who has sustained, and grown, a flourishing empire since going viral in 2017 could be looking at the long-term rewards too.
He told Business Insider he’s not concerned about compromising his financial future by splurging on content production. "The videos get views even if I don't upload, so if I really wanted to, I could just live off of the money that the views made," he said.
In a way, he understands the importance of diversification too, running smaller YouTube channels like "MrBeast Gaming” and “Beast Reacts”, dubbing videos in different languages and creating his own snack brand, Feastables.
He also has plans underway for creating digital products, like games and apps, with the aim of only promoting things the MrBeast brand owns in a year or two.
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Serah Louis is a reporter with Moneywise.com. She enjoys tackling topical personal finance issues for young people and women and covering the latest in financial news.
