Jimmy Donaldson, widely known as MrBeast, boasts the most popular YouTube channel, with over 450 million subscribers—about 1 in 16 people globally. His success with high-production, stunt-based videos has made him an inspiration for aspiring content creators, showcasing how the internet can eliminate gatekeepers in the quest for viral fame and the wealth that often accompanies it.
However, some might argue that the extremely famous content creators represent an exception to the norm. Even Donaldson, despite his algorithm-friendly approach, struggles to turn a profit from YouTube. Financial reports have revealed that the MrBeast brand has been a significant money loser, with three consecutive years in the red, including a staggering negative $110 million projected for 2024. In reality, those viral videos serve primarily as a marketing tool for MrBeast’s main business: a range of average chocolate bars available at Walmart. While the vision was for content creators to reinvent revenue streams, the truth is they are relying on the oldest trick in the book: selling people stuff they don’t really need.
In this series, The Verge explores the ever-changing, often chaotic incentives driving the content machine on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. There was once a time when the internet wasn’t constantly pushing products on us. Now, commercialization, previously dominated by major retailers, has permeated every corner of the web, consuming it and all of us in the process. Maybe that’s why MrBeast always seems to have his mouth wide open.
