Richest YouTuber MrBeast Seeks $1.5 Billion Valuation, Could Be Milestone For Influencer-Led Businesses

MrBeast, the world’s richest YouTuber, wants to bring in a 10-figure valuation for his multiple money-making ventures. If it happens, they would be the first influencer-led business to reach such a valuation, Fortune reported.

MrBeast, formally known as Jimmy Donaldson, ranks fifth among creators on the video platform and has a subscriber count of 107 million. He earns the most money of them all, with Forbes estimating that he earns $54 million annually. 

The 24-year-old is known for his daring and sometimes dangerous challenges on himself, his friends, and sometimes strangers. The rewards are often eye-watering rich prizes.

His videos include pranks, gaming, and elaborate stunts, but on a serious note, he films his philanthropy work, which shows him giving away houses and cars to unsuspecting individuals. 

And the videos are just a part of the Youtuber’s brand, which has grown to include a food delivery business called MrBeast burgers and a snack brand called Feastables.

These ventures have already raked in immense amounts of cash: his snack brand reportedly earned over $10 million in revenue in just the first few months, and he claimed on Twitter that MrBeast burgers “has shared over $100 million in revenue with restaurants across America.” 

Donaldson seeks to raise $150 million in a funding round for his YouTube channels and other businesses. This would value his businesses together at $1.5 billion.

It would be the first institutional investment into his overall portfolio; Feastables, on its own, raised $5 million earlier this year at a $50 million valuation. 

The content creator would be the first to reach such a valuation milestone, but he isn’t the first YouTuber to attract investors. The company that owns the YouTube kids’ channel CoComelon, Moonbug Entertainment, was purchased for $3 billion by Candle Media last year.

Meanwhile, Night Media, the company that manages MrBeast, has already raised $100 million and also teamed up with the Chernin Group to form Night Capital, which aims to boost creators by having them sell retail products to their communities.