The $ 5 billion Empire of MRBEAST operates on generosity, but at a cost

Most would probably lose steam before they even reach 100. But for Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MRBEAST, that was the problem. The apparently impossible blow was the subject of one of the first 18 -year -old YouTube videos.

He did not know that the domino effect these videos would trigger. Now 27 years old, Donaldson is at the top of an online content empire: with 435 million YouTube subscribers and more than 95 billion views for life, he is one of the biggest internet stars in the world. His achievements go far beyond the viral videos: they include an Amazon TV agreement nine-figure, a several million dollars snacks and even an upcoming novel with James Patterson.

Donaldson’s dazzling ascent gave him the ambition to build a diversified entertainment empire, he hopes that one day rivals with Disney. But everything was not motivated by daily vlogs or video game broadcasts like other content creators. A large part of the content of MrBeast reflects a simple but deep focus: showing the impact of generosity.

This mission has defined not only its content, but on some of its commercial companies. His most watched videos include publications that present it to clean the dirty beaches in the world, build wells in Africa and offer houses. Beyond Youtube, thanks to its philanthropy of non-profit beast, Donaldson gave more than $ 300 million in food (approximately 42 million meals), gave $ 5 million in assistance to Ukrainian refugees and provided $ 500,000 in school and technology. He also financed 2,000 prostheses, 100 palatine slit surgeries and 600 electric bikes for people in need.

More recently, Donaldson has teamed up with his colleague creator Mark Rober for #Teamwater, a campaign offering clean drinking water through Africa and Southeast Asia. The effort made it possible to collect more than $ 41 million, supporting more than 100,000 individual donors. Although the average individual contribution is less than $ 4, large companies like Google, Tiktok and Accenture intervened with several million dollars gifts.

This commitment to large -scale donations has become a decisive characteristic of Donaldson’s content and its business strategy, led by the CEO of Beast Industries, Jeff Housenbold, a veteran of Silicon Valley who came on board to lead the company last year.

Although donations are worth it, Donaldson and his team are convinced that they are also stimulating the growth of the audience, attracting observers who may not be attracted to content and helping the whole business generate more income. Such efforts to embrace social responsibility have helped the industries of the beasts Fortune“ S 2025 Change the world list.

“We really look at how we use the MRBEAST platform to create a positive impact. We are a for-profit business, but we are also altruistic,” said Hounbold Fortune. “The question we ask ourselves is:” Can we combine capitalism and altruism in a win-win manner? ” We think the answer is yes.

Build an empire of more than $ 5 billion – a video at a time

The scaling of generosity at the level of MRBEAST was neither easy nor cheap, but its net instincts in adolescence laid the foundations.

In August 2017, only seven months after his viral counting video, he teamed up with Quidd, a now missing digital collection application, to launch a series of videos focused on generosity – which has groups of enormous species to contract streamers, pizza deliveries, Uber drivers. At just 19 years old, Donaldson had recently abandoned the Pitt Community College in North Carolina after only two weeks, choosing to focus full time on publishing videos.

Years later, profitability remains a challenge. Beast Industries has operated in net loss in the past three consecutive years, according to Bloomberg. Some of the most important recent expenses came from the production of its Amazon Prime reality TV show, Beast games. The show, which was filmed in three countries, included waterfalls and competitions that broke 44 world records Guinness, including the largest price fund awarded in a competitive reality TV show ($ 10 million). But total production costs would have exceeded $ 100 million for the 10 episodes season.

“It was not a good financial decision to take Beast games“Admitted Donaldson on the Diary of a CEO Podcast earlier this year. “I lost money. I would have more money if I did not film it. ”

Although this did not help the results of the program in Donaldson to increase the Grand Prix of $ 5 million to $ 10 million, he and his investors continue to believe that this kind of generosity is worth it. “Money is not all – construction and management is infinitely more difficult,” added Donaldson on the podcast.

The arm of Mrbeast Media, including its YouTube channels and its television show, generated about 250 million dollars in revenues in 2024, but displayed a net loss of almost $ 80 million, according to Bloomberg. Red ink was partially offset by distributors of distributors. Launched in 2022, chocolate products are in Walmart, Target and 7-Eleven stores in the United States and more than a dozen other countries. The facts have generated revenues comparable to the media portfolio of MrBeast, but he produced a profit of more than $ 20 million.

And while the snack market is crowded, Donaldson has found a path that shouts pleasure – with brilliant packaging and sparkling fonts – as well as the impact. Chocolate is 100% fair and Donaldson certified publicly declared its challenge to the “status quo of the large chocolate sector”, which allowed the child to prosper. “I know that we can create chocolate that people can afford and also pay for farmers, so that children do not have to work,” Donaldson said in a press release.

MrBeast noted that “on paper”, it could be considered as a billionaire, largely due to the evaluation of its various brands and income flows of additional projects such as snack kits in Lunchly, the Viewstats and Mrbeast Burger analysis platform. In reality, however, he said that he kept “very little money” at hand and even borrowed from his mother to help cover his wedding costs. Forbes estimated that its annual income between April 2024 and April 2025 reached $ 85 million.

Last year, Beast Industries collected funds for an evaluation of around 5 billion dollars, according to Bloomberg, reporting immense confidence of investors in the mixture of the viral enterprise and the social impact of Donaldson.

MRBEAST operations under a microscope

Donaldson was not immune to controversy. A group of candidates on its Amazon series, Beast games, filed a legal action claiming that there were dangerous conditions on the whole; This case is still underway, but Donaldson and Amazon asked the court to reject it. In addition, a long -standing collaborator has been accused of sexual misconduct; No legal action was submitted in this case, and a law firm commanded by Donaldson revealed that these accusations of misconduct were baseless.

Despite the control, the popularity of Donaldson has barely foggy; He has won more than 100 million YouTube subscribers in the past year.

But this acceleration does not last forever, according to Bill Zimmerman, professor at Penn State University Student the Economy of the Creator. At one point, there will probably be a ceiling, he said, noting to Fortune that some of the extreme videos based on Donaldson’s challenges can be a divider.

“I think that some of these viral videos apart from the philanthropy space can be off -putting for many people due to the emphasis on the implementation of people through physical challenges to win prizes,” said Zimmerman, pointing a recent video that has challenged a pilot to live on a private jet for 100 days, where he faced challenges like no shower, no bed and food.

“These things are highly observable, but I think that these big videos that only accumulate views, also present this voyeuristic situation where you watch someone push their physical limits,” added Zimmerman. And with regard to philanthropic videos, Zimmerman said that it can be difficult to separate questions on underlying reasons when Donaldson took advantage of being generous.

Donaldson CEO, Husenbold, questions that generosity and profitability can and do together.

“We want to make viral kindness through the votes of the world community of influencers and their fans,” said Hounbold, “we also want to welcome other companies, non -profit organizations and government agencies to join us in the journey to make sustainable change.”

Or as Donaldson himself summarized on the Diary of a CEO Podcast earlier this year: “A world where I help people is just more fun than a world where I don’t.”

Correction, September 25, 2025: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified the college to which Jimmy Donaldson attended.