James “Jimmy” Donaldson, better known as Mr. Beast, is a 23 year old YouTuber and millionaire from North Carolina. Known for his funny and exciting YouTube videos, Mr. Beast is a great example of a young entrepreneur who used his talents and passions to create impact for many people.
Jimmy began his career as a YouTuber when he was 13 years old. For the next few years, Jimmy maintained a small YouTube channel, posting gaming videos and videos estimating other YouTubers’ wealth. Little did he know, Jimmy would soon be one of the highest-paid YouTubers on the planet. Jimmy’s following grew to over 30,000 subscribers through 2016, and by mid-2016, Jimmy dropped out of school at East Carolina University to pursue his YouTube channel full-time. In January 2017, Jimmy posted a video of himself counting to 100,000, taking a total of 40 hours. This video quickly went viral and Mr. Beast’s YouTube career took off. Mr. Beast regularly posts videos of funny or wild challenges, massive money giveaways, and unique philanthropic activities.
Mr. Beast soon branched off from his main channel and created several new YouTube accounts, including MrBeast Gaming, Beast Philanthropy, and BeastReacts. While Mr. Beast’s main account has over 73 million subscribers, all six of his channels have 128.47 million combined subscribers. Additionally, Mr. Beast has participated in other entrepreneurial collaborations and ventures, including MrBeast Burger, Backbone One, and Juice Funds. Fans from all over the world also regularly purchase Mr. Beast merchandise from his several online stores. Mr. Beast has become one of the most famous YouTubers, and estimates of his net worth vary from $8 million to $25 million.
While several controversies have swirled around him, Mr. Beast claims to be driven by a desire to create impact through his entertainment. As he states in his Twitter bio, “I want to make the world a better place before I die.” Consequently, many of Mr. Beast’s videos have strong humanitarian and philanthropic themes. For example, some of Mr. Beast’s videos are about giving money away to homeless people or assisting educational organizations. Most recently, Mr. Beast has partnered with the well-known YouTuber Mark Rober in a collaborative attempt to raise $30 million to fund the removal of 30 million pounds of garbage from oceans, beaches, and rivers.
Mr. Beast is an excellent example of how passion can be wedded with skill to create impact. Mr. Beast not only runs a YouTube channel—he uses his skills and wealth to create impact in other people’s lives in addition to entertaining millions of people. Young entrepreneurs can learn from Mr. Beast as they seek to have an impact in the world through their business ventures. Mr. Beast was not necessarily outstanding or unique as a student. However, he took the opportunities presented to him and fills a special niche that provides value for millions of people.
I find it so fascinating that people can literally become billionaires from something like this. I think youtube and different platforms like that have really stretched things for entrepeneurs.