YouTube was launched as a platform for home videos in 2005. Now, 20 years later, the videos once recorded in bedrooms now generate machine level wealth for their performers Top 5 Richest YouTubers of All Time. YouTube has changed billion-dollar bedroom creators to child stars with global empires, to controversial figures redefining modern entertainment.
The richest YouTubers of all time cultivated audiences through their videos. For them, YouTube was a tool they used to support their other businesses. Most of these creators built profitable empires (i.e., clothing brands, merchandise) separate from their ad revenue streams.
We use data from Forbes, Fortune, Celebrity Net Worth, Bloomberg, MrBeast’s Wall Street Journal interview, and other primary sources to present and justify our ranking of the top 5 richest YouTubers of all time. For each creator, we explain their wealth and where it came from. Then we provide an insight on the creator economy based on the current numbers.
Quick Facts: Top 5 Richest YouTubers of All Time
| Rank | Creator | Real Name | Est. Net Worth | Primary Wealth Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MrBeast | Jimmy Donaldson | ~$2.6 billion | Beast Industries / Feastables |
| 2 | Jeffree Star | Jeffrey Steininger Jr. | ~$200 million | Jeffree Star Cosmetics |
| 3 | Logan Paul | Logan Paul | ~$100–245 million | Prime Hydration |
| 4 | Ryan Kaji | Ryan Guan | ~$100–110 million | Ryan’s World licensing & toys |
| 5 | Like Nastya | Anastasia Radzinskaya | ~$100–125 million | Toy licensing & multi-language channels |
Note: All net worth figures are estimates based on Forbes reporting, Celebrity Net Worth data, publicly filed documents, and industry analysis. Private company valuations involve genuine uncertainty — ranges are noted where estimates diverge significantly.
#1 — MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson): $2.6 Billion
Real name: James Stephen Donaldson
Born: May 7, 1998, Wichita, Kansas (raised in Greenville, North Carolina)
Channel started: 2012 (as MrBeast6000, age 12)
Subscribers: ~497 million (top channel) — #1 individual YouTube channel
Forbes annual earnings: $85 million (2024–25)
Beast Industries valuation: $5.2 billion (2025 funding round led by Alpha Wave Global)
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal in January 2026, Jimmy Donaldson told a story that exemplified the strange contradiction of the MrBeast phenomenon. Running a $5.2 billion company, being the first YouTube billionaire, and owning the majority of one of the most powerful digital media companies in the world, and yet, Donaldson told the interviewer: “I’m borrowing money. Technically, everyone watching this video has more money than me in their bank account if you subtract the equity value of my company.” He then posted on X that he borrowed money from his mom to fund his upcoming wedding.
It’s more than just a publicity stunt and humble brag. It shows the odd construction of MrBeast’s wealth and an insight into the business that he runs.
Donaldson keeps less than $1 million in personal cash. Almost all his business’s income is either reinvested into business development or content production. According to Donaldson, Beast Industries spent around $250 million on video content in 2025. His most famous videos which include cash prize recreations of Squid Game, burying someone alive, and making the largest Lego tower in the world cost hundreds of thousands, and in some cases, millions of dollars. The production quality and high value of the videos are not unintentional; they are a product of the business. The purpose of the videos is the large production quality and value.
His holding company that runs his entire business’s, Beast Industries, has all of Donaldson’s wealth. Beast Industries was valued at $1.5 billion in 2022 after a investment round, and a 2025 investment round led by the UAE’s Alpha Wave Global, valued the company at $5.2 billion. Donaldson is said to have a majority stake in the company. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Donaldson has a personal stake of around $2.65 billion. He has more wealth than any other YouTuber who has existed.
Beast Industries is more than a Youtube channel – it is a conglomerate of media and consumer goods with several business lines.
Feastables is a chocolate and snack line that debuted in January of 2022 with MrBeast Bars. The product’s debut was a challenge in one of his Youtube videos that encouraged fans to buy chocolate for a chance to enter a contest to win a chocolate factory. He gained an active following with this challenge and raised 10 million dollars in a matter of months. By 2025, Feastables snagged a profit of $250 million a year and sold their products in major grocery chains across the United States and grocery chains around the world. In September of 2024, MrBeast, KSI, and Logan Paul partnered to launch Lunchly, a competitor of Lunchables.
MrBeast Burger was established in 2020 and built a rapidly growing chain of ghost kitchens before he became embroiled in litigation with Virtual Dining Concepts for their food quality. Donaldson argued publicly that the food was harming his brand. The project was shut down and currently his food brand energy is focused on Feastables.
Beast Games (Amazon) is a 2024 exclusive reality competition show that MrBeast published on Amazon for a reported $100 million. It combines elements of a traditional television production with his Youtube style of high energy production. This was the largest deal in Youtube creator history.
Step acquisition (February 2026) – Beast Industries purchased Step, a banking and financial literacy app catering to Gen Z with 7 million plus users and investors such as Charli D’Amelio, Will Smith, Stephen Curry, General Catalyst, and Coatue. Framed by Donaldson as a personal mission to help the youth understand finances, this acquisition was the first time Beast Industries found interest in the FinTech space and shows what may come next.
An internal “Asset & Monetization Review” document, leaked amidst the MrBeast Burger lawsuit, stated Beast Industries earned $223 million in 2023 and projected earnings of $700 million in 2024. The $5.2 billion worth company and these numbers show how a 27 year old who lived in a small house in North Carolina, became a billionaire before his 30s.
What makes Donaldson a fascinating wealth by example story is his method and not the magnitude. He didn’t inherit anything. He didn’t hit a lucky trend. He spent years before he became a viral video sensation, hyper-focusing on every last detail, posting videos, checking every analytics, and iterated. His channel had almost no traction for the first several years. He realized something the vast majority did not almost a decade ago: The viewer experience is worth paying for. The money spent on a video should be reflected in the final product.
Every dollar spent on an event turns someone into a viewer. Every viewer increases the chance of a new customer for Feastables. Every new customer is proof of the commercial capability of Beast Industries. That proof increases the company’s valuation. The system is self-sustaining and began with a 12-year-old posting Minecraft commentary.
#2 — Jeffree Star: ~$200 Million
Real name: Jeffrey Lynn Steininger Jr.
Born: November 15, 1985 Los Angeles County, California
Channel started: ~2006 (Transition from MySpace to YouTube)
Subscribers: ~15.7 million (YouTube), 2.6 billion total views
Primary business: Jeffree Star Cosmetics (self-owned 100%)
Current residence: 80-acre yak ranch, Cheyenne, Wyoming
The story of Jeffree Star’s wealth doesn’t begin with YouTube, but with MySpace. This already shows how long he has been in the game and how good he has been at it.
Before YouTube took over, MySpace was the place to build a following. Internet personalities of that era were at the forefront of the creation of online content. Jeffree Star became the most followed person on MySpace in 2006. He became an internet sensation for his kfashion, and his style was androgynous and his online persona was unapologetically in your face. His fierce personality made it so that users became his audience and continued to return. His early following was the basis for his success.
Pivoting to music, Star debuted with Beauty Killer in 2009. It hit #2 on Billboard’s Top Heatseekers, and included the Nicki Minaj collaboration, “Lollipop Luxury.” After signing to Akon’s Konvict Muzik in 2010, Star wouldn’t release a second album. He exited the music industry in 2013, and called signing with Akon “the biggest mistake I’ve ever made,” citing creative differences.
Star launched his beauty career in 2014 with his own line of cosmetics — beginning with Jeffree Star Cosmetics. Star arranged to sell his liquid lipstick in a set of three specific shades and drew up a business plan so that his entire life savings might support the launch. What had once been a bet on the cosmetology practice that had earned him an online following of essentially bankrupt mass was now the entirety of his hope. Star sold 30,000 units in the first launch, and with his momentum, fans, and resources reinvested
By 2018, Shane Dawson’s YouTube documentary series, The Beautiful World of Jeffree Star, had debuted to the general public information on Jeffree Star’s operations, including his warehouse, product development, and his life. It is among the most popular YouTube documentary series. The documentary series’ co-branding eyeshadow palette, the Conspiracy Collection, sold out within seconds of its launch and became a top selling beauty product of that year. Some reports claim that the collaboration resulted in Star’s net worth increasing from $50 million to $150 million in twelve months.
By 2025, Jeffree Star Cosmetics is expected to bring in about $100 million a year. While that is a decrease from reports that say the brand’s annual revenue was higher in years before, it is still a remarkable number. This brand is still the only product of its creator. Star retains 100% ownership of the brand. The brand’s profits come directly to Star, with no need to split with shareholders. Jeffree Star Cosmetics has a direct sales model ecommerce portal on his website and has partnered with other companies to offer his brand in their stores, such as Beauty Bay.
Most beauty brand founders rely on outside funding or investors, but Jeffree Star’s beauty line is entirely self-funded. As Star has never obtained outside capital, he has never diluted ownership or his equity and has never reported his business to a board. There are some beauty brands that have grown using a self-funded business model, but Jeffree Star is at the top of the beauty business with a unique model. His beauty line has had financial success, and with no outside funding, his personal net worth has shown the same success.
Jeffree Star’s personal investments aren’t only in beauty. He sold his celebrity mega mansion for $16.7 million and moved to a Yak ranch in Wyoming. Moving to Wyoming confused many of Star’s fans and attracted a lot of press. The Yak ranch is Star’s business, as he sells products from the ranch. Star’s ranch is not his only business outside of beauty. He has a handbag collection worth over 100 bags and over $379,200 for his most expensive handbag. He also has a collection of expensive cars.
Throughout his career, he has had many internet feuds, including some with Kylie Jenner and James Charles as well as some resurfaced public comments that have caused him to be publicly cancelled. With the ups and downs of public opinion, his loyal customers have kept his business running.
#3 — Logan Paul: ~$150 Million
Real name: Logan Alexander Paul
Born: April 1, 1995, Westlake, Ohio
Channel started: 2015 (YouTube; Vine 2013-2016)
Subscribers: ~23–27 million (YouTube) 96 million total cross-platform
Primary business: PRIME Hydration (co-founded with KSI), WWE
Podcast: IMPAULSIVE (one of the highest-earning creator podcasts)
Logan Paul’s story shows how monetizing a highly controversial social media presence can build wealth. Paul started on Vine in 2013. He was one of the most popular users with over 9.4 million followers at the platform’s closure in 2016. Following the shutdown, Paul migrated to YouTube. His style of vlogging encouraged other users to behave recklessly, resulting in the rapid growth of his channel. It is estimated that Paul earned $14 million in a single year from YouTube ad revenue and sponsorships.
In late 2017 Paul had the most controversial moment of his career. He filmed a recently deceased person in Japan’s Aokigahara Forest, a popular site for suicides in Japan. The video was met with global backlash. YouTube suspended his ads, removing him from the YouTube Partners Program. All sponsorships ended and his public image was destroyed. It is one of the most widely condemned acts in the history of the platform.
Following the Aokigahara incident, Logan Paul took actions that warrant a wealth analysis more than a moral critique as Paul sought to reinvent and reshape his public image. He did this by utilizing advanced strategies over a period of three years. He avoided actions that most public relations experts would consider self-punishing and would show discipline.
Instead, Paul turned to the world of boxing. He publicly challenged British YouTuber and Rapper KSI to a professional boxing match, sparking a rivalry that brought about a lot of viewership. Paul and KSI fought twice. The second boxing match, which occurred in November 2019, is reported to have had 1.3 million buys, to have sold out, and to have grossed millions of dollars. Shortly thereafter Paul fought Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a boxing match that was an exhibition and earned Paul around $5.25 million. The public discourse around Paul had begun to shift in a more favorable way. This was in part due to the fact, he was showing discipline and commitment to a difficult sport.
Paul also started his long-form podcast, IMPAULSIVE, which was and is one of the most successful and lucrative creator podcasts. His podcast earned eight-figures yearly in sponsorship deals. Paul also happened to team up with KSI in 2022 on their newest venture, PRIME Hydration.
In American history, PRIME is the fastest growing beverage company. First year sales totaled over $250 million. By 2024, sales were $1.2 billion per year with distribution deals at Walmart, Target, Costco and Amazon, as well as international grocery stores. Logan and KSI have a 20% stake in the company, with the majority of shares owned by Congo Brands, the umbrella company located in Louisville owned by Trey Steiger and Max Clemons. With a conservative estimate at several billion dollars, Logan’s stake is the biggest part of his net worth, since the company is private.
In 2022, he went a step further and signed with WWE not as a celebrity guest but as a permanent performer. Logan’s debut at WrestleMania 38 impressed the critics with his performance. Since then he has fought and lost to the best, including LA Knight, who he lost the WWE United States Championship to after holding the title for 273 days. He has signed a WWE contract worth $5 million a year for a limited number of performances, the first of which was at WrestleMania 41 in April 2025 against AJ Styles.
The PRIME success story well illustrates the balance between audience size on YouTube and the impact on nascent consumer brands. To market and sell their product, Logan and KSI posted PRIME related content to their large, combined audience, that sparked overwhelming interest and resulted in PRIME being sold out in every retailer, just days after first being sold. To capitalize on this consumer validation, PRIME’s business team, with the help of overwhelming interest and consumer demand, were able to secure multiple distribution deals and create partnerships with multiple retailers, and sports contracts.
#4 — Ryan Kaji: ~$100–110 Million (The World’s Richest Child Creator)
Full name: Ryan Guan
Date of Birth: October 6, 2011, from Texas
Channel Launch: March 2015 (formerly “Ryan ToysReview,” now “Ryan’s World”)
Age When Rated: 13–14 Years
Subscribers: 37 million (primary channel); 40+ million total (other channels); 75 billion total views
Estimated Earnings (2025): ~$35 million
Three-year-old Ryan Kaji, from Texas, thought engaging with the popular toy review channel format was fun, and he was right. He asked his mother if he could make his own review, and his mother, Loann Kaji, a chemistry degree holding former high school teacher, recorded Ryan reviewing the Pixar The Good Dinosaur Lego set. She created the channel Ryan ToysReview and posted the video.
A decade later, Ryan Kaji boasts a net worth ranging from $100 to $110 million, a brand licensing portfolio covering 4,000+ distinct products sold in Walmart, Target, and global retailers, a Nick Jr. TV show, several mobile games, and a movie. He is among the wealthiest entertainment child figures, and with the state of his wealth, he would likely surpass wealth of peers.
This story starts with an appealing child. He has an active interest in toys. He is like lightening and charismatic in front of the camera. Children adore him. This is great, but this child’s success is as much about his parent’s talents in the business world. His father, Shion Kaji, originally from Japan, stopped working his nine to five when the channel began to take off. His mother, Loann, notably from Vietnam, did the same. In 2017, the family signed with children’s media startup, PocketWatch, which moved Ryan’s World beyond an everyday successful YouTube channel and made it a global consumer franchise.
The transformations that occurred speak for themselves. In just one year, from 2016 to 2017, Ryan’s World earned over $11 million, and that was on the conservative end, as other child’s toy channels showed us just how lucrative it could be. By the end of 2018, Ryan’s World was worth $22 million, making him the highest earning YouTuber on the platform, a position that Ryan again earned in 2019, to the tune of $26 million, and of 2020, for a total of $30 million. For that same year, Ryan’s World was ranked the highest earning YouTube channel for 2020. Ryan’s World was also one of the top 60 most viewed channels with over 2 billion views.
The brand’s presence is growing beyond just YouTube. Having licensed the name and image, Ryan’s World is featured on over 5,000 products including toys, plush toys, clothing, and bedroom decor, as well as face masks and accessories. In 2018, Ryan partnered with WildWorks to create a mobile game, “Tag with Ryan”. Additionally, Ryan’s creations include a 20-episode series on Nick Jr., educative Playdate adventures, and a feature film released in 2024, Ryan’s World: The Movie: Titan Universe Adventure. Ryan’s younger YouTube videos were sold in a catalog deal to Spotter. The deal brought in a large upfront payment and continued Ryan’s ownership of his newer videos.
The largest threat to Ryan’s brand is the passage of time. Ryan’s core demographic of fans was 3 to 8 when his YouTube and other content began. Ryan’s teenage years are here. Keeping the support of his biggest fans (who are now older) and the preschool fans, while updating the content and brand, is a large challenge. Theatrical releases for the brand are a testament to the hard work and time spent, but also a challenge, as the audience for the YouTube channel doesn’t correlate with audience members in the theater. Ryan’s well-being and education are the priority of Ryan’s parents, but the financial stakes are a large responsibility.
There are real concerns regarding the ethics of large scale child content creation. In 2019, the FTC investigated Ryan’s World because there were concerns about the inclusion of sponsorships within the entertainment videos and that young children would not be able to discern the videos from entertainment content. Because of this investigation, rules surrounding the transparency of children’s content on YouTube were created. Ryan’s parents have said that the majority of the toys featured in the videos were sent as donations to them. The ethics of child creators continues to be a conversation.
#5 — PewDiePie (Felix Kjellberg): ~$40–54 Million (The Original Giant)
Real name: Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg
Born: October 24, 1989, Gothenburg, Sweden
Channel started: April 29, 2010
Subscribers: ~110 million
Status: Semi-retired; moved to Japan; posts occasionally
Current content: Technology, home-labbing, occasional gaming
To recognize the present stage of the creator economy, one must recognize the origins of the industry. Within the origins of this industry is PewDiePie. The Swedish YouTuber was the most-subscribed YouTube channel for nearly a decade and his style of personality based videos inspired countless creators who adopted a similar style like MrBeast and other creators to follow.
Felix Kjellberg registered his YouTube account in 2010, while he was enrolled in an industrial economics course at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg. After he decided to dedicate himself to YouTube, his concerned parents, after much deliberation, cut their financial support. He was forced to sell hot dogs to make ends meet. Within a few years, he was able to ditch the hot dog stand.
His first content was compilation of filmed segments of himself playing video games, a format called “Let’s Play.” Although popularized by numerous content creators before him, his extreme vocalizations, enthusiastic participation, nonsensical outbursts, and general willingness to make an idiot of himself, served to foster a quasi-symbiotic relationship with his audience. He called his audience the “Bro Army” and “9-Year-Old Army.” His audience was not a mere follower, but a participant in a community.
In his prime years (2016 to 2019) PewDiePie was the most subscribed individual user on YouTube with the most subscriptions. His YouTube ads revenue, merchandise sales on Represent.co and his sponsorship deals, all left him with a yearly income of between $12 and $15 million. It was, by all standards of the time, irrefutable YouTube dominance.
His career has been mired by some of YouTube’s all time biggest scandals. In 2017, The Wall Street Journal released an article investigating Kjellberg’s videos that utilized anti-Semitic jokes and imagery that he framed as ‘dark humor’. Disney Maker Studios, the company that managed Kjellberg’s content, cut all ties with him. YouTube terminated him from their premium advertising program. He lost many major partnerships. In 2019, a mass shooter in Christchurch, New Zealand, referenced Kjellberg in his stream. Unfortunately, this incident solidified Kjellberg’s name to this event and damaged his reputation in mainstream media for years.
Kjellberg has been serious and honest while addressing his controversies, this earned him some respect from the public as he was the only one who managed to address the situation. He was one of the few who managed to see the real impact and harm that these jokes and the imagery of anti-Semitism can reinforce and propagate. He went on to explain the impact the controversies had on him personally, and that they ruined his career.
In terms of financial success and the economics of his career, Kjellberg’s story is somewhat bittersweet compared to some of the others. He never developed a consumer product that compounded in value. Other YouTubers like MrBeast, Logan Paul, Jeffree Star, and the others on this list did, and this resulted in Kjellberg’s success being fundamentally linked to his YouTube content while others generated passive income.
He is now living in Osaka, Japan with his wife Marzia (whom he met in 2011 through YouTube and married in 2019) and their son. He is semi-retired and posts infrequently about his hobbies (usually technology and home networking). It is estimated that he earns about $10,000–$20,000 a month on YouTube. This is significantly less money than he earned during his prime. He is estimated to have a net worth around $40–54 million, which is based on his peak earnings from YouTube, merchandise, and his investments during that time.
His legacy is confirmed and is way beyond the money he made. He showed the world that there are 100 million people that want to watch you from your bedroom with a gaming PC and a camera. He created the first blueprint that other people have improved and reacted to in the entertainment and gaming space. He helped inspire MrBeast and the creator economy that is as of 2025, will be based on what became possible and was validated by PewDiePie during 2010 and 2019.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the richest YouTuber in the world in 2025?
Based on the 2025 funding round valuing Jimmy Donaldson, or MrBeast, as a single person investor of Beast Industries at $5.2 billion, the almost 3 billion net worth of the created brands is estimated to grow in the 2025-2026 period. His annual earnings are around $85 million, based on estimates published by Forbes.
Yes, MrBeast is officially a billionaire according to both Celebrity Net Worth and Fortune Magazine, following the valuation of the majority stake in Beast Industries to which MrBeast owns the majority. However, MrBeast noted that he has less than $1 million in personal savings, and that the majority of his wealth is on the balance sheet in the company, and not in liquid cash.
How did MrBeast earn his wealth?
The majority of MrBeast’s wealth is in his equity ownership in his holding company, Beast Industries, which owns Feastables, production of his YouTube content, a $100 million streaming deal with Amazon for Beast Games, merchandise, and the acquisition of the fintech company Step, which will happen in 2026. His YouTube content to earn money is significantly reinvested to create and improve the content for his audience, and is a smaller portion of his total wealth.
How did Jeffree Star earn his wealth?
Jeffree Star earned the majority of his wealth from starting Jeffree Star Cosmetics in 2014 after almost losing all of his money in his music career. He started Jeffree Star Cosmetics with his life savings, and now being that he owns the entire company and there are no investors, reports show the company has a revenue of $100 million. Jeffree Star built an audience for himself on MySpace, and leveraged that to make his business successful.
How much money does Logan Paul make from PRIME Hydration?
In January 2022, Logan Paul and KSI launched PRIME Hydration. Paul and KSI possess around 20 percent ownership of the business, with Congo Brands holding the remaining majority stake. PRIME sales reached $1.2 billion in 2024. Although Congo Brands has filed for a private valuation of the firm, Logan’s stake in the valuation at a multi-million-dollar level makes his paper losses enormous.
How does Ryan Kaji have a 14 year net worth of 200 million?
Ryan Kaji, formerly known for Ryan’s World, began his YouTube career at age three. He was the highest-paid YouTuber in 2018, 2019, and 2020, and earned $22-$30 million during those years. Kaji’s family partnered with a children’s media company, PocketWatch, and his family gained royalties from 5,000 licensed Ryan’s World-branded products sold in major stores. $100-$110 million of Kaji’s net worth is under family custody, as he is a legal minor.
What happened to PewDiePie?
In 2022, PewDiePie and his wife, Marzia, relocated to Osaka, Japan with their son. PewDiePie shifted away from gaming videos to posting other YouTube content. He is now a semi-retired content creator and earns $10,000-$20,000 a month on YouTube. His net worth of $40-$54 million reflects his earnings from 2012-2020, as he did not successfully launch a major product line with his large audience.
Conclusion
The five wealthiest YouTubers of all time include MrBeast, Jeffree Star, Logan Paul, Ryan Kaji and PewDiePie. While they each have unique backgrounds, they amassed their wealth in unique ways. One of them is a beauty mogul who invested his last savings in three lipstick shades. Another is a controversialist who turned his boxing rivalry into a billion-dollar beverage company. And we can’t forget the three-year-old who wondered why he couldn’t review toys. And then we have the Swedish gamer who built the largest YouTube channel in history and then quietly walked away from it.
Though all of them took different paths to reach their wealth, they each had the same intuition. They understood that the wealthiest Youtubers of all time are not the ones who created the most entertaining videos. They are the ones who built something with their videos that would last beyond their channel. and if you like this article you can check IShowSpeed Net Worth as well as Richest Female Streamers
