James Stephen “Jimmy” Donaldson, widely known as MrBeast, is an American YouTuber, media personality, entrepreneur, and philanthropist whose high-impact videos and business ventures have reshaped digital entertainment. Known for elaborate challenges, generous giveaways, and large-scale philanthropic campaigns, MrBeast has become one of the most influential creators in the world, with a massive global audience and a rapidly growing media empire.
Early Life and Education
MrBeast was born May 7, 1998 in Wichita, Kansas, United States, and was raised primarily in Greenville, North Carolina. He is the second of three children and grew up making videos from a young age. His early interests included gaming, creative projects, and video production — long before he became a household name.
Donaldson attended Greenville Christian Academy, graduating in 2016. He briefly enrolled at Pitt Community College but left after a short time to focus full-time on his YouTube career, which was already showing strong early growth.
YouTube Career and Rise to Fame
MrBeast began posting videos to YouTube in 2012 at age 13 under the handle MrBeast6000. His initial content included gaming gameplay (especially Minecraft), commentary, and playful estimations of other creators’ earnings.
His breakthrough moment came in 2017 after his video “I Counted to 100,000!” went viral, gaining hundreds of thousands of views and igniting interest in his channel. From there, Donaldson refined his style toward daring challenges, large giveaways, and high-budget productions. His videos often involve contestants performing tasks for significant cash prizes, surprising acts of generosity, or elaborate game-like scenarios with massive rewards.
Channel Growth and Records
MrBeast’s YouTube journey has included extraordinary growth milestones:
- His channel reached 100 million subscribers in 2022, a historic achievement for an individual creator.
- In 2024, he surpassed 300 million subscribers, becoming the first YouTuber to reach this figure.
- As of early 2026, his main channel has over 460 million subscribers, making it the most subscribed YouTube channel in the world.
Donaldson also runs multiple companion channels — including Beast Reacts, MrBeast Gaming, MrBeast 2 (Shorts), and Beast Philanthropy — expanding his reach across content formats and genres.
Business Ventures and Entrepreneurship
Beyond his primary YouTube content, MrBeast has launched and co-founded several successful business ventures:
- Beast Industries — the umbrella company managing his media channels and brands.
- MrBeast Burger — a virtual restaurant concept that partners with real kitchens to deliver a branded menu nationwide.
- Feastables — a snack and chocolate company featuring ethically sourced ingredients.
- Lunchly — a ready-to-eat snack brand co-created with other influencers.
He also developed Beast Games, a highly viewed competition series on Amazon Prime Video featuring high-stakes challenges and multi-million-dollar prizes.
Philanthropy and Global Projects
MrBeast’s impact extends into philanthropy and environmental causes. He helped launch major fundraisers including Team Trees, which raised over $24 million to plant millions of trees, and Team Seas, which removed millions of pounds of trash from oceans. In 2025, he co-founded Team Water, raising significant funds for global water access.
Donaldson’s channel Beast Philanthropy focuses exclusively on charitable work, often funding food drives, medical procedures, housing assistance, and other community support initiatives.
Net Worth and Commercial Success
Estimates of MrBeast’s financial standing vary because his assets are tied to the value of his businesses, brand deals, merchandise, and digital media revenue. Celebrity finance trackers estimate his net worth to be in the billions, largely due to the valuation of Beast Industries and its ventures.
Despite the high valuation, Donaldson himself has noted in interviews that much of his money is reinvested into content and business growth, and he does not always retain large liquid cash holdings personally.
Personal Life: Engagement and Family
As of 2026, MrBeast is not married but is engaged to South African content creator and gamer Thea Booysen. The couple began dating in 2022 after meeting in South Africa, and Donaldson proposed on Christmas Day 2024, confirming their engagement publicly soon afterward.
MrBeast and Booysen do not have children at this time, and he has spoken about wanting to be intentional about family planning in future conversations about fatherhood.
Public Image and Influence
MrBeast’s public image combines entertainment with spectacle and social impact. His videos often stir conversation because of their scale, production costs, and philanthropic framing. While some critics question the ethics of blending charity with entertainment, many fans and observers credit Donaldson with using his platform to draw attention to global issues in engaging ways.
His influence is so large that he is often described as a symbol of the attention economy — a creator whose success is built on deep understanding of digital audiences and the evolving relationship between content and cultural impact.
Legacy and Future Endeavors
At just 27, MrBeast has already redefined what it means to be a creator in the 21st century. His work blends entertainment, business, and philanthropy in ways that have inspired a generation of digital storytellers. With ongoing expansion of his media empire and new ventures on the horizon, MrBeast’s influence is expected to persist and grow across entertainment and business landscapes.
