At the age of 25, Jimmy Donaldson, known as MrBeast, is one of YouTube’s second highest-earning content creators, according to Forbes. However, this journey is full of scandals, from bullying employees to taking advantage of unlucky people to make money.
In a video in November 2019, the guy was discovered by authorities giving charity with fake money. Donaldson then explained that he did not want to use real money while filming the video to avoid too many people rushing to ask for it for free, but this was not enough to appease the anger of many followers. The frustration peaked even more when in April 2021, MrBeast was accused of ‘driving chickens’ to invest in coins.
Not stopping there, several former employees who worked under Jimmy Donaldson shared with the New York Times that their former boss created a “toxic work environment” and made “many unreasonable demands.” ”. Everything is hidden behind the camera lens.
Matt Turner, an editor who used to work for Donaldson, said his boss scolded him almost every day, even calling him insulting words. Nate Anderson, who only lasted 1 week working with Donaldson, also admitted that his former boss was too perfectionist and “no one could follow.”
After posting a video talking about bad experiences while working with Jimmy Donaldson, Nate received a series of hostile comments from Mrbeast fans. Many of them are not yet teenagers.
“Those kids don’t know what they’re talking about. They just don’t want to see their idol fall,” said former employee Donaldson.
In early 2023, MrBeast said it would sponsor surgery for 1,000 visually impaired people globally. This statement then caused a wave of fierce controversy, claiming that the world’s richest YouTuber was taking advantage of less fortunate people to make money. The guy was called ‘fake’.
“MrBeast exploits vulnerable and desperate people to make content. Curing 1,000 blind people doesn’t make him a good person,” one Twitter user commented.
Some also pointed out that MrBeast did not mention in the video whether he had asked the patients’ permission before filming their reactions. This is the most debated topic since the video was posted.
“If MrBeast really wanted to do something good and care about people with disabilities, he wouldn’t make money off their suffering and make them dance on videos just to post on YouTube,” health expert Kendall Brown said.
However, it is impossible to deny the ‘hotness’ of Jimmy Donaldson’s videos. According to Forbes, in 2021, this guy earned 54 million USD, of which 32 million USD came from advertising on more than 10 YouTube channels attracting views.
As of April 2024, MrBeast’s YouTube channel has attracted 251 million followers. Videos mainly revolve around topics that attract views such as performing strange and dangerous challenges…
“Many people still think YouTubers don’t really have much influence. They don’t understand the importance of content creators like me,” Jimmy Donaldson said.
According to Forbes, Donaldson’s videos are usually made with a budget of 1.5 – 3 million USD. Most are very strange, such as offering a $10,000 reward to those willing to sit in a bathtub full of snakes or spend 50 hours buried alive.
“It’s quite simple. To be honest, I had my first several brand deals for $10,000 but then I gave it all away to a homeless person. This is a world where I give $10,000 to charity but can earn back $20,000,” Donaldson said.
“I wake up and I’m obsessed with work. I even dream about it. I don’t pay attention to anything other than my business,” MrBeast affirmed. “The probability of becoming a billionaire is higher if you are not too obsessed with it. Just focus on creating an addictive company,” Donaldson said.
It is known that MrBeast’s most famous video of all time is a product that recreates simulations in the popular Korean drama “Squid Game” and earned more than 200 million views in just over 1 month. So, this guy invests a lot of money to create million-view videos, but in return, earns huge profits through YouTube, Facebook and TikTok.
“If we try to maintain the biggest YouTube channel in the world for the next 5-10 years, the opportunities are limitless,” Donaldson said.
Normally, about half of the income of youtubers like MrBeast comes from advertising revenue. To supplement their income, they have their own branded product lines and are very creative in earning additional revenue from Twitch, Snap, Facebook, podcasts, NFTs. Some also signed contracts with Spotter – a Los Angeles startup that specializes in buying copyrights for old YouTube videos.
