An interesting story about how one YouTuber from the USA built a real media empire. We're talking about MrBeast, also known as Jimmy Donaldson. The guy has been leading the ranking of the highest-paid content creators on the planet for several years in a row, and it's not for nothing.

How much does MrBeast earn? According to Forbes, in the early 2020s, his income from videos reached approximately $54 million a year, with forecasts indicating a potential increase to $110 million. Journalists estimate his personal wealth at around $500 million. But the main thing is not just the numbers, but how he earned them.

Donaldson built a system that works like a clockwork mechanism. First, there's a content studio in Greenville, his hometown. He doesn't have just one YouTube channel, but an entire network of projects. The main channel, MrBeast, has gathered 142 million subscribers, followed by Beast Reacts with 22.5 million, MrBeast Gaming with 32 million, Beast Philanthropy, MrBeast Shorts, MrBeast 2 — each with its own audience. How much does each channel earn separately? Those are details, but in total, it’s impressive.

About 50 people work in the studio — scriptwriters, editors, assistants. Some of the team are his friends and relatives who believed in the project from the very beginning. Now Donaldson is expanding the studio to three large centers, hoping to attract other content creators there.

But YouTube is only the beginning. The second source of income is MrBeast Burger. When he launched his fast-food restaurant chain, he did it smartly. These are not ordinary outlets but virtual restaurants operating through an app. Orders are prepared in partner cafes and delivered to customers. Three months after opening in December 2020, they sold over a million burgers. Now the chain has more than 300 locations in the USA and is expanding to other countries. He even opened the first full offline restaurant.

The third business is Feastables, a snack line. MrBeast Bars and MrBeast Cookies are sold in Walmart supermarkets and online. The launch in January 2022 was spectacular — a giveaway of cash prizes, a competition with golden tickets in chocolates, and in the finale, desserts were prepared for Gordon Ramsay. In the first few months, this business brought in over $10 million.

How much does MrBeast earn in total? It’s a combination of several income streams. Donaldson himself says that the main thing is not to aim to become a billionaire, but simply to make his company cool. His advice sounds like a joke, but it works. He even came to give lectures at Harvard Business School. At one point, he was seeking investors for his content studio, valuing it at $1.5 billion. That’s the trajectory of a guy who started just with YouTube.