In 2023, YouTube celebrity MrBeast earned US$82 million and has an estimated net worth of $700M.
Forbes named MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson) as the highest-paid YouTube celebrity and influencer across all platforms.
MrBeast has the most YouTube subscribers at 309 million along with millions of followers across Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
His success is rooted in his uniquely sensational and philanthropic content that has become increasingly extravagant alongside his success.
As with most viral content, MrBeast’s breakthrough came from a seemingly simple concept.
In 2017, he posted a video of himself counting to 100,000. The 40-hour-long process captivated audiences and has now been viewed 30 million times.
From there, MrBeast’s channel exploded.
Influencers can earn anywhere from $200-$3,000 per post, depending on their following and presence.
However, recent studies show that only 12% of full-time creators make more than $50K/year (Washington Post).
Content creators almost always need to hold down a full-time position to become a major player in the online sphere.
Ryan Hilliard of HypeAuditor, an influencer analytics company, argues that an influencer needs 1 million social media followers to go full-time.
He explained that less than 1% ever achieve that and can comfortably rely on influencing alone for income.
Measuring the likelihood of going viral is a gamble as well. On average, the chances of creating a viral post is 1 in 5 million (Forbes).
Viral content does not also guarantee success or enduring audience interest in a particular product or person.
With that said, influencing as a career and income stream exists on a spectrum.
Brands are eager to partner with micro-influencers, whose followings sit between the low thousands to 100K, to generate personable and relatable content.
Do you think influencing is a realistic career path?