Who Is MrBeast? The Story of the Biggest YouTuber in the World (2024)

Few content creators attain viral success, and even fewer maintain it. But this isn't the case with MrBeast—the biggest YouTuber in the world. MrBeast cracked the code to rack up millions of views, likes, comments, and subscribers. Everyone wants to know how he did it. Let's find out.

Who Is MrBeast?

Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, is the biggest YouTuber in the world at just 24 years old. He understands the benefits of having multiple YouTube channels, as all his content rakes in millions. Still, his main channel is one of the best YouTube channels you should watch next.

MrBeast hails from Greenville, North Carolina. He dropped out of university to focus on his YouTube career. He reportedly told his mother he'd rather be poor than pursue anything outside of YouTube.

Thanks to his success on YouTube, MrBeast has added more notches to his belt, including "entrepreneur." In 2020, he joined forces with art collective MSCHF to launch Finger on the App—a one-time multiplier mobile game in which participants played for hours to win their share of the $20,000 prize.

Later that year, he ventured into the food business by launching MrBeast Burger restaurants. His restaurants are available in more than 1,000 locations across the US and UK.

A philanthropist too, MrBeast's charity organization—Beast Philanthropy—provides support to the homeless, hungry, and poverty-stricken.

How MrBeast Started His Career

Like many other successful YouTubers, MrBeast's career has been years in the making. He started his channel in 2012. Back then, he went by the username MrBeast6000 and was essentially shooting in the dark. He didn't initially know the basics of starting a YouTube channel, like choosing a niche audience for your YouTube channel.

At the time, much of his content was arbitrary and revolved around gaming. He didn't seem to give his thumbnails and video titles much thought. MrBeast slowly started to post content around other YouTubers, like estimating how much money YouTubers make.

But a different kind of video propelled his channel to new heights. In 2017, MrBeast posted a video in which he counted to 100,000. The video went viral, and he has enjoyed viral success since.

His content varies, but most of it includes massive stunts and philanthropic efforts. And he doesn't do it alone—he has a team that helps make his channel successful, unlike when he first started.

How MrBeast Became the Most Popular YouTuber in the World

When a creator achieves as much success as MrBeast has, everyone wants to know how they did it. MrBeast tried his hand at a variety of content until he found what worked. Here's why we think he's the world's most popular YouTuber:

1. He Used Trending Topics

Gaming culture is huge in the online space, and YouTube has, for years, offered the gaming community a platform to connect. According to Think with Google, 65% of gamers on YouTube connect with the gaming community there. MrBeast leveraged this by posting tons of content around Minecraft, Call of Duty, and other popular games.

2. MrBeast Has a Deep Understanding of How YouTube Works

All those initial years trying different strategies resulted in learnings that helped MrBeast crack the YouTube algorithm. His first viral YouTube video had 27 million views at the time of writing.

Viewers enjoyed watching MrBeast do the same activity for an extended amount of time. So, to keep the momentum going, he continued to post similar monotony-themed videos.

MrBeast capitalized on another crucial element that made viewers watch his videos: adding numbers to the titles. Be it counting to 100,000 or saying "Pewdiepie" 100,000 times, this years-long effective marketing trick never fails.

It's not surprising that most of MrBeast's high-performing videos include numbers. In marketing, great blog titles, email subject lines, and titles for other forms of written content typically contain numbers. This works for YouTube video titles too, and it has worked MrBeast.

MrBeast learned that cash-involved videos perform well on YouTube. His "last person to" challenges and cash donation videos have hundreds of millions of views.

Overall, MrBeast makes sure his titles, thumbnails, and editing are all on point, or else he won't release a video. He aims to grab your attention in the first minute of his YouTube video intros by telling you what to expect, keeping you hooked.

But it took him time to figure this out. His content has come a long way since he first started. And the evolution of his videos is evident when you scroll down his YouTube page.

3. MrBeast Uploads Outlandish Content

Of all the things MrBeast is known for, his crazy, out-of-this-world stunts are at the top. Some of the popular videos include driving through the same drive-thru 1,000 times and spending 50 hours buried alive.

One of his most-watched videos is a real-life Squid Game with a $456,000 reward. At the time of writing, the video has 376 million views.

Outlandish content like stunts and pranks generally performs well on YouTube. In fact, many YouTubers became famous because of a viral prank or stunt video. That's why creators go to great lengths to produce the next viral hit.

MrBeast is no exception, but his stunts don't come cheap. In a 2022 interview with Colin and Samir, he revealed that he sometimes spends $4-5 million on videos in one month. But that's no problem. He admits he doesn't care about money; he just wants to be a YouTuber. His main goal is to make the best videos possible.

4. He Has a Human Touch to His Content

MrBeast's crazy videos get people going, but his philanthropic ones also get a lot of attention. In February 2023, MrBeast trended for "healing the blind." At least, that's how the media put it. In reality, he sponsored 1,000 people's cataract surgeries to help them see clearly again.

MrBeast also donated $100,000 to See—the organization he partnered with for the surgeries. He threw in $10,000 for each patient for good measure, a Tesla for one patient, and $50,000 toward another patient's college tuition.

As with all online content showing philanthropic efforts, this viral video was met with much criticism. Many viewers took to social media to accuse MrBeast of trading his kindness for views. Some even called him evil for recording people in need for his YouTube channel.

MrBeast has been posting this kind of content for years. Below are some examples of the philanthropic videos he has posted on his channel:

Even though such videos stir up controversy, the surrounding conversations lead to more views, which helps MrBeast's channel grow. Evidently, people don't have to agree with his content to watch it.

5. MrBeast Made Different Content

Except for gaming-related videos, much of MrBeast's content is unique. Not many YouTubers were posting counting videos or reading the dictionary in one sitting around the time he started doing it.

Many of the unique videos the creator posts involve circles, like challenges to see who can stay in one the longest to win a cash prize. Others challenges involve the potential to win big-ticket items, like a house or Lamborghini. His "last person to take their hand off" challenges are one such example.

MrBeast’s Recipe for YouTube Success

Growing a YouTube channel is no easy feat—much less becoming the best YouTuber in the world—MrBeast has done it. His tunnel vision, years of research, larger-than-life stunts, and acts of kindness are some key ingredients in his secret sauce. Overall, he fundamentally wants to produce the best YouTube videos. And because of his commitment, he is.

Who Is MrBeast? The Story of the Biggest YouTuber in the World (2024)
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