MrBeast, the top YouTuber in the world by number of subscribers, is reportedly in talks to raise hundreds of millions of dollars in a fundraising round that would give his company a $5 billion valuation.
The 26-year-old YouTuber, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, has talked to multiple financial firms and wealthy individuals about possible investments, according to a Bloomberg report released on Wednesday. It isn’t clear yet who will invest because talks are in their preliminary stages.
Related: MrBeast Says He Lost ‘Tens of Millions of Dollars’ on His Hit Amazon Reality TV Show ‘Beast Games’
Donaldson is reportedly raising money to found a holding company or a parent company that owns and controls his various businesses, including the chocolate brand Feastables, the snack business Lunchly, and his video production company. According to Bloomberg’s sources, Donaldson’s businesses are already profitable, generating more than $400 million in combined sales last year.
Donaldson has raised money in the past for his companies. For example, the YouTuber launched Feastables in January 2022, raising $5 million in the same month for the company at a $50 million valuation.
Lunchly, which Donaldson launched in September 2024, has yet to raise a funding round.
It is unclear what the total value of Donaldson’s businesses is, or how much money he has raised overall to date to help fund them.
Jimmy Donaldson. Photo by Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images
Who Is MrBeast?
Jimmy Donaldson, 26, is best known for his YouTube channel, which he started in 2012. He gained popularity for his high-budget, attention-capturing videos that racked up hundreds of millions of views and earned him 368 million subscribers at the time of writing.
His most popular videos include “$456,000 Squid Game In Real Life!” which has over 750 million views and “Last To Leave Circle Wins $500,000” with nearly 500 million views.
He created “Beast Games,” his Amazon Prime-exclusive game show, with a $100 million budget, and noted on a “Diary of a CEO” podcast episode released earlier this month, that the show went over budget, and he spent “tens of millions” of dollars of his own money to make up the difference.
His efforts paid off: Beast Games became Amazon’s most-watched unscripted show ever, with 50 million viewers in 25 days. The final episode of the first season aired on February 13. Donaldson told Bartlett that the show is still receiving 700,000 new viewers every day.
Related: MrBeast Has Grown Up. He Thinks His YouTube Videos Should Too.
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Sherin Shibu