It was only a matter of time before a major company like Amazon Prime Video attempted to court the uncrowned king of YouTube: MrBeast.
Ever since he discovered the “formula” behind viral content, the 25-year-old multihyphenate (real name: Jimmy Donaldson) has existed synonymously with a captive audience in the hundreds of millions. One that’s generated over 60 billion views to date.
Now, Amazon is reportedly looking to acquire some of this aforementioned audience at a hefty premium of $100 million.
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According to Deadline, while details are still very much under wraps — and nobody has cared to publicly comment just yet — the deal involves an unscripted competition series. For the uninitiated: high-concept competitions and giveaway challenges are something of a specialty for Donaldson and his band of merry content creators.
Amazon Prime Video’s $100 million offer is rather unsurprising when you consider MrBeast is the most subscribed individual and second most subscribed on YouTube (main channel: 234 million | combined: 372 million).
Last year, he topped Forbes’ rankings of the highest-paid content creators by pocketing a not-so-casual $82 million throughout 2023.
“With more than 300 million followers, MrBeast’s fan base is nearly as large as the US population,” read Forbes’ outline of the Kansas native.
“MrBeast’s power and popularity stem from his high production videos and stunts that include surviving in Antarctica for 50 hours and building a Wonka chocolate factory.”
“The YouTube titan, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, has used his massive clout to earn a fortune in digital ad dollars — and build a real-world empire. Beast-based brands include Feastables snack bars and the MrBeast Burgers restaurant chain, plus Donaldson’s sprawling merch line.”
But this hasn’t exactly translated to an impressive net worth. As MrBeast himself revealed during an interview with fellow YouTubers Colin & Samir, his overarching strategy involved re-investing the revenue directly into what we click/see/hear/talk about around the watercooler.
Back in 2021, Donaldson’s monthly content creation expenditure hovered in the airspace of $4 million, bringing his total annual video budget to a jaw-dropping $48 million.
Nowadays, MrBeast spends between $7 million and $8 million a month making videos across his various channels — meaning the total annual video budget has been revised to between $84 and $96 million plus.
“You go from making money, spending money to making money, losing money,” said Samir Chaudry.
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To which Jimmy Donaldson responded: “On some videos… then other videos I have to make money to make up for it,” before admitting he often finds himself in the red, if not operating on razor-thin margins.
“Once you know how to make a video go viral, it’s just about how to get as many out as possible. You can practically make unlimited money.”
Keep an eye out here for updates on the potential $100 million MrBeast x Amazon Prime Video deal.
Editor’s Note: All $$$ = USD
