Donaldson began posting videos to YouTube in 2012 at age 13[9], under the handle "MrBeast6000"; his early content ranged from Let's Plays to "videos estimating the wealth of other YouTubers".[10] However, his videos remained in relative obscurity — averaging around a thousand views each – until the release of his 2017 "counting to 100,000" video that earned tens of thousands of views in just a few days.[10] As of December 2019, Donaldson has over 28 million subscribers on YouTube and is managed by the Dallas-based talent management company Night Media.[9]

Content and style

Donaldson's videos typically feature "attention-grabbing stunts". He often makes videos on donating thousands of dollars to Twitch streamers, many of these videos being sponsored (although he has donated without a sponsor in the past).[11][failed verification] In January 2017, Donaldson published an almost day-long video of himself counting to 100,000. The stunt took him 40 hours, with some parts sped up to "keep it under 24 hours".[12] A subsequent video titled "Counting to 200,000 (Road to a Mil)" was uploaded the next month, although, according to Donaldson, it too, had to be sped up because the full fifty-five hours of counting exceeded YouTube's upload limit.[13] Additionally, Donaldson has tried to break glass using a hundred megaphones, watched paint dry for an hour,[11] and unsuccessfully and successfully attempted to spin a fidget spinner for a day, although the footage is gone.[14] In March 2019, he organised and filmed a real-life battle royale competition in Los Angeles with a prize of $200,000.[15]

Several videos involve giving away large sums of money[16][17] such as giving $100,000 worth of items to homeless shelters in December 2018,[18] donating $32,000 to the Veterans Army Wounded Warrior Program, $70,000 to Saint Jude Children's Research Hospital, and $10,000 to a local animal shelter in Los Angeles.[19] During PewDiePie vs T-Series, a competition to become the most-subscribed channel on YouTube, Donaldson bought billboards and radio advertisements to help PewDiePie gain more subscribers than T-Series;[5] at the Super Bowl LIII, he bought multiple seats with occupants whose shirts spelled out, "Sub 2 PewDiePie".[20][21]

Team Trees

Main article: Team Trees

On October 25, 2019 at 19:00 UTC, Donaldson and former NASA engineer and YouTuber Mark Rober organised a collaborative fundraising challenge event on YouTube called #TeamTrees. The goal of this project was to raise $20 million for the Arbor Day Foundation by January 1, 2020 and plant trees "no later than December 2022". In exchange, the organization would plant one tree for each dollar raised. Every donation goes to the Arbor Day Foundation which pledges to plant one tree for every dollar. Notable YouTubers such as Rhett & Link, Marshmello, iJustine, Marques Brownlee, The Slow Mo Guys, Ninja, Simone Giertz, Jacksepticeye, Smarter Every Day brought attention to this idea. Trees will begin to be planted in January 2020 in national parks of the United States.[22][23] By the 24 hour mark of the 67-day project, nearly $4 million had been donated.[24] On December 19 of that year, the $20,000,000 goal was surpassed.[25] The project has also received large donations from corporate executives Jack Dorsey, Susan Wojcicki, Elon Musk,[26], and Tobias Lütke.[27]

Personal life

Donaldson was born on May 7, 1998.[28] He resides in Greenville, North Carolina, and graduated from the Greenville Christian Academy in 2016.[11] According to Newsweek, Donaldson dropped out of college in order to pursue a full-time career as a YouTuber.[10] During an online interview with Keemstar, Donaldson said that he has Crohn's disease.[29] He has an older brother named CJ Donaldson, who owns a channel named "MrBro".[30]

Awards and nominations

References

1. ^ MrBeast [@MrBeastYT] (May 7, 2019). "I'm going give someone random who retweets this tweet $10,000 because it's my birthday and I feel like being nice (you have to be following me so I can dm you the code if you win)" (Tweet). Retrieved January 24, 2020– via Twitter.
2. ^ MrBeast [@MrBeastYT] (April 16, 2019). "My 21st birthday is coming up and I can't wait to celebrate it in Las Vegas by gambling an unhealthy amount of money" (Tweet). Retrieved January 24, 2020 – via Twitter.
3. ^ MrBeast (October 19, 2019). "Last To Take Hand Off Boat, Keeps It". Retrieved January 24, 2020 – via YouTube.
4. ^ "MrBeast6000 YouTube Stats, Channel Statistics - Socialblade.com". SocialBlade. February 23, 2017. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
5. ^ Jump up to:a b Griffin, Louise (November 28, 2018). "Inside the world of Mr Beast, the YouTuber helping PewDiePie keep his top spot". Metro. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
6. ^ 100,000 SUBSCRIBERS.EXE, retrieved November 13, 2019
7. ^ Jump up to:a b "MrBeast's YouTube stats". Social Blade.
8. ^ Leskin, Paige (December 12, 2019). "21-year-old YouTuber MrBeast was one of the most-viewed YouTube creators in 2019 — check out how he got his start and found success with elaborate stunts and giveaways". Business Insider. Retrieved January 24,2020.
9. ^ Jump up to:a b "Night Media Signs Top Influencer, "MrBeast"". Business Wire. January 23, 2019.
10. ^ Jump up to:a b c Asarch, Steven (April 2, 2019). "How YouTuber MrBeast Pulled Off a Real-life Battle Royale in three Weeks". Newsweek.
11. ^ Jump up to:a b c Wanbaugh, Taylor (July 30, 2018). "Greenville YouTuber MrBeast racks up millions of views". Business North Carolina.
12. ^ Farquhar, Peter (January 12, 2017). "Millions of people watched YouTuber 'MrBeast' count to 100,000". Business Insider.
13. ^ MrBeast (February 17, 2017). "Counting To 200,000 (Road To A Mil)". YouTube. Event occurs at[time needed]. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
14. ^ Grasso, Samantha (May 28, 2017). "Watch these YouTubers attempt to break a fidget spinner record". Daily Dot.
15. ^ "MrBeast Hosts Real-life Battle Royale Tournament". Associated Press. March 14, 2019.
16. ^ Lorenz, Taylor (May 24, 2018). "'YouTube's Biggest Philanthropist' Has a History of Homophobic Comments". The Atlantic.
17. ^ Palmer, Ewan (October 22, 2018). "Who is MrBeast? North Carolina Server tipped $10,000 for two drinks by YouTube star". Newsweek.
18. ^ "Giving $100,000 To A Homeless Person". YouTube. December 23, 2018. Event occurs at[time needed].
19. ^ "Donating $100,000 To Shroud In Real Life". Event occurs at[time needed].
20. ^ "YouTubers MrBeast, Jake Paul spotted at Sup Dogs". The East Carolinian. February 5, 2019.
21. ^ Hamilton, Isabel Asher (February 4, 2019). "PewDiePie's war with T-Series hit the Super Bowl, as YouTuber Mr Beast turned up to the game with 'Sub 2 PewDiePie' shirts". Business Insider.
22. ^ Alexander, Julia (October 25, 2019). "MrBeast partners with more than 600 YouTubers, including PewDiePie and MKBHD, to plant 20 million trees". The Verge. Archivedfrom the original on October 28, 2019. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
23. ^ Tenbarge, Ken (October 27, 2019). "Here's why the top YouTubers from all corners of the platform are talking about planting 20 million trees for #TeamTrees". Insider Inc.Retrieved October 30, 2019.
24. ^ Amos, Andrew. "MrBeast's Team Trees smash $20 million goal with days to spar". Dexerto. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
25. ^ "TeamTrees". www.facebook.com. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
26. ^ Williams, David (October 30, 2019). "YouTube star MrBeast wants to plant 20 million trees. Elon Musk, Jack Dorsey, and more are helping him do it". CNN. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
27. ^ Leskin, Paige (November 10, 2019). "A YouTuber launched a viral campaign to plant 20 million trees by 2020. Here's the list of prominent people who have donated, including Elon Musk, Jeffree Star, and other tech CEOs and YouTube personalities". BusinessInsider.com. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
28. ^ MrBeast (May 7, 2016). "18th Birthday QNA - Mom's Hair Dryer Age?". YouTube. Event occurs at[time needed]. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
29. ^ MrBeast Fake Videos? #DramaAlert MrBeast (INTERVIEW!) Deji Interrupts!, April 5, 2018, event occurs at[time needed], retrieved November 6, 2018
30. ^ "MrBro". YouTube. Event occurs at[time needed]. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
31. ^ "MR. BEAST Nominated in VLOGGER OF THE YEAR". Shorty Awards. Retrieved March 7, 2019.