MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson)

Jimmy Donaldson, known worldwide as MrBeast, is the most-subscribed individual YouTuber in history and a pioneering entrepreneur who has redefined what a creator-led business empire can look like. Born in Wichita, Kansas and raised in Greenville, North Carolina, Donaldson began uploading YouTube videos at age 13 in 2012 and spent years obsessively studying the platform's algorithm and what makes videos go viral.

His breakthrough came in 2017 with a video counting to 100,000, which went viral and established his pattern of extreme, attention-grabbing content. From there, MrBeast became known for increasingly ambitious stunts and philanthropic challenges — giving away millions of dollars, buying entire car dealerships, recreating Squid Game with real cash prizes, and organizing massive environmental projects like planting 20 million trees through the #TeamTrees initiative and removing 30 million pounds of trash from oceans through #TeamSeas.

By the mid-2020s, MrBeast's YouTube channels collectively had over 300 million subscribers, and his videos routinely reached hundreds of millions of views. But Donaldson's ambitions extended far beyond YouTube. He launched Feastables, a chocolate and snack brand that generated over $500 million in annual revenue; MrBeast Burger, a virtual restaurant concept operating in over 1,000 locations; and Beast Philanthropy, a nonprofit that operates food pantries and funds community projects. Forbes estimated his net worth at $1 billion by 2025, making him the first YouTuber to reach billionaire status. His business model — reinvesting virtually all profits back into bigger videos and larger philanthropic efforts — has created an entirely new template for the creator economy.