MrBeast

James Stephen Donaldson was born in Wichita, Kansas, on May 7, 1998, and grew up mainly in Greenville, North Carolina. His parents served in the U.S. military; his mother is Susan Parisher. Jimmy is his commonly used name.⁠[1]

At thirteen, he began posting videos on YouTube as MrBeast6000, including early gaming content such as Minecraft. He later told WIRED that the account name originated from an automatically generated Xbox Live username in childhood; he subsequently removed the numerical suffix.⁠[1][6]

He graduated from Greenville Christian Academy in 2016 and enrolled at Pitt Community College that fall, leaving midway through his first semester to focus on making videos. The News & Observer confirmed his enrollment for that semester with the college.⁠[7]

He did not attend East Carolina University. The university told the same publication that it had no record of his enrolling or applying. His later educational partnership with ECU was a separate undertaking.⁠[7]

In January 2017, he published a long video counting from one to one hundred thousand, attracting widespread attention. It marked a turning point in his career. Expensive challenges, prizes and giveaways increasingly defined his channel, and he moved out of his mother’s home once video income could support him.⁠[8]

According to the provenance recorded by Heritage Auctions, Donaldson sought a distinctive big-cat emblem to replace a generic online image. An artist produced a pencil concept during an approximately ten-minute discussion with the design team, and he approved it. The auction house dated the sketch to circa 2018 and specified that its later sale conveyed the physical artwork, without intellectual-property rights to the logo.⁠[9]

On October 25, he and Mark Rober launched TeamTrees in response to fans’ suggestions for celebrating twenty million subscribers, partnering with the Arbor Day Foundation to fund tree planting. The campaign reached its $20 million fundraising target on December 19; partner organizations organized the planting.⁠[5]

In 2020, he partnered with Virtual Dining Concepts to launch MrBeast Burger, with partner restaurant kitchens preparing delivery meals. This virtual-brand model allowed expansion through existing restaurants while placing food preparation and quality control in the partner network.⁠[10]

He also developed Beast Philanthropy as a charitable organization and content operation. The 501(c)(3) nonprofit supports food assistance, healthcare, disaster relief and education. Its website identifies Donaldson as founder and board chair and states that the charitable channel’s content revenue supports philanthropy.⁠[11]

He founded Beast Industries in 2021, extending the audience built through videos into consumer products and other businesses. Its growth connected content, merchandise and commercial partnerships, while large production costs were difficult to cover through advertising revenue alone.⁠[2]

In October, he again partnered with Mark Rober to launch TeamSeas, supporting The Ocean Cleanup and Ocean Conservancy in removing trash from rivers, oceans and beaches, with funds divided equally between the organizations. In July 2024, partners announced that more than thirty-four million pounds of trash had been removed, exceeding the original thirty-million-pound goal.⁠[12]

On January 29, he launched Feastables, initially selling MrBeast Bar chocolate. As founder, Donaldson led its creative direction and recruited former RxBar president Jim Murray to guide business strategy, incubating the brand with the team at his then-management company, Night.⁠[3]

Initial sales used the company’s website, e-commerce and on-demand delivery, promoted through sweepstakes and videos. The brand extended his business beyond video advertising and merchandise into packaged foods.⁠[3]

In November, he became YouTube’s most-subscribed individual creator, with the channel continuing to expand internationally.⁠[4]

On November 16, East Carolina University announced a partnership to develop online microcredentials for the creator industry, including video production and editing. Local reporting in June 2025 found the project’s webpage inaccessible and no announced start date, so this remained an announced educational partnership.⁠[13][7]

Early in 2023, he partnered with SEE International to support cataract surgeries. In February, the organization said initial procedures took place in Jacksonville, Florida, followed by coordinated programs in several countries that completed one thousand sight-restoring surgeries in three weeks. A video documented patients receiving treatment.⁠[14]

On July 31, he sued Virtual Dining Concepts, alleging failures to ensure MrBeast Burger’s food quality and seeking to end the partnership. On August 7, the partner separately sued Donaldson and Beast Investments, alleging breach of contract and interference with business and claiming damages exceeding $100 million. These were the parties’ respective litigation positions.⁠[10][15]

In December, Viewstats, the YouTube analytics tool he cofounded with Chucky Appleby, entered public beta. It analyzes channel and video performance and later introduced paid creator tools for finding unusually successful videos, tracking competitors, searching thumbnails and organizing inspiration.⁠[16][17]

Jeff Housenbold joined the company’s management during this period. According to Digiday’s later interviews with the business, he joined in May 2024 and became chief executive in September, subsequently introducing human-resources systems, training, anonymous feedback and budget controls.⁠[18]

On September 16, Donaldson, Logan PaulLogan PaulLogan Paul is an American content creator, professional wrestler and entrepreneur who rose to prominence on Vine and YouTube. He co-founded PRIME and Lunchly and co-hosts IMPAULSIVE. He has held WWE’s United States and World Tag Team championships and has worked in boxing and collectible cards.Open the full entry and KSI launched Lunchly, a portable-meal brand combining Feastables chocolate and PRIME drinks.⁠[19]

In June 2024, MrBeast became YouTube’s most-subscribed channel overall. Unlike the individual-creator record achieved in 2022, this comparison included institutionally operated channels across the platform.⁠[4]

In September, five anonymous Beast Games contestants sued associated production companies and Amazon, alleging inadequate food, rest, medical care and sanitation, as well as sexual harassment and other issues. Donaldson’s representatives and Amazon declined comment when NPR reported the case that month. The allegations concerned production conditions and were not established court findings.⁠[20]

In November, the company released findings from an investigation it commissioned from Quinn Emanuel. The law firm said it found no basis for the most serious sexual-misconduct allegations but identified isolated workplace problems; the company said it had dismissed several employees. These were commissioned internal-investigation findings, not a judicial ruling.⁠[21][22]

The competition series Beast Games, which he co-created and hosted, premiered on Prime Video on December 19. Its first season featured one thousand contestants and a grand prize eventually increased to $10 million. Amazon renewed it for second and third seasons in May 2025.⁠[23]

He met South African author and content creator Thea Booysen in South Africa in 2022. They became engaged on Christmas Day in 2024, with their families present.⁠[24]

In August, he launched TeamWater with Mark Rober and WaterAid. The campaign raised more than $40 million in thirty-one days to build and improve water infrastructure, aiming to provide two million people with long-term access to clean water. WaterAid later reported implementation progress in countries including Cambodia and Rwanda while noting that achieving the full beneficiary target would take time.⁠[25][26]

On September 18, BBB National Programs’ CARU recommended improvements to MrBeastYouTube and Feastables’ advertising identification, sweepstakes disclosures and collection of children’s information. The companies disputed some conclusions, said certain practices had already changed or stopped, and said they would consider the recommendations. This was an industry self-regulatory review.⁠[27]

The second season of Beast Games debuted on Prime Video on January 7. On February 9, Beast Industries announced its acquisition of financial-technology company Step, adding financial education and money-management services.⁠[28][29]

Bitmine announced a $200 million equity investment in Beast Industries, the company Donaldson founded, with closing then expected around January 19. Chief executive Jeff Housenbold said the funds would support the entertainment brand’s expansion and discussed exploring decentralized-finance features for a financial-services platform under development. The transaction was an equity investment in the company.⁠[30]

On March 23, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote to Donaldson and Beast Industries CEO Jeff Housenbold about youth financial services and potential cryptocurrency activities following the Step acquisition, raising consumer-protection and data-security questions. The letter was an oversight inquiry, not a finding of wrongdoing.⁠[31]

Former employee Lorrayne Mavromatis sued MrBeastYouTube, LLC and GameChanger 24/7, LLC in federal court in North Carolina, alleging infringement of maternity-leave rights and workplace gender bias. Beast Industries denied the allegations and said her role had been eliminated in a team restructuring. These were litigation allegations and the company’s response, not judicial findings.⁠[32]

On June 12, YouTube confirmed MrBeast as the first individual creator to reach five hundred million subscribers, and he held a celebratory livestream that day. The milestone measured his main channel’s subscriptions, distinct from cross-platform followers or viewers across all channels.⁠[4][33]

MrBeast ranked first on ForbesForbesForbes is an American business media brand that began with Forbes magazine, founded by B.C. Forbes in 1917. It is known for rankings such as the Forbes 400, the World’s Billionaires list and 30 Under 30, and operates Forbes.com, ForbesLive events and licensed editions in 81 countries. Since 2014 a majority stake has been held by the Hong Kong investment group Integrated Whale Media; a 2021 plan to list on the New York Stock Exchange through a special purpose acquisition company was terminated in 2022. It is headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey.Open the full entry’ 2026 Top Creators list, with estimated earnings of $300 million. The list estimated gross earnings from March 2025 through March 2026, excluding equity stakes in public and private companies; rankings also considered cross-platform following, engagement and entrepreneurship. Its methodology differed from YouTube subscriber rankings and did not rank personal net worth.⁠[34]

In July, he and Thea Booysen held a private wedding on Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands and announced their marriage on Instagram. Reporting on July 22 confirmed that they had married in a ceremony attended by friends and family.⁠[24]

MrBeast and James Patterson coauthored the thriller The Most Dangerous Games, extending survival-competition themes into fiction. Set in a world nearing collapse, it follows one hundred contestants competing for a billion-dollar prize and a chance to save humanity amid harsh environments and successive challenges. HarperCollins’ English hardcover edition was published on September 1, 2026, with 480 pages and ISBN 9780008802851. Its competition is fictional.⁠[35]

On September 2, GoogleGoogleGoogle is an American technology company founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin and incorporated in 1998. It became an Alphabet subsidiary in 2015. Its businesses include internet search, advertising, software platforms, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence.Open the full entry announced a multiyear partnership with Beast Industries, expanding the existing YouTube relationship to Gemini and Google Health. Plans included AI-assisted content development and demonstrations of health-related products. Announced videos and promotional arrangements were not necessarily all completed by the announcement date.⁠[36]

Logan Paul stated on his X account that he had purchased the original MrBeast logo sketch for $7,320, describing it as part of Donaldson’s early brand history. His statement concerned a physical collectible, rather than a valuation of the MrBeast brand.⁠[37]

Greenville Christian Academy: High school, graduated in 2016. Official website: https://www.greenvillechristian.com/ (opens in a new window)⁠[38]

Pitt Community College: Brief enrollment in fall 2016. Official website: https://pittcc.edu/ (opens in a new window)⁠[39]

Beast Industries: Founder; company information and recruitment. Official website: https://www.mrbeastjobs.com/ (opens in a new window)⁠[40]

Feastables: Packaged-food brand he founded. Official website: https://feastables.com/ (opens in a new window)⁠[41]

Beast Philanthropy: Founder and board chair. Official website: https://www.beastphilanthropy.org/ (opens in a new window)⁠[11]

Viewstats: Cofounded creator tools. Official website: https://www.viewstats.com/info (opens in a new window)⁠[17]

Lunchly: Brand launched with Logan Paul and KSI. Official website: https://lunchly.com/ (opens in a new window)⁠[42]

YouTube: MrBeast’s main personal channel. Official link: https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast (opens in a new window)⁠[33]

Personal X account: @MrBeast. Official link: https://x.com/MrBeast (opens in a new window)⁠[33]