MrBeast Is Looking to Raise Money at an Utterly Insane Valuation

Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, has already conquered YouTube, built a booming snack empire, and even dabbled in Hollywood-style game shows. Now, he's aiming for something even bigger: An UTTERLY INSANE valuation for his growing business empire.

The 26-year-old YouTuber is reportedly in early talks to raise hundreds of millions of dollars from investors at a $5 BILLION valuation. If he pulls it off, it be BY FAR the largest funding round ever secured by a solo content creator. It would be in the same financial stratosphere as major media companies and tech startups.

But is MrBeast Inc. really worth $5 billion? That number suggests his empire isn't just a wildly successful YouTube brand—it's an entirely new kind of media conglomerate, spanning viral content, consumer products, and even traditional television. A modern Disney, if you will. To his credit, according to the documents given to investors in this latest funding round, his businesses reportedly generated over $400 million in revenue last year. On the other hand, his costly ventures—like a self-funded Amazon Prime show that lost him tens of millions of dollars—raise serious questions about sustainability. Investors must decide: Is MrBeast building the Disney of the digital era—or is this valuation pure hype?

MrBeast and Thea Booysen (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Prime Video)

A $5 Billion Bet on the YouTube King

MrBeast's proposed $5 billion valuation is unprecedented for an individual content creator. According to people familiar with the discussions who spoke with Bloomberg recently, Donaldson has engaged multiple financial firms and wealthy individuals, though it remains to be seen if anyone will buy in at the target price.

For context, just last year the YouTuber was reportedly seeking a much smaller $150 million investment at a $1.5 billion valuation. In fact, around that time he even turned down an offer of $1 billion for his channel and businesses – saying it would take at least $10 billion to sell his entire empire. Based on those reports, in June 2024, we announced that MrBeast was officially a billionaire.

If he successfully raised money at a $5 billion valuation, what would that mean for his net worth? Let's say he's looking to sell a 10% stake in his empire at a $5 billion valuation. That would mean someone (or a group) would be investing $500 million. He would likely take a chunk of that home personally but keep the majority within the business as capital. Let's say he would put aside $200 million for himself pre-tax and keep $300 million in the business. That on its own is a fairly amazing win, but the real victory would be in the implied valuation of his remaining 80% stake. At a $5 billion valuation, an 80% would boost MrBeast's net worth to $4 BILLION. That would instantly make him one of the roughly 600 richest people in the world and the fourth richest celebrity on the planet, behind only Jami Gertz, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg.

An Expanding Business Empire

What exactly does a $5 billion "MrBeast" empire consist of? The funding round is said to be for a holding company encompassing Donaldson's various ventures. It all started with his YouTube channels, where his main channel alone boasts over 100 million subscribers. But Jimmy Donaldson has aggressively expanded into real-world businesses and product lines, creating multiple revenue streams beyond YouTube:

YouTube Content (Ads & Sponsorships): MrBeast's primary platform is still YouTube, where his videos garner hundreds of millions of views. Those views translate into ad revenue – reportedly around $4 million in a single month from YouTube ads alone – plus lucrative brand sponsorships. MrBeast earned around $90 million in 2024 (up from $54 million in 2021), much of it driven by his record-breaking viewership and high-profile sponsored giveaways.

Merchandise: Like many top creators, MrBeast sells a wide range of branded merchandise (apparel, accessories, etc.) to his fanbase. These merch sales provide a healthy supplementary income – industry analysis shows roughly half of YouTubers' earnings come from merch and other ventures beyond ad revenue. MrBeast's own merch drops and limited-edition items often sell out thanks to his millions of dedicated followers.

MrBeast Burger: Donaldson's foray into fast food was a delivery-only burger brand launched in late 2020. It saw explosive early success – over 1 million burgers sold in the first 3 months – and drew huge crowds when he opened the first physical MrBeast Burger restaurant in 2022 (thousands camped out for the grand opening). However, quality control issues emerged as the brand expanded via ghost kitchens. MrBeast has accused the partner company of serving "disgusting", inedible food that damaged his brand, and he moved to end the partnership. That legal battle has effectively put the burger venture on pause, introducing some uncertainty for this revenue stream.

Feastables (Snacks): In 2022 MrBeast launched Feastables, a line of chocolate bars and snacks, which has quickly grown into a core business. Feastables products are now available across major U.S. retailers like Walmart, Target, 7-Eleven, Albertsons, Kroger, and more. Demand has been sky-high – the bars often sell out faster than stores can restock (Donaldson even noted "most products don't have velocities like ours" when describing how quickly they fly off shelves). With new flavors and product lines (like cookies) and nationwide distribution, Feastables has become one of MrBeast's biggest revenue drivers.

Other Ventures: The creator is constantly exploring new opportunities. In 2024, he teamed up with fellow YouTubers Logan Paul and KSI to launch Lunchly, a grab-and-go meal kit marketed as a healthier Lunchables alternative. He's also expanded into traditional entertainment – notably with his big-budget Amazon Prime Video game show (more on that below). Donaldson has even floated ideas like developing a mobile gaming app for his audience, signaling that no arena is off-limits for his brand expansion.

Going Prime-Time: MrBeast's Beast Games Show

MrBeast's ambition isn't limited to online platforms. In 2023, he made the leap to streaming television with an Amazon Prime Video series called "Beast Games." This big-budget game show featured the YouTuber's over-the-top challenge style adapted for a TV audience – complete with what Donaldson touted as the largest prize pool in game show history. Indeed, the first season of Beast Games gave out over $20 million in prize money and even broke more than 50 world records during filming. The series became Amazon Prime's most-watched unscripted show ever, underlining that MrBeast's massive audience is willing to follow him beyond YouTube.

However, pulling off Beast Games was enormously expensive. MrBeast has disclosed that he personally lost tens of millions of dollars producing the show – a testament to how far he'll go to create headline-grabbing content. This willingness to reinvest profits for scale is a double-edged sword: it fuels huge growth in viewership and brand reach, but it also means traditional profitability can take a backseat. The Amazon venture elevated his profile and proved the viability of his brand in mainstream entertainment, but it also showed that even at his scale, turning a profit on such endeavors isn't guaranteed.

Weighing the $5 Billion Valuation: Promise and Pitfalls

Is MrBeast's empire really worth $5 billion? On one hand, the numbers behind his business are extraordinary. With $400+ million in revenue last year and solid profitability, MrBeast Inc. is already the size of a mid-market company – and it's growing at a blistering pace. Few brands have the kind of cross-platform dominance that MrBeast does, spanning YouTube content, viral consumer products, and even mainstream TV. Investors eyeing his company are essentially betting on the future of a new media-consumer hybrid: part production studio, part merchandise empire, part food brand. Given his over 200 million combined subscribers across channels and the rabid fan engagement that sells out products in stores, one could argue that MrBeast's reach is unparalleled and still expanding.

However, a $5 billion valuation also assumes a lot of future upside – and comes with plenty of caveats. A significant concern is the "key man" risk: the entire brand is built around Jimmy Donaldson himself. His relentless work ethic and persona drive the content engine; if he were to burn out or face controversy, the whole enterprise could stall. Additionally, his strategy of pouring massive resources into projects for growth (as seen with the expensive Beast Games show) means profit margins are thinner than typical companies of this scale. An outside investor might worry when hearing Donaldson openly admit he reinvests most earnings into bigger stunts and prizes.

There's also evidence that not every MrBeast venture will be a guaranteed win. The MrBeast Burger saga is a cautionary tale – rapid expansion with a partner led to quality issues that tarnished the brand's image and resulted in dueling lawsuits. That kind of turbulence could give investors pause, since it shows the risks of scaling a personal brand into areas outside its core expertise. MrBeast has since tried to course-correct by pulling back from the burger business, but the incident highlights execution risks in his expansion.

All that said, Donaldson's track record of viral success and his deep connection with a young global audience are exactly what make the $5 billion bet tempting. In an era where traditional entertainment struggles to capture Gen-Z attention, MrBeast has cracked the code on engagement – and monetization – in a way few (if any) others have. If he can continue to translate that influence into profitable businesses (and perhaps dial back on self-funded extravagance as needed), the sky could be the limit. The proposed funding round itself suggests that major investors see this potential. It remains to be seen whether they'll agree that MrBeast's fast-growing empire is truly worth "utterly insane" money, but either way, Jimmy Donaldson is clearly aiming to build something far bigger than just YouTube fame.