Earned 64.1 Billion Won to Become World's No.1... New 'YouTube Revenue King' Also Gaining Fame in Korea

Content of the live-action version of "Squid Game" by YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson, well known as "MrBeast."
[Photo by YouTube channel "MrBeast"]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seoyoung Kwon] YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson, better known as 'MrBeast,' reportedly earned $54 million (approximately 64.1 billion KRW) last year through YouTube, making him one of the highest earners worldwide.

On the 14th (local time), the British BBC reported that according to the ranking of the top 10 highest-earning YouTubers worldwide by the American business magazine Forbes, Jimmy Donaldson, who has about 87 million subscribers, recorded the highest income. Jimmy Donaldson is a YouTuber popular for his experiential content, and last year, he gained global attention?not only in Korea?by renting a stadium that could accommodate around 80,000 spectators to recreate the Netflix Korean original series 'Ojingeo Geim' (Squid Game) in real life.

Jimmy Donaldson overtook 11-year-old toy YouTuber Ryan Kaji, who had held the number one spot in YouTube earnings for the past two years, to claim the top position. The total views of his videos last year exceeded 10 billion, and his earnings reached $54 million. This amount is estimated to be higher than the average annual salary of a typical Wall Street CEO.

Additionally, YouTuber Jake Paul, known for his combat sports content, ranked second with $45 million, marking his first appearance on the list since 2018. His brother Logan, who is also engaged in boxing challenges, earned $18 million and ranked ninth for the first time since 2017. Nathan Graham, known as 'Unspeakable,' who has posted videos mining cryptocurrency for 10 years, earned $28.5 million, placing fifth.

Meanwhile, YouTube trends expert Chris Stokel-Walker pointed out that most of the YouTubers on the list are white males, commenting, "I realized how stale YouTube has become. I was shocked." In fact, the only female YouTuber to make it into the top 10 was seven-year-old Russian YouTuber Nastya, who gained popularity through toy content and music videos and earned $28 million.

However, the number of views on each YouTuber's videos did not directly translate to income. It was analyzed that many YouTubers earned money through brand partnerships, sponsorship contracts, and merchandise sales. Because of this, even though non-English videos accounted for about two-thirds of all content, English-speaking creators were relatively more represented among those who earned large sums of money.