By then, the shy 18-year-old had been posting videos on YouTube for five years, from his mother’s home in North Carolina, without getting much attention.
His mother urged him to go to college, but Donaldson dropped out just 2 weeks after entering East Carolina University.
“That’s all I remember about school.
After Donaldson dropped out of school, his mother was so disappointed that she kicked him out of the house.
However, his passion paid off.
Seven years later, Donaldson, who is famous online as MrBeast, has 167 million YouTube subscribers, more than any other content creator on the platform.
MrBeast also has 85 million followers on TikTok and 39 million followers on Instagram.
At the age of 25, MrBeast is the boss of a rapidly growing empire, valued at more than $1 billion.
He created it by staging increasingly expensive and eye-catching stunts, along with generous gifts of cash and philanthropy, such as funding cataract surgeries that helped 1,000 people.
“I just want to make better videos.
Most of MrBeast’s action videos begin with Donaldson briefly explaining the setting in the first few seconds before launching into a series of fast-paced stunts, pranks, and challenges.
He was surrounded by a supportive group of friends, all of whom were dressed in jeans, t-shirts, and hoodies.
In a clip made last year, Donaldson tied an FBI agent to a chair, threw him a knife and offered him $100,000 if the agent could catch him before midnight.
Sara Fischer, a media reporter for Axios, said Donaldson’s authenticity and approachability make MrBeast’s videos appealing.
“He wasn’t wearing a suit but was wearing regular clothes.
In one video, Donaldson visits luxury hotel rooms around the world, including one in a castle that rents for $1 million a night.
“It’s an interesting approach, because he exposes viewers to things they would never see in real life,” Fischer said.
Some videos are about ostentatious displays of wealth, like flying with the most expensive ticket in the world.
Despite his growing income and popularity, MrBeast and his friends still show surprise and excitement with all of their adventures – without being rude or servile, making him easy to come by.
Last year, MrBeast attracted a surge in subscribers, after he staged a real-life version of “Squid Game,” the hit Netflix series in which desperate people compete in
As his popularity increases, the amount of money MrBeast uses also increases.
In a January video titled `1,000 blind people see for the first time,` Donaldson stood next to doctors and pledged to cure blindness to loud applause.
“Here’s $10,000 to make your life better,” he told a woman, making her extremely emotional.
In another video, he bought prosthetic limbs for more than 2,000 disabled people.
Some people criticize Donaldson for taking advantage of vulnerable people to earn videos and sponsorship money.
Donaldson just wants viewers to watch his videos and be entertained, instead of donating their time or money.
According to Mr. Miller, Mr.Beast’s formula for success includes a number of factors: Popular appeal and enthusiasm, high-risk action sequences, and wads of money thrown out like confetti.
Miller attributes Donaldson’s popularity to his unique form of philanthropy.
“The fact that he repurposes a large portion of the income he earns from his videos into even bigger and grander prizes for his next videos is one of the secrets to his success.
Through the charity channel Beast Philanthropy, which has nearly 15 million subscribers, Donaldson has raised millions of dollars to plant trees, clean plastic waste in the ocean and donate clothes to the needy.
In previous interviews, Donaldson said he carefully studied the recommendation algorithms of YouTube and other creators to find the formula that makes his videos popular.
The contest structure in Donaldson’s videos encourages viewers to stay until the end to see the results, which results in higher advertising revenue for both Donaldson and YouTube, causing the platform’s algorithm to regularly recommend videos
To date, Donaldson is overseeing five YouTube channels with a total of more than a quarter of a billion followers.
Google, YouTube’s parent company, declined to say how much money Donaldson makes from such content, but Guinness says he holds the record for YouTube’s highest-earning content contributor.
Donaldson operates a sprawling $10 million studio complex near Greenville, with 100 acres of land and multiple warehouses for video shoots.
Donaldson will even go back to college, his way.
Last November, Eastern Carolina University announced that it would cooperate with him to implement an educational program on digital content creation in the school.
In April this year, he taught at Harvard Business School.
Last year, Time magazine included Donaldson in its list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
But in a recent interview, Donaldson said fame also has its downsides.
While stopping in Chile last year, Donaldson agreed to take a selfie with a young fan at the airport.
Even so, Donaldson said he is still extremely passionate about what he does.
“I will continue for another 10 years and I love it more than anything.
Source: CNN