Jimmy Donaldson

Biography

Donaldson grew up in Greenville, North Carolina. He began posting videos to YouTube in early 2012, at the age of 13, under the handle MrBeast6000. His early content ranged from Let's Plays to "videos estimating the wealth of other YouTubers".

 He went viral in 2017 after his "Counting to 100,000" video earned tens of thousands of views in just a few days, and he has become increasingly popular ever since, with most of his videos gaining tens of millions of views.

His videos, typically involving challenges and giveaways, became increasingly grand and extravagant. Once his channel took off, Donaldson hired some of his childhood friends to co-run the brand.

 As of 2022, the MrBeast team is made up of 30 people, including Donaldson himself. Other than MrBeast, Donaldson runs the YouTube channels Beast Reacts, MrBeast Gaming, MrBeast 2 (formerly MrBeast Shorts), and the philanthropy channel Beast Philanthropy. 

He formerly ran MrBeast 3 (initially MrBeast 2), which is now inactive. As of 2023, he is the highest-paid YouTuber and has an estimated net worth of $500 million.

Donaldson is the founder of MrBeast Burger and Feastables; and a co-creator of Team Trees, a fundraiser for the Arbor Day Foundation that has raised over $23 million; and Team Seas, a fundraiser for Ocean Conservancy and The Ocean Cleanup that has raised over $30 million.

 Donaldson won the Creator of the Year award three times at the Streamy Awards in 2020, 2021, and 2022; he also won the Favorite Male Creator award twice at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards in 2022 and 2023. 

That same year, Time magazine named him as one of the world's 100 most influential people.

Donaldson describes himself as an introvert. Donaldson admits to having difficulty maintaining a social life due to his obsession with YouTube and his intense work ethic.

 Donaldson's mother, Sue, attributes his withdrawn lifestyle to their frequent relocations and his struggles with Crohn's disease.

Donaldson dated Maddy Spidell, a YouTuber, from 2019 to 2022. He has dated Thea Booysen, a gaming streamer, since 2022.

In June 2023, Donaldson stated that he was invited to go on a tourist expedition to view the wreck of the Titanic in the OceanGate submersible Titan, but declined the offer. The submersible imploded in the Atlantic Ocean, killing all five aboard.