Remember when a survey showed that a bunch of kids between 8 and 12
“aspired” to be vloggers and YouTube stars instead of — say — astronauts.
The news cycle definitely had a good laugh about that one. But if you peek at Forbes’ 2020 highest-paid YouTube stars, it kind of makes sense.
1. Ryan Kaji (earnings = $29.5m; subscribers = 42m)
Ryan’s toy unboxings, science experiments, and other stuff you do when you’re a (comically rich) 9-year old brought in 12B views. The young YouTuber is turning this attention into a media empire.
2. MrBeast ($24m; 48m)
22-year-old Jimmy Donaldson (AKA MrBeast) is the master of what investor Blake Robbins calls “Jenga storytelling” — as in, you know how something will end but are compelled to watch to the end.
Some video samples:
- “I Gave People $1,000,000 But ONLY 1 Minute To Spend It!”
- “Going Through The Same Drive-Thru 1,000 Times”
- “Last to remove their hand gets a Lamborghini”
(PS. Yesterday, Mr. Beast hit the top of the App Store with “Mr. Beast Burger”, a network of 300 burger joints across America effectively dropshipping burgers)
3. Dude Perfect ($23m; 58m)
A team of 5 brothers who do some absurd stunts, like Go Kart paintball and challenging NFL players to a football skills competition.
4. Rhett and Link ($20m; 42m)
A comedy duo (43-year-old Rhett McLaughlin, 42-year-old Charles Lincoln III) who started with a nerdy talk show in 2012 but have built their YouTube empire into a 100-employee operation.
Skipping to No. 8: Blippi ($17m; 27m)
I’m putting this here because I’ve personally watched over 100 hours of Blippi — think “Mr. Rogers for YouTube” — with my toddler this year.
