Who is YouTuber and entrepreneur MrBeast?
MrBeast is the online name of Jimmy Donaldson, an American YouTuber and entrepreneur born on May 7, 1998, in Wichita, Kansas. Raised in Greenville, North Carolina, he is known for large-scale challenge videos, philanthropic giveaways, high-budget productions, and consumer brands including Feastables. His videos commonly feature competitions, endurance challenges, elaborate recreations, and charity-focused projects.
Background/biography
Jimmy Donaldson grew up in Greenville, North Carolina, and has an older brother, C.J. Donaldson. He attended Greenville Christian Academy and later enrolled at East Carolina University before leaving to focus on creating online videos full time.
Donaldson began uploading to YouTube in 2012 under the name MrBeast6000. His early videos included gaming content, commentary, and discussions about other creators’ earnings and channel growth. He gradually built an audience by closely studying YouTube formats, thumbnails, audience retention, and production methods before moving toward the ambitious challenge and giveaway videos for which he became widely known.
YouTube and business career
- “Counting to 100,000” (2017), an endurance-style video that helped bring broader attention to his channel.
- Team Trees (2019), a fundraising campaign launched with fellow creator Mark Rober that aimed to raise funds for planting 20 million trees.
- MrBeast Burger (2020), a virtual restaurant brand launched through delivery-only kitchens.
- Beast Philanthropy (2020), a charity-focused initiative and YouTube channel connected to food distribution and other aid efforts.
- Team Seas (2021), an environmental fundraising campaign with Mark Rober that aimed to remove millions of pounds of trash from oceans, rivers, and beaches.
- Feastables (2022), a snack-food company initially known for chocolate bars.
- Beast Games (2024), a competition series for Amazon Prime Video built around a large contestant field and a multimillion-dollar prize.
- Streamy Awards, including recognition as Creator of the Year.
MrBeast’s channel became one of YouTube’s largest, with his production approach centered on reinvesting revenue into increasingly complex videos. His work has expanded beyond the main MrBeast channel into gaming, philanthropy, food products, restaurant ventures, and television-style competition programming.
Large-scale philanthropy and challenges
A defining feature of Donaldson’s public career has been the combination of entertainment and philanthropy. Many MrBeast videos involve cash prizes, donations, housing, food assistance, medical-support initiatives, or fundraising partnerships. His projects have also drawn attention for the scale of their production, with challenges often involving large sets, multiple contestants, and substantial prizes.
Team Trees and Team Seas were among his best-known collaborative environmental campaigns. These initiatives were organized with nonprofit partners and used social-media fundraising to encourage donations from viewers and other creators.
Did you know?
- Donaldson originally uploaded videos under the channel name MrBeast6000.
- His 2017 video in which he counted to 100,000 took roughly 44 hours to complete.
- He has publicly discussed living with Crohn’s disease, which he said was diagnosed during his school years.
- He attended East Carolina University briefly before pursuing YouTube as a full-time career.
- His older brother, C.J. Donaldson, has also appeared online under the name MrBro.
- MrBeast collaborated with engineer and YouTube creator Mark Rober on both the Team Trees and Team Seas campaigns.
