fbpx

10 Celebrities Who Make More from YouTube Than Hollywood

Think A-list actors are raking in the big bucks? Think again. For several well-known faces, fame—and fortune—is now being driven more by YouTube than their Hollywood projects. With massive subscriber counts and diversified revenue streams, these creators are turning views into serious income, often eclipsing their traditional careers. Whether you’re chasing ad revenue or brand deals, it’s clear that YouTube earnings are rewriting the rules of fame. Below are ten celebrities who’ve harnessed the power of YouTube to out-earn their old careers—sometimes by quite a bit.

1. MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson)

YouTube earnings - MrBeast - Good Morning America

Image Source: YouTube/Good Morning America

MrBeast isn’t just a viral sensation—he’s a billionaire content titan. With over 413 million subscribers and videos that hit hundreds of millions of views, his YouTube earnings are staggering. Between YouTube and all of his partnerships, he’s raking in around $700 million a year. Beyond ad revenue, his empire includes MrBeast Burger, Feastables, and philanthropy. He’s even launched a major Amazon Prime show, showing how deep digital fame can go.

2. Dhar Mann

Dhar Mann skyrocketed to fame with feel-good, moral-driven videos that dominate social media feeds. Ranked #2 on Forbes’ Top Creators list in both 2024 and 2025, his YouTube earnings reached an estimated $50 million this year. He’s now partnered with major production outfits like Studio71 and CAA, but his digital income dwarfs any traditional media earnings. Mann’s story proves that emotionally resonant content can be extremely lucrative.

3. Sam & Colby

Paranormal explorers turned content moguls, Sam and Colby, have amassed around 14 million subscribers. They generated $20 million in annual revenue thanks to their YouTube presence, merchandise, and media expansion. That figure eclipses many TV reality stars and niche celebrity incomes. Their success showcases how one niche—haunted investigations—can become a digital empire well off the Hollywood radar.

4. PewDiePie (Felix Kjellberg)

As one of YouTube’s earliest megastars, PewDiePie still earns spectacularly. With 110 million subscribers and 29.5 billion views, his YouTube earnings have reached millions per year even as he stepped away from mainstream media. His 2014 income peaked near $12 million. That puts him well within striking distance of many traditional film and TV personas, solidifying his place as a digital billionaire in all but name.

5. Lilly Singh

YouTube earnings - Lilly Singh

Image Source: YouTube/Lilly Singh

Once a YouTube sketch-comedy standout, Lilly Singh translated her platform into late-night hosting gigs—but her success launched on YouTube. With over 14.7 million subscribers, she earned $10.5 million in a peak pre-TV year. While her NBC series showed up on broadcast, her YouTube revenue remains a cornerstone of her career. Her earnings underscore that digital beginnings can offer bigger rewards than traditional outlets.

6. Jacksepticeye (Seán McLoughlin)

Top Irish YouTuber Jacksepticeye has carved a strong career with gaming and charitable livestreams. He earned $27 million in 2023 and $18 million in 2024, all from digital efforts—not blockbuster films. His annual “Thankmas” streams alone raised over $10 million for charity, capping off a digitally driven income that puts many screen actors to shame.

7. Philip DeFranco

Philip DeFranco has anchored pop culture commentary on YouTube for over a decade. While he’s not a Hollywood actor, his media-savvy videos bring in consistent revenue through ads and sponsorships. His brand deals and advertising revenue regularly exceed what online news show hosts made in traditional media. With over 2 million subscribers and 30 million views monthly early in his run, YouTube earnings are his core business.

8. Will Smith

Yes, the Fresh Prince himself is earning big on YouTube too. His channel taps into his star power, offering behind-the-scenes glimpses and motivational content. Monetized via ads, merch, and sponsorships, he’s turned his celebrity into a multi-platform income source. While his Hollywood roles still pay well, YouTube provides a direct-to-fan channel with powerful earnings potential.

9. Kylie Jenner

Reality TV turned cosmetics mogul Kylie Jenner also monetizes YouTube by boosting her brand. She combines ad revenue with glitzy product launches and merch, driven by her massive social media presence. Her channel promotes Kylie Cosmetics, making YouTube not just entertainment—but a primary marketing platform. Product promotion has transformed her channel into a money-maker that competes with her TV earnings.

10. Butch Hartman

YouTube earnings - Butch Hartman

Image Source: YouTube/Butch Hartman

Animation legend and creator of Nickelodeon hits, Butch Hartman, now runs a popular YouTube channel. With content ranging from cartoon commentary to tutorials, he taps into brand deals and ad revenue. That channel income rivals—and in some cases surpasses—what traditional animators earn through TV contracts. Hartman exemplifies how industry creatives can pivot to digital and come out ahead.

The New Rulebook for Fame

YouTube has transformed how fame pays—and fast. These creators demonstrate that YouTube earnings can outshine Hollywood salaries, offering autonomy and audience connection. The platform’s flexibility—ads, merch, sponsorships—lets talents build lucrative ecosystems beyond contracts. For anyone chasing fame, these 10 examples offer proof: sometimes your biggest paychecks come from views, not box offices.

Which one of these creators surprised you the most? Have you subscribed to any and noticed their impact? Let us know in the comments below!

Read More

Outdoor Boys YouTuber Hits 12M Subscribers And Quits! How Much Is He Worth?

Vlad and Niki’s Net Worth: Sibling Stars’ YouTube Fortune

Jimmy Donaldson’s Net Worth (MrBeast YouTuber)

Jimmy Donaldson's Net Worth (MrBeast YouTuber)

We recently shared an article about the Richest YouTubers of 2021. Jimmy Donaldson, better known on YouTube as Mr.Beast made the cut. He came in at number 22. Moreover, he makes the list of YouTubers with a net worth exceeding $10 million. But what exactly is Jimmy Donaldson’s net worth? Let’s take a look at the details of his work and earnings to uncover what MrBeast is worth.

Who Is MrBeast?

Obviously, MrBeast is a YouTuber. In fact, he’s a highly successful YouTuber. He’s best-known for his unique challenges, huge giveaways, and gaming content. His main channel, simply named MrBeast, has nearly 70 million viewers. His MrBeast gaming channel has over 21 million subscribers. Moreover, he has four smaller channels. So, although he’s best known for the gaming, antics, and giveaways, he’s not afraid to play with varied content.

Who is Jimmy Donaldson?

People online might know him as MrBeast but who is the guy behind the channels? Jimmy Donaldson is just 23 years old. And yet, he’s been actively creating and promoting YouTube content for over a decade. He started putting out YouTube videos when he was just 12 years old. Business Insider reports that he went to Greenville Christian Academy in his hometown of Greenville, North Carolina. He started college but quickly decide to drop out and focus on YouTube content creation instead. Rumor has it he only lasted two weeks in college.

In fact, as widely reported, including by Bloomberg, he was certain that he could crack the YouTube code. He’d spend all day studying which videos went viral. He’d talk to friends, working together to analyze the most popular videos. Bloomberg reports that he never wanted to be famous in any other way. Instead, he always dreamed of being YouTube famous. Therefore, he put all of his energy into that. Obviously, his hard work paid off. Really, MrBeast and Jimmy Donaldson are inextricable from one another.

YouTuber MrBeast Net Worth

©mehaniq/123RF.COM

MrBeast’s Most Popular Content

As aforementioned, Jimmy Donaldson has about half a dozen YouTube channels. He first “cracked the code” less than a year after dropping out of college. It was early 2017, and he decided to create “I Counted to 100,000!” The video, which is exactly what it sounds like, takes about a full day to watch if you sit there from beginning to end. It became a strange viral sensation. To date, it has never 23 million views, 1 million likes, and over 120,000 comments.

He has since replicated the basic concept in many different ways. Basically, he thinks up challenges. Then he finds ways to take them to the extreme. Numbered stunts often result. For example, other popular videos in the MrBeast playlist include:

  • “I Spent 50 Hours Buried Alive” which has over 126 million views
  • Similarly, “I Spent 50 Hours in Solitary Confinement” has over 140 million views
  • “I Put 100 Million Orbeez In My Friend’s Backyard” is also in that same view count range
  • “Going Through The Same Drive Thru 1000 Times” is another popular one

The list goes on. Bloomberg reports that in a single year every single video he released exceeded 20 million views each. This is a huge, and uncommon, accomplishment on the site.

Recent Content Is More Philanthropic

MrBeast continues to do outrageous things to the extreme. However, his most recent content has a twist: philanthropy. He often gives away large sums of money as part of his video. For example, he’s given away money to homeless people as well as to random people he’s met on the street (who are not necessarily homeless people.)

He also invites people to participate in games and stunts to earn large sums of cash. “Would You Sit In Snakes For $10,000?” has over 84 million views. Other videos doing well in this niche of MrBeast’s site include:

  • “Would You Quit School for $100,000?”
  • “Anything You Can Fit in the Triangle, I’ll Pay For”
  • “Extreme $500,000 Game of Tag” (which he released about four months after “Extreme $100,000 Game of Tag”

People are mesmerized by his combination of outrageousness, giveaways, and collaboration with other YouTubers.

Making These Videos Isn’t Cheap

Before we get into Jimmy Donaldson’s net worth, let’s talk about his expenses. Sure, when he was 12 years old, he made videos on his iPhone. However, these days he pays a lot of money to create each video. Some videos take months to plan. Moreover, they take almost a week of professional filming to execute. BossHunting reports that MrBeast spends about $65 million per year just making his videos!

Bloomberg reports that he has spent over $1 million on a single video in the past. That was a money giveaway video of, as you might guess, $1 million. It ended up costing him more than that because he felt bad for the losers and ended up giving a bit off money to each of them as well. He once bought and rebuilt an island to give away for one of his videos.

Business Insider reports that he pays a steady salary to four of his childhood friends, employing them to work on his videos. Unfortunately, he’s gained a reputation for a negative work environment, as reported by nearly one dozen employees. Perhaps, though, that’s simply because he’s a perfectionist and expects the same of those around him. In 2020, he chose not to release three videos that already cost six figures in production costs because they just weren’t up to his standards.

As a result of his video costs, he sometimes spends more than he earns on a video. However, remember that he continues to earn over time. Often, people stumbling across his old content is what drives his current income. Counting to 100,000 almost five years ago continues to earn him money today.

MrBeast’s Income Stream

Obviously, most of Jimmy Donaldson’s net worth comes from his YouTube ads and sponsorships. However, he’s smart enough to look for additional ways to support himself through diversified income. He has his own merch store online for starters. And in 2020, he launched a hamburger chain. He’s also invested in a variety of different startups and fintech.

What Is Jimmy Donaldson’s Net Worth?

As we explained in our article about this year’s richest YouTube celebrities, it’s not easy to determine their net worth. Some of the information about their earnings is easy available. However, they make their money from a variety of different income streams. As a result, it’s tough to get an exact number.

We turned to about half a dozen reputable sources for that original article. By looking at numbers across those sources, we were able to get a net worth range with accuracy that seems highly likely. From those sources, we find that the low end guess as to Jimmy Donaldson’s net worth is about $16 million. On the other hand, MrBeast’s net worth at the high end is predicted around $24 million.

Therefore, we can confidently say that we believe that Jimmy Donaldson’s net worth is between $16 – 24 million. This is comparable to other rich YouTubers with similar content. For example, Logan and Jake Paul each have a net worth of about $20 million. Similarly, Preston Arsement falls into the same net worth range. So, if you’re wondering how much money people make on YouTube for gaming, pranks, and challenges, then ~ $2o million net worth for the richest of them is a very good guess.

Read More: