Jimmy Donaldson, known professionally as MrBeast, earned $250,000 from a single video post on the platform X (formerly Twitter) in January 2024. This experiment served as a test of X’s monetization potential for video creators, as MrBeast had previously expressed skepticism about its viability.
Mr. Donaldson, a Wichita native uploaded a pre-existing YouTube video titled “$1 vs $100,000,000 Car!” to X, garnering 161 million views within days. This figure aligns with MrBeast’s established success on YouTube, where the same video boasts over 216 million views to date. A conservative estimate suggests Mr. Donaldson’s YouTube CPM (cost per mille, revenue earned per thousand views) could be $5, potentially resulting in upwards of $1 million in total earnings from the video.
In keeping with his signature philanthropic-style, MrBeast announced plans to distribute the $250,000 earned on X to ten of his followers. This act underscores the altruistic gestures that have contributed to his rise to prominence as a content creator.
MrBeast’s YouTube channel currently boasts over 234 million subscribers, cementing his position as a digital media powerhouse. Forbes estimates his 2023 income at $85.3 million (£64.5 million), more than double the combined estimated earnings of the next two highest-earning YouTube channels.
This experiment by MrBeast highlights the evolving landscape of digital content monetization and the potential of X’s premium subscription model, launched in July 2023 by Elon Musk, to offer creators new revenue streams.
