MrBeast becomes most subscribed YouTuber with 269 million followers

The social media star declared that he had avenged fellow content creator Pewdiepie

MrBeast, that long-lasting denizen of YouTube whose stunts such as giving away private islands have shot him to virality, has dethroned the Indian music channel T-series to become the most subscribed YouTuber online, reported BBC.

At the relatively young age of 26, MrBeast, whose real name is Jim Donaldson, can now boast a whopping 269 million subscribers to his name. The feat, aided by an unusually large spike in subscribers on Saturday numbering roughly 2 million, led him to overtake the 266 million subscribers held by T-series. MrBeast typically averages 250,000 new subscribers every single day. 

Yesterday was the most subscribers we’ve ever gotten in a day 😮 pic.twitter.com/FPSxsvql8l

— MrBeast (@MrBeast) June 2, 2024

Even before becoming the most subscribed YouTube channel, MrBeast already held the record for being the individual with the most subscribers. Having racked up nearly 800 videos on his channel, MrBeast’s latest record led him to proclaim on X that he had finally avenged YouTube star Feliz Kjelberg, better known to fans as Pewdie Pie. 

After 6 years we have finally avenged Pewdiepie 🥹 pic.twitter.com/V1znbyqw27

— MrBeast (@MrBeast) June 2, 2024

In 2019, Pewdiepie’s subscriber record had been overshadowed by T-series, famous for uploading trailers and music videos. According to The Sun, Pewdiepie had held the title for the most subscribers four times between 2013 and 2019 for more than 2,000 days combined. After losing out to T-series in 2019, the Swedish content creator had sardonically noted in a follow-up video that all it had taken to topple had been a “massive corporate entity with every song in Bollywood”. T-series eventually lost out to MrBeast after remaining at the top for roughly 1,900 days. 

The publication reported that MrBeast’s channel began in 2012 and has morphed into a philanthropic venture since then. The YouTuber is well known for his huge giveaways. Speaking at a podcast event with the All-In Podcast, he confirmed that each video costs $2.5 million to make, although he stated that it is not “crazy enough” because his videos are getting “a hundred million views in seven days.” 

The operation makes MrBeast about £550 million per year, but he reportedly reinvests it into his channel and even bigger giveaways. A video he posted in April saw one person win $250,000. In 2022, Forbes estimated his net worth to be around $500m and ranked him first among the 50 top creators.

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