Some successful entrepreneurs sitting atop billion-dollar businesses say they may look rich on paper, but take a peek into their bank accounts, and they’re actually cash poor. Social media mogul Jimmy Donaldson, known to his 460 million YouTube followers as MrBeast, claims he’s just as broke as everyone else despite running a $5 billion entertainment empire.
“I’m borrowing money. That’s how little money I have,” Donaldson told the Wall Street Journal earlier this month. “Technically, everyone watching this video has more money than me and their bank account if you subtract the equity value of my company, which doesn’t buy me McDonald’s in the morning.”
The 27-year-old entrepreneur has said that he keeps less than $1 million for himself, despite being a billionaire and owning more than half of his $5 billion company Beast Industries. Aside from his nine-figure Amazon deal and popular YouTube channel with 107 billion lifetime views, Donaldson hit the ultra-rich club—at least on paper—from a slew of successful businesses. He’s launched ventures including multimillion-dollar chocolate brand Feastables; Lunchly, a Lunchables-esque packaged food product; MrBeast Burger, a virtual restaurant that only allows for pickup and drop-off; and production company MrBeast LLC, which helps manufacture his viral videos.
