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MrBeast
American YouTuber, media personality and businessman (born 1998)
- Entries
- 13
- On the record
- 2
- Stories
- 2
- Latest entry
- Jun 12, 2026
The record
Jimmy Donaldson, who publishes as MrBeast, is on the record mostly through the organisations he works with. Two crowdfunding campaigns he co-led with Mark Rober are documented by the charities that ran them: the Arbor Day Foundation for TeamTrees and Ocean Conservancy for TeamSeas.
YouTube and Guinness World Records track his subscriber milestones, from the individual record he took from PewDiePie in 2022 to 500 million subscribers in 2026. Amazon, in turn, reports the audience for Beast Games, the Prime Video competition series built on his format, which it renewed for two further seasons in May 2025.
In 2026 his company, Beast Industries, moved into finance by buying Step, a money app for young users. That drew a letter of questions from Senator Elizabeth Warren. Separately, a prediction market suspended a company video editor for trading on inside information, which Beast Industries said it does not tolerate.
Roles and honours on the record
Every entry, newest first
- Filed
Beast Games contestants filed a class action in Los Angeles Superior Court; reps for MrBeast and Amazon declined TIME's request for comment. Biggest creator scandals ranked: MrBeast suit first, Fyre second
- Filed
Donaldson filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit against Virtual Dining Concepts over MrBeast Burger in the Southern District of New York. MrBeast sues, says burger partner trademarked his name unpaid
- Reported
Donaldson tweeted he was "moving on from MrBeast Burger," saying the deal was "terrible for my brand." MrBeast sues, says burger partner trademarked his name unpaid
Stories in this file
Influencer · 📲 Biggest creator scandals ranked: MrBeast suit first, Fyre second
Only two of seven entries are court-decided. The MrBeast complaint is an unproven filing; his reps declined TIME's request for comment. 🗣️
FILEDPhoto: Arif Syuhada · Pexels License🍔 MrBeast sues, says burger partner trademarked his name unpaid
Virtual Dining Concepts countersued, saying he walked from a "promising deal". A customer class action over a $3.16 tax charge is also on record. 🗣️
The record, entry by entry
- 2019-10-25 Official He and Mark Rober launched #TeamTrees after fans challenged him to plant 20 million trees for reaching 20 million subscribers, bringing in the Arbor Day Foundation. Arbor Day Foundation release
- 2019-12-19 Official The Arbor Day Foundation said the campaign had reached its 20 million dollar goal, enough for 20 million trees, ahead of its 1 January 2020 deadline. Arbor Day Foundation release
- 2022-11-17 Official Guinness World Records said he had passed PewDiePie for the most subscribers for an individual male on YouTube, at 112,193,139. Guinness World Records
- 2024-06 Official His channel became the most-subscribed channel on YouTube, having been the most-subscribed individual creator since November 2022. YouTube Official Blog
- 2024-07-22 Official Ocean Conservancy said #TeamSeas, which set out to raise 30 million dollars to remove 30 million pounds of trash, had removed more than 34 million pounds. Ocean Conservancy
- 2024-12-19 Official Beast Games premiered on Prime Video. Amazon said it drew 50 million viewers in 25 days, its most-watched unscripted show, and that the first season's prize grew to 10 million dollars. Amazon news release, May 2025
- 2026-02-09 Official Beast Industries announced it was acquiring Step, a financial app with more than 7 million users, without disclosing terms. Beast Industries and Step press release
- 2026-02-25 Reported Kalshi suspended a Beast Industries video editor for two years and fined him about 20,400 dollars for trading on non-public information. The company said it has no tolerance for insider trading. Axios report
- 2026-03-23 Reported Senator Warren wrote to Donaldson and Beast Industries about Step's crypto plans, its bank partner and protections for minors, asking for answers by 3 April. A spokesperson said the company was reviewing Step's offerings. American Banker report
- 2026-06-12 Official YouTube said he had become the first individual creator on the platform to reach 500 million subscribers. YouTube Official Blog
Documents
- Arbor Day Foundation release on #TeamTrees reaching its goal (2019)
- Ocean Conservancy on the #TeamSeas total (2024)
- Amazon on Beast Games viewership and renewal (2025)
- Beast Industries release on the Step acquisition (2026)
- YouTube Official Blog on 500 million subscribers (2026)
- American Banker on the Warren letter (2026)
Sources behind this file
- Business Insider report on the countersuit and trial
- CBS News report (Virtual Dining Concepts statement)
- NBC News report on Donaldson's lawsuit
- Dexerto report on MrBeast's deleted "moving on" tweets
- Hedgecock v. Virtual Dining Concepts class action complaint (ClassAction.org)
- MrBeast's tweet acknowledging order problems