Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re probably familiar with the name MrBeast.

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You know, the YouTuber turned philanthropist and entrepreneur with the record-breaking 306 MILLION subscribers and third-largest TikTok following. Best known for his gigantic, elaborate challenge videos and stunts.

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But what might not ring a bell is his real name, Jimmy Donaldson, or his original pseudonym, MrBeast6000. 

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Back then, he used to make gaming videos that barely gained traction. His consistency helped him build something of an audience, but nothing seemed to click. Jimmy shifted to content regarding popular YouTubers and the money they made from videos.

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His passion was YouTube. His goal was YouTube. He just needed to find out how to be successful.

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And then one video changed everything.

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I Counted To 100,000

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On January 8th, 2017, Jimmy Donaldson uploaded a nearly-24-hour-long video titled “I Counted To 100,000.”

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The contents? Well, you guessed it.

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Just a 19-year-old guy counting up to 100,000 on camera.

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What you might not guess is the impact this video had on MrBeast’s career. For the first time ever, he started racking up thousands and millions of views. By February, he’d crossed the 600,000 subscriber mark.

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And the continuous growth that led him to secure the money came from a very simple, yet impressive, realization.

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People loved the bizarre, the unexpected, the impossible.

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Which means…

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YouTube’s algorithm works best with challenges.

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The challenge-ification of MrBeast

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From that point on, Jimmy shifted most of his focus toward challenges and stunts.

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Microwaving things. Watching videos on loop for ten hours. Hurting his face with a fidget spinner. All combined with clickbait titles that gave them extra appeal.

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Of course, not everything was a hit. To this day, Counting to 200,000, a follow-up Jimmy most likely expected to be highly anticipated only has 3.5 million views.

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But turning his whole attention to this type of videos slowly cemented his loyal audience base. Before he knew it, he’d scored his first sponsorship. 

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And that sponsorship would seal the deal and give MrBeast the final piece of the puzzle.

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Waking up the philanthropist

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In June of 2017, Jimmy came to an agreement with his first sponsor, Quidd, to donate the money they were planning on giving to him. He’d promote them, but everything he made from that partnership would go to someone in need.

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“Giving A Random Homeless Man $10,000,” the video that came out of that deal, started a weekly series of videos in which MrBeast gave sponsorship money to random people.

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From this moment on, a big part of the channel’s content revolved around giving money away. The combination of challenges and philanthropy resulted in a YouTube channel where barely any videos had less than 10 million views. And, by the end of 2017, MrBeast had well over 2 million subscribers.

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MrBeast, now a renowned philanthropist, has given away over $40 million in prizes including a private island and luxury cars.

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The untamable beast

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Today, Jimmy Donaldson has an empire with over 300 MILLION subscribers and over 55 BILLION views. MrBeast has become a staple of popular culture.

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He’s built a content machine that builds entire movie-like sets for a single video and has traveled around the world. 

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He’s helped entire communities meet basic needs not even governments were able to provide for.

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He’s shared his success with his followers and his childhood friends, the Beast Gang: Chandler Hallow, Garrett Ronalds, Jake Franklin, and Ava Kris Tyson –before she was removed for grooming allegations–.

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He has single-handedly achieved the status of biggest YouTuber in history, and one of the most prolific creators of our time. 

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His dream was YouTube, now he is YouTube.

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If you’re interested in the full timeline of MrBeast’s climb to the top, check out this week’s episode of Break The Internet, out now!

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