MrBeast is trying to go where no YouTuber has gone before. According to a report from Axios, the far-reaching creator is looking to raise a $150 million funding round that would value his channel and its associated companies at $1.5 billion.
Axios cited “three sources familiar with the conversations,” who claimed that MrBeast — a.k.a. Jimmy Donaldson — is talking with potential backers. The leading YouTube star is seeking what would be the “first institutional investment into his overall portfolio.” The funding would support his main channel, his reaction and gaming hubs, and his off-YouTube ventures. Donaldson has made headway into the food world by launching his dining concept MrBeast Burger and his snack brand Feastables.
Without further ado, let’s ask the $1.5 billion question: Is Donaldson’s brand big enough for him to get the valuation he wants? Based on his reported 2021 earnings, which topped out around $54 million, he’s the richest creator on YouTube.
Subscribe for daily Tubefilter Top Stories
Despite that star status, it’s a long way from $54 million to $1.5 billion, but the other arms of the company known as MrBeast LLC might be able to get the titular creator to his goal. Donaldson told fellow creator Arun ‘MrWhoseTheBoss’ Maini that his North Carolina home base has a total value of about $14 million.
On the culinary side of things, MrBeast Burger has generated more than $100 million in revenue, according to a tweet from Donaldson. One of the sources cited by Axios claimed that Donaldson’s other food venture is even more profitable than his burger joint. Feastables was valued at $50 million when it raised a $5 million funding round earlier this year.
Math can be fuzzy with numbers that large, but Donaldson clearly believes that his business is worth well more than a billion dollars. During a recent podcast appearance, he said that he turned down a billion-dollar acquisition offer that would have required him to sell his channel and its associated companies.
Ultimately, MrBeast LLC is a hard business to evaluate, because no company of that type has ever been so successful. No matter how much Donaldson ends up raising, he’s likely to reinvest it in his videos and his fellow creators. He has become an active venture capitalist with help from companies like Current and Creative Juice.
Tubefilter has reached out to Donaldson’s management team at Night Media and will update this post with any comments.
