- MrBeast real name is James Donaldson
- The 25 year old net worth is estimated to be USD 500 million (over Ksh70 billion)
Over the weekend, American Youtuber MrBeast made headlines after he allegedly drilled 52 boreholes in parts of the country as part of a philanthropic venture to provide clean water to schools and communities.
He is said to have flown to Kenya, documented the drilling of the boreholes, interacted with the communities, and flown back.
Considering that the cost of drilling a borehole can range between Ksh 1.2 million and Ksh 3 million depending on the depth, it is probable that MrBeast spent over ksh 50 million in his philanthropic venture.
So, who is MrBeast? This is his profile as documented by WoK:
Online legend
Known among his friends as Jimmy, Mr Beast´s real name is James Donaldson.
The 25 year old is a legend in the online community.
His YouTube channel boasts an unparalleled 200 million subscribers, securing his place in the Guinness Book of World Records as the highest-earning YouTube contributor.
According to Forbes, his income from the platform in 2022 was estimated to be $ 52 million – approximately ksh 8.1 Billion, involving sponsorship deals and advertising revenue.
As of 2022, Forbes estimated his net worth at $ 500 million or Ksh 75.6 Billion.
His high-end car collection includes a Tesla Model S, a Lamborghini Huracan, and a Bugatti Chiron.
But how did he ascend to such dizzying heights?
YouTube career
According to Forbes, Jimmy´s Youtube career began at 13 when he used a hand-me-down laptop and uploaded videos of himself playing video games like Minecraft.
However, it was not until 2016 that he went viral with his unorthodox challenges.
In one of his first viral videos, he sat in a chair and counted up to 100 000.
He has since raked tens of millions of views with viral videos like staging his own olympics, shredding a $200 000 Lamborghini, being buried alive for 50 days, among others.
In his most watched video with 472 million views, Mr Beast recreated the Netflix squid game movie in real life with a $ 450 000 prize money.
Today, he runs five YouTube channels with almost half a billion followers.
Education
Despite his success, MrBeast’s education narrative diverges from the conventional.
He dropped out of college after just one semester, saying he couldn’t stand the traditional education system as he felt he was wasting his time.
Instead of going to class, he spent most of his time editing videos in his car.
However, his efforts seem to have paid off, He has 85 million followers on Tiktok and 39 million more on Instagram.
Philanthropy
Aside from Youtube, Mr. Beast is known as a devout philanthropist.
He reportedly owns a licensed charity organization to help feed communities in the USA.
Digging wells in Kenya was part of an initiative in which he had vowed to dig 100 wells across Africa to enable access to clean water for everyone.
Some of the boreholes he dug were in Nairiri, Meru county, where he was also said to have installed water tanks, donated computers and bookshelves to schools, and built bridges.
He is also said to have flown to Uganda, Somalia and Cameroon where he engaged in other philanthropic projects.
