YouTuber MrBeast reveals he made Ksh.42M from one video on X, world reacts differently

YouTube megastar Jimmy Stephen Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, revealed in a post Monday that his first full-length video posted on X social media platform netted him $263,655 (Ksh.42 million).

While acknowledging the significant sum, MrBeast however hinted that it might be somewhat inflated.

He speculated that advertisers, recognizing the attention the video garnered, may have contributed to higher revenue per view.

"It's a bit of a facade," MrBeast tweeted. "Advertisers saw the attention it was getting and bought ads on my video (I think) and thus my revenue per view is probably higher than what you'd experience."

A substantial figure, the payout is likely the largest ever seen on the Elon Musk-owned platform, which introduced revenue share payments for creators last year.

The video in question, an old upload titled '$1 vs $100,000,000 Car!", garnered an impressive 155 million views and 5 million engagements, sparking interest in the social media platform’s potential amidst its business challenges.

On January 15, MrBeast announced that he would be testing out how much ad revenue one of his videos could earn on X after months of the platform owner, Elon Musk, trying to woo him.

He had previously declined the invitation to post on X exclusively, citing better ad revenue on YouTube, but decided to give it a try with an old video.

After making the announcement, hundreds of thousands of X users and creators reacted wildly, with many unable to comprehend the astounding amount the YouTuber made, given the metrics and various other factors. 

Many other creators faulted Musk for the disproportionately high payout to MrBeast, viewing it as a marketing gimmick to get more people to exclusively create on X.

"This app pays creators so little that even with the boost of EXTRA paid Marketing specifically on his video, he made $0.001 per impression. MrBeast just proved that the idea of making decent money as a creator on this app is just that. An idea that needs a lot of work," one user wrote.

"It's so funny that Musk deliberately pushed as much traffic to this video as possible, paying MrBeast $250K to say "it's a bit of a facade". This is all an Elon gimmick. Creators are making zero money even with millions of impressions on X!" another user ranted. 

On his part, X creator and streamer Morden Warzone said, "Just admit Elon gave you 99% of the entire revenue. I mean, didn't I see it as an ad on my timeline multiple times and even a few times without any time stamp or indication it was being promoted? Appreciate you for being upfront about it. Didn’t know the amplify program worked like that until today."

Elon Musk, the owner of X, has been grappling with strategies to boost user engagement since acquiring the platform in October 2022, including revenue-sharing initiatives with high-profile creators.

X introduced revenue share payments to creators in July, when commentators, meme pages, influencers and more reported receiving payouts worth tens of thousands of dollars. 

X CEO Linda Yaccarino said in a post in September that the platform had paid out nearly $20 million (Ksh.3.2 billion) to creators.

In the meantime, MrBeast has now decided to give away all the X revenue to 10 random people who would repost his tweet and follow him. 

Stating that he would give each person $25,000 (Ksh.4 million) 'for fun', MrBeast added that he would pick the winners after 72 hours.

"I'm gonna give 10 random people that repost this and follow me $25,000 for fun," he said. "I'll pick the winners in 72 hours."

MrBeast’s overall influence is evident in his staggering YouTube statistics, with Forbes estimating a $83 million (Ksh.13 billion) annual income from his channel in June 2023.

Boasting a whooping 233 million subscribers, he remains a sought-after figure for companies looking to enhance their platforms.

MY FIRST X VIDEO MADE OVER $250,000! 😲

But it’s a bit of a facade. Advertisers saw the attention it was getting and bought ads on my video (I think) and thus my revenue per view is prob higher than what you’d experience pic.twitter.com/nViVpZbWBb— MrBeast (@MrBeast) January 22, 2024