THE LAST PICTURE

Jimmy Donaldson, better known to his 136 million YouTube subscribers as MrBeast, became the medium’s all-time top earner when he raked in $54 million in 2021. The 23-year-old attracted more than 376 million views to his most popular video and more than 10 billion views across all his channels.

MrBeast got his start on YouTube by streaming himself playing video games like Minecraft and Call of Duty. Now, he focuses on philanthropy, reviews, reaction videos and the paid challenges that have made him notorious for giving away money to subscribers and people on the street. He’s depicted above getting “slimed” after winning the Favorite Male Creator award at the 2022 Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards.

What happens with MrBeast matters because of the massive popularity of his medium: YouTube. This year, streaming services are expected to surpass TV in viewership, and it all began with YouTube.

For the first time, streaming enabled the public to watch anything on the internet. From the first video ever posted by co-founder Jawed Karim in 2005—a whopping 19 seconds titled “Me at the Zoo”—to today’s 800 million options.

YouTube has grown into a colossus no other streaming site can match. With 2 billion active viewers every month, it’s Google’s golden child, accounting for almost 12% of the tech giant’s revenue. What’s more, YouTube is second only to Google as the most frequented site in the world.

The next issue of Luckbox will guide you through the YouTube universe while also examining the growth of streaming, the influence of influencers, the birth of the creator economy and, as always, the related investment opportunities.

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