YouTube sensation MrBeast wants to raise hundreds of millions of dollars to expand his growing empire.
Anonymous sources say the funding round would value his company at a staggering $5 billion, Bloomberg reported. The sky-high numbers are hardly surprising, given that MrBeast boasts the title of the most popular creator on YouTube, with 368 million subscribers on his main channel.
MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, has been in early discussions with several financial firms and wealthy prospective investors, per Bloomberg. The money raised would be directed toward a holding company that owns all or part of multiple businesses, including MrBeast’s video production company, the snack brand Lunchly, and the chocolate company Feastables. Last year alone, the parent company generated over $400 million in sales.
MrBeast’s online popularity was enough for Amazon to sign the YouTube star to his own show. Despite the e-commerce and media giant committing $100 million to produce season one, MrBeast said he lost money on the ambitious project.
“I lost tens of millions of dollars on Beast Games,” he said on the Diary of a CEO podcast, per Bloomberg. “But it’s about making Season 1 as good as possible.”
Exacerbating MrBeast’s financial fallout from the show was his decision to double the grand prize money from $5 million to $10 million following the result of a seemingly impromptu coin flip. This meant Amazon’s most-watched unscripted series would boast the biggest cash prize in game show history.
“It was not a good financial decision to make Beast Games. I lost money. I would have more money if I didn’t film it,” MrBeast said in the same interview, per PC Gamer.
Despite the steep cost, Amazon has agreed to produce more seasons of the show. While the budget is unknown, the original deal would have seen Amazon spend over $250 million combined across seasons two and three.
Whether MrBeast is eager to take another shot at the pricey endeavor remains to be seen.