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Founder of $5 billion company says he has ‘negative money right now’ — not even enough to buy McDonald’s
YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson aka MrBeast claims he has “negative money right now”, despite running a $5 billion company.
YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson aka MrBeast claims he has “negative money right now”, despite running a $5 billion company. In fact, the YouTuber-turned-entrepreneur claims the money in his bank account would not cover the cost of a McDonald’s meal.
“I’m borrowing money. That’s how little money I have,” Donaldson told the Wall Street Journal earlier this month. “Technically, everyone watching this video has more money than me in their bank account if you subtract the equity value of my company, which doesn’t buy me McDonald’s in the morning.”
Donaldson — better known as MrBeast to his 460 million YouTube subscribers — claimed that his billionaire status comes from his share in Beast Industries, which is valued at $5 billion. He owns a little more than half of the company, which puts his net worth at $2.6 billion, according to a Fortune report.
MrBeast on his money
After claiming that he has negative money, Donaldson also elaborated on his older statement about keeping just $1 million for personal use.
“I just don’t really think of it. I wake up, I just work. I’m just so busy working. I don’t really think about my personal bank account, if that makes sense,” he told the Wall Street Journal. “I’m just laser-focused on making the greatest videos possible and building the business as big as possible.”
Who is MrBeast?
MrBeast is a 27-year-old YouTube creator turned entrepreneur with one of the most watched channels on the planet. Forbes reported his 2025 creator earnings at about $85 million as of June.
(Also read: US banker quits JPMorgan, takes 50% pay cut to work for MrBeast: 'I was working 80-to-100-hour weeks')
The major source of his wealth is Beast Industries — a private holding company Donaldson founded to bring together his media, consumer brands and software ventures.
His most successful commercial venture is Feastables, a chocolate and snack brand sold globally and reported to be profitable, often outperforming his media arm.
He has also launched MrBeast Burger, a virtual restaurant brand, Lunchly, a packaged food product, creator-focused software like ViewStats, and MrBeast LLC, which produces his high-budget viral videos.
