YouTuber MrBeast said in a deposition last November that he owned “a little over half” of his company, which was valued at roughly $5 billion in its most recent funding round.
By that math, the value of his ownership stake would have topped $2.5 billion.
Beast Industries sought to raise up to an additional $200 million this year, according to investor materials viewed by Business Insider, as an extension to its $300 million Series C round referenced in the deposition. This could have diluted MrBeast’s ownership stake.
With over 400 million subscribers, MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, is the top creator on YouTube. He has expanded well beyond the platform, building out a content studio, a chocolate-bar company called Feastables, the analytics firm Viewstats, and a variety of other ventures. Beast Industries has also explored launching other business lines, including a fintech brand and a wireless phone service.
Beast Industries pulled in over $400 million in revenue last year, according to investor materials viewed by Business Insider. The company was not profitable last year, mainly because of high costs in its media segment. Donaldson said in his deposition that Viewstats and Lunchly did not generate much revenue as of November 2024.
Feastables, however, was profitable, Donaldson said in the 2024 deposition, which he attributed to the product’s quality.
“I just obsess over the product and make sure the product’s really high-quality,” he said in the deposition. “We’re launching in the right places, and we’re doing things that delight and make our customers happy.”
The MrBeast team, which comprises around 450 staff members, has been bolstering its leadership team recently, with a focus on sponsorships and unscripted content. Since late September, it has brought on four new executives from companies including TikTok, Snap, and NBCUniversal.
The company has also been on a cost-cutting push as it looks to stop losing money from its media business.
Donaldson addressed the need for profitability during his 2024 deposition, saying that in the long run, “you have to focus on profits or you don’t have a business.”
The MrBeast team did not respond to a request for comment.
