MrBeast, whose real name Jimmy Donaldson, is known for putting people and something himself in extreme, often unusual situations for long periods of time. And while participants can win payouts of up to eight figures, Donaldson’s videos of their adventures draw hundreds of millions of views on YouTube.
Across his hometown of Greenville, the out-of-the-way North Carolina city where Donaldson has headquartered his company, 70 or so people are currently trapped — of their own volition — in a grocery store, the wilderness, or one of the studios Donaldson has built on his sprawling corporate campus.
Since early 2024, MrBeast’s subscriber and follower count across social media has more than doubled, to over 900 million. As Beast Industries expands beyond YouTube, it has been named one of TIME’s 100 most influential companies of the year. Read more in Donaldson’s profile: time.com/collection/time100-most-influenti...
