Mr Beast and Jake Paul top YouTube rich list: Highest earning YouTubers in 2021

June 2023 · 2 minute read

Mr Beast and Jake Paul have topped Forbes’ YouTube rich list for 2021 with some eye-watering figures as they’re out in front of some other popular creators. 

Over the last few years, YouTube creators have increasingly gained mainstream recognition as they’ve been able to earn as much as A-listers and athletes.

While YouTubers are able to make good money from monetizing their videos, its their external ventures that propels them into the upper-echelon of earners.

Many of them have gotten involved with cryptocurrency, joined the NFT (non-fungible token) wave, and invested in successful start-ups. Now, looking back on the 2021 earnings from creators, Forbes have revealed their rich list – and there are some eye-watering numbers for big names.

MrBeast opened up MrBeast burger last year, and has already opened up 600 locations on US soil, including opening doors in the UK.

Topping Forbes‘ YouTuber rich list this year is none other than Jimmy ‘Mr Beast’ Donaldson. As per the financial magazine’s finding, Mr Beast made a reported $54 million in 2021, with his Mr Beast burger venture cited as a big reason why.

Following him in second place is Jake Paul. While some may be taken aback by this, given that Jake has somewhat given up on his channel, Forbes estimates that he made $40 million from boxing, which propels him onto the list. As for his YouTube earnings, they’re estimated at $5 million.

YouTuber veteran Markiplier, the duo of Rhett and Link, and Minecraft phenomenon Unspeakable round out the top five with earnings of $38, $30, and $28.5 million respectively.

Forbes 2021 YouTuber Rich List

  • Mr Beast – $54 million
  • Jake Paul – $45 million
  • Markiplier – $38 million
  • Rhett and Link – $30 million
  • Unspeakable – $28.5 million
  • Nastya – $28 million
  • Ryan Kaji – $27 million
  • Dude Perfect – $20 million
  • Logan Paul – $18 million
  • Preston Arsement – $16 million
    • Paul’s been making a substantial amount of money from his boxing endeavors.

    One of the biggest slides down the list, versus the 2020 list, is that of Ryan Kaji. The Children’s channel topped the list last year with close to $29.5 million in earnings, but slips down to seventh overall this year.

    There are some notable names that have dropped off the list compared to years gone by too, including David Dobrik and Jeffree Star. Though, they had been inactive for a good chunk of 2021.

    We’ll have to wait and see if 2022 brings any huge changes to the YouTube scene.

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