Jimmy "MrBeast" Donaldson's YouTube career began in 2012, and a dozen years and over 800 videos later he is the undisputed king of YouTube. In its earliest years the channel was a relatively unremarkable mix of Minecraft and reaction videos, before Donaldson stumbled upon something that really worked: counting.
These videos, such as one where he counted to 100,000 over nearly 24 hours, racked up views in the tens of millions, and marked the real start for what would become a content empire. MrBeast began 2024 more popular than ever before. Then, at almost the exact point he became the biggest YouTuber in the world, scandal erupted. Allegations of sexualised messages between a longtime collaborator and a minor led to accusations of grooming, the opening for what would become a string of exposes about all corners of the MrBeast empire: from former employees weeping on-camera at their treatment, to contestants in his latest big show claiming mistreatment, and even accusations that some of the giveaways and stunts the channel is known for have been rigged.
