The meteoric rise of Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, is one-of-a-kind in Youtube's history. Donaldson has a rare talent for grabbing attention, and has built his following and reputation on a series of stunts that range from the sublime to the ridiculous: He was most recently in the news for using his money to cure 1,000 peoples' blindness, an act one could either interpret as benevolence or "charity porn".
Either way, it works. Donaldson's videos have amassed over 40 billion views and his personal wealth is estimated at around $54 million. And as well as buying up medical operations en masse (following blindness, his next stunt was curing the deaf) Donaldson has been getting all Industrial Revolution on us, buying up various properties in a cul-de-sac in Greenville, North Carolina, to house himself, his family, and his employees.
