Famed content creator Jimmy Donaldson, known online as MrBeast, surpassed 500 million subscribers on YouTube on Friday, becoming the first creator in history to reach the milestone. Donaldson also live-streamed the moment on his own channel, which attracted more than 600,000 viewers and lasted about an hour and a half. According to reports, he has previously broadcast when he was close to 100 million subscriptions, and this time, similar to when he crossed the 100 million threshold in 2022, fans also briefly unsubscribed when he was close to reaching the mark, and then resubscribed a few minutes later.
When the MrBeast channel surpassed 500 million subscribers, Donaldson first threw confetti to celebrate, and then turned to seriously tell the audience about his growing up experience. He said that he "statistically should not have 500 million subscriptions" and recalled that both his parents served in the military and that the family went bankrupt in the 2008 financial crisis; when he first started his channel, he couldn't even afford equipment and could only save his AdSense income to buy a microphone or computer.
Donaldson also emphasized that he did not grow up in New York or Los Angeles, but in a very small town. He said he discovered YouTube when he was 11 years old and has been fully committed since then, thinking about "how to make the best videos" every day. He used this to encourage the audience that if they are not satisfied with the current situation, he hopes that this experience can give everyone the motivation to try new things; he also mentioned that it is often said that it takes 10,000 hours to master a skill, but he thinks it is far from enough. He may have invested 60,000 to 70,000 hours in making YouTube videos.
Additionally, Donaldson revealed that he will be releasing a 500 million subscription special on Saturday at noon ET. After thanking the team, he also talked about the future direction of the channel, saying that he hopes the cinematic feel and visual presentation of the videos will be more mature and "beautiful" while continuing to help others through content and his own chocolate brand Feastables.
Donaldson also said that many people may become complacent and slack off after achieving such results, but he is more motivated and determined than before. He said that there is only one thing he really wants to do, and that is to tell good stories, and believes that his best work is still behind him, and he will continue to produce YouTube content for at least 20 to 30 years in the future; he also believes that YouTube will continue to grow, and that growth will not slow down soon.