YouTube star MrBeast makes more than $263,000 in X video, but calls it ‘a bit of a facade’

Jimmy Donaldson, the internet sensation known as MrBeast, recently took his talents to X, formerly known as Twitter, to see how his earnings from a video there would compare to how much he typically makes on YouTube.

In a Monday post on X, Donaldson said he made more than $263,000 after his video, “$1 vs $100,000,000 Car!,” attracted upward of 150 million views in one week. He initially posted the video to YouTube in September.

“MY FIRST X VIDEO MADE OVER $250,000!” Donaldson wrote. “But it’s a bit of a facade. Advertisers saw the attention it was getting and bought ads on my video (I think) and thus my revenue per view is prob higher than what you’d experience.”

In the video, Donaldson and his team venture into a variety of automobiles, including flying cars and amphibian cars. They even hitch a ride with Jay Leno.

X launched its creator revenue share program last year, offering creators a share of the ad revenue made from their posts. Creators can become eligible if their posts reach a certain number of users.

Since purchasing Twitter in 2022, Elon Musk has said he hopes to turn X into an all-purpose app with a focus on video, and has brought in popular media personalities including Tucker Carlson, Don Lemon and Tulsi Gabbard to post original content to the platform.

Donaldson is the most popular individual on YouTube with more than 370 million subscribers across all of his channels. 

Musk welcomed his video to X with a quote post that read, “First MrBeast video posted directly on X!” Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X, shared the video with her own post.

Musk first suggested that Donaldson bring content to X in December. Donaldson responded by teasing a forthcoming YouTube upload in an X post.

Here’s how he replied to Musk: “The production cost of my videos runs into millions, and even with a billion views on X, it wouldn’t come close to covering a fraction of it. Nonetheless, I’m game to explore possibilities once monetization hits its stride!”

While his reported revenue from his debut X video looks like a big number, it’s not a lot for MrBeast.

According to Forbes, Donaldson pulled in $54 million last year and was the highest-earning creator of 2023. He is also close to a deal with Amazon on a $100 million show, according to reporting from Puck.

Additionally, the 150 million views on X might have not been completely organic. X users reported seeing the show in their feed multiple times as an unmarked advertisement. Donaldson said on X that he thought the video was boosted by advertisers.

Still, Donaldson is showing that there’s some earnings potential for the creator economy on X, which is trying to take on Google’s YouTube and TikTok in the burgeoning market of online influencers.

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