American content creator Jimmy Donaldson, known worldwide as MrBeast, surprised his followers by stating that he is suffering from a severe cash shortage, to the point where he doesn't have enough in his bank account to buy a meal at McDonald's. Donaldson, who has over 460 million subscribers on YouTube, told The Wall Street Journal, as reported by Fortune: 'I'm in debt. That's the size of what I actually have. Every single person watching this video has more money in their bank account than I do, if we exclude the value of my company's stock, which can't buy me a McDonald's breakfast.' The 27-year-old entrepreneur runs a $5 billion entertainment empire, yet he confirms this wealth is only on paper, emphasizing that he keeps less than a million dollars for his personal expenses despite owning over half of his giant company, Beast Industries. Despite signing a nine-figure deal with Amazon, having a YouTube channel with over 107 billion cumulative views, and entering the billionaire club through a series of successful projects, he confirms that most of his money doesn't stay in his bank account. His investments include launching the famous chocolate brand Feastables, the canned food product Lunchly similar to Lunchables, the virtual restaurant chain MrBeast Burger, and the production company MrBeast LLC specializing in viral videos. According to estimates, Donaldson's net worth is around $2.6 billion, but he stresses that this value does not mean he holds large amounts of cash. 'In reality, I don't have any money right now,' he added. 'I wake up and work... I'm so busy with work that I don't think about my bank account. My entire focus is on making the best possible videos and building the biggest business I can.' Donaldson explains that the main reason for his cash shortage is that he reinvests almost all of his profits back into his projects. MrBeast is not an exceptional case, as several other billionaire entrepreneurs have expressed similar feelings. Ben Francis, founder and CEO of the $1.5 billion sportswear brand Gymshark, said his $1.3 billion net worth isn't real money. 'People think there's a bank account in my name with billions of dollars in it, which is not true at all. It's all fake,' Francis explained in a 2023 interview with The SuperPower Podcast. He pointed out that his wealth is tied to his 70% stake in the company, making its value subject to fluctuation, and confirmed that financial value shouldn't be a measure of a person's worth or success. In the same context, Lucy Gu, co-founder of Scale AI, has chosen a modest lifestyle despite owning a stake valued at around $1.3 billion. 'They tell me: You're a billionaire!'. Nevertheless, MrBeast confirms that he doesn't live a life of luxury or extravagance, saying: 'It's funny to talk about my personal financial situation because nobody believes me'.
