Several North Carolinians were among the top earners on YouTube in 2020
For many teenagers, YouTube is television.
On average, teens now spend 34% of their video watching time on YouTube compared to just 14% on live television, a 2017 survey by Trendera found.
All of that attention is sending advertising dollars rushing to Google, which owns the video hosting platform. In 2020, the company revealed that YouTube now makes more revenue than any of the major cable companies.
Most of the money, however, is being funneled back to the creators that attract the most eyeballs. Revenue sharing has made thousands of people wealthy and created a whole new industry of influencers who document their entire lives to hundreds of thousands of subscribers.
And several of the most popular YouTubers hail from North Carolina, according to a new analysis by Forbes Magazine.
The magazine estimated that the 10 highest-paid YouTubers made around $211 million between June 1, 2019 and June 1, 2020.
The pandemic might actually have been a boon for the website, because that number was a 30% increase in earnings from the previous year.
MrBeast, Rhett and Link
MrBeast, who has become well known for his extravagant gift giving, is the highest-paid North Carolinian on the list.
MrBeast, a.k.a. Jimmy Donaldson, has seen his popularity explode in the past two years.
The 22-year-old, who grew up in Raleigh and now resides in Greenville, had more than three billion views between 2019 and 2020. His channel now has 48.6 million subscribers.
Forbes estimates his YouTube brought in $24 million.
But a lot of that money is poured back into creating videos. His average video cost $300,000 to make, and one video cost him $1.2 million (he gave $1 million to a contestant who could keep their hand on a stack of cash for the longest), according to Bloomberg News.
He also employs around 50 people to help create his videos.
Donaldson is starting to branch out beyond YouTube, as well.
Recently, he launched a viral burger joint called MrBeast Burger, borrowing space in existing restaurants to grill burgers and chicken tenders. The burgers have attracted long lines across the country, including in Wilson.
The North Carolina locations for MrBeast Burger are in Asheville, Greensboro, Pineville and Wilson.
Rhett and Link, a channel home to Rhett James McLaughlin, 43, and Charles Lincoln Neal III, 42, are the other North Carolinians to make the list, earning $20 million.
The two North Carolina State University alums are some of the longest-running popular creators on YouTube, having started a talk show on the website called “Good Mythical Morning” in 2012. Their channels have 41.8 million subscribers.
Before they were roommates at N.C. State, the two were school friends in Buies Creek.
McLaughlin and Lincoln both now live in Los Angeles and run Mythical Entertainment, a video company that has 100 employees and garnered more than two billion views in the past year, according to Forbes.
The 10 highest-paid YouTubers:
10. Jeffrey Lynn Steininger, a makeup artist who does tutorials. ($15 million)
9. David Dobrik, a 24-year-old who does stunts. ($16 million)
8. Blippi, a YouTube channel that creates content for children. ($17 million)
7. Nastya, a 6-year-old from Russia. ($18.5 million)
6. Preston Arsement, who makes videos of himself playing Minecraft. ($19 million)
5. Markiplier, a video-game reviewer. ($19.5 million)
4. Rhett and Link ($20 million)
3. Dude Perfect, a group of five friends who do sport trick shots. ($23 million)
2. MrBeast ($24 million)
1. Ryan Kaji, a 9-year-old that reviews toys. ($29.5 million)
This story was produced with financial support from a coalition of partners led by Innovate Raleigh as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work. Learn more; go to bit.ly/newsinnovate
This story was originally published December 26, 2020 at 9:00 AM.
