A study published in The Sun states that “75% of children ages 6 to 17 want to become YouTubers.” A majority of Gen Z and Millennials also would chose becoming a YouTuber as their most desired career.[1]
This may come as a big surprise to older people in Generation X or Boomers that the dream of going to college and getting a good job is fading into more appealing opportunities. YouTube has lowered the barrier of entry for anyone to create a video channel that can reach over 2.1 billion monthly active users.
YouTube pays its largest creators incredibly well through advertising fees, this is why young people are so attracted to it as a way to make a living. A good Youtuber with a large audience can make a living being a YouTube video creator. A great YouTuber can make a six-figure salary. The best youtubers can become millionaires.
Much like the baby boomer generation was drawn to high paying jobs with great benefits, the new generations are drawn to where the biggest income potential is at. The barrier to entry is high as it takes knowing analytics to produce the right videos. The videos must be high quality and there are many different models for being on camera, screen sharing, or animation. An aspiring YouTuber must also do an incredible amount of work consistently and not quit when they are spending months trying to get some views and the start.
Also note there are stars that also make a lot of income off their YouTube channel like Rihanna and Arianna Grande but they’re really singers and not just YouTubers full time so they’re not included in the list below.
There is a large barrier to entry into becoming a successful YouTuber, let’s look at the rewards if you succeed with the top ten YouTubers net worth estimates from online sources and income estimates from Social Blade below.
Top 10 Richest YouTubers in the World 2023
1. MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson)
Subscribers – 124 million
$415K – $6.6M Estimated monthly earnings
$5M – $79.7M Estimated yearly earnings
MrBeast said he turned down a $1 billion deal (USD) for his YouTube channel and associated companies in 2022. [2] According to a report in Axios, MrBeast hopes to raise $150 million USD in investment capital for his companies at a $1.5 billion valuation (USD). Jimmy Donaldson aka MrBeast is a YouTuber, Internet personality, and businessman who has a personal net worth of $105 million USD. He’s the most famous YouTuber of all time.[3]
2. Pinkfong Baby Shark – Kids’ Songs & Stories
Subscribers – 63.8 million
$191.1K – $3.1M Estimated monthly earnings
$2.3M – $36.7M Estimated yearly earnings
The Baby Shark song has made Kim and his family wealthy. Pinkfong is valued at about 1 trillion Korean won ($1.1 billion USD) as per local media reports, and the family, the largest shareholders, has a total net worth of approximately $300 million USD, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.[4]
3. Cocomelon – Nursery Rhymes
Subscribers – 150 million
$602.4K – $9.6M Estimated monthly earnings
$7.2M – $115.7M Estimated yearly earnings
Cocomelon net worth is $790 Million USD as a company. Jay Jeon is the founder of Cocomelon.[5]
4. T-Series
Subscribers – 232 million
$657.4K – $10.5M Estimated monthly earnings
$7.9M – $126.2M Estimated yearly earnings
T-Series as a company has an estimated net worth of $515.4 million USD as of 2023. The company’s revenue forecast is based on YouTube’s advertising revenue, which means that the corporation’s net worth can be much higher. [3]
The average T-Series salary for its employees in India ranges from approximately ₹1.9 Lakhs per year for a Video Editor to ₹ 6.6 Lakhs per year for a Legal Consultant. Salary estimates are based on 146 T-Series salaries received from various employees of T-Series. [6]
5. Vlad and Niki
Subscribers – 92 million
$273K – $4.4M Estimated monthly earnings
$3.3M – $52.4M Estimated yearly earnings
Vlad and Niki have an estimated net worth of approximately $280 million USD. [7]
6. Like Nastya
Subscribers – 103 million
$203K – $3.2M Estimated monthly earnings
$2.4M – $39M Estimated yearly earnings
Like Nastya Net Worth is $260 Million U.S. Dollars. Like Nastya is a Russian YouTuber. The real name of Like Nastya is Anastasia Radzinskaya.[8]
7. Zee Music Company
Subscribers – 91 million
$172.8K – $2.8M Estimated monthly earnings
$2.1M – $33.2M Estimated yearly earnings
Zee Music Company has an estimated net worth of about $168.26 million USD as a business.[9]
8. SET India
Subscribers – 149 million
$482.6K – $7.7M Estimated monthly earnings
$5.8M – $92.7M Estimated yearly earnings
Net worth of SET India is approximately $165 million USD as a business. [10]
9. Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg (PewDiePie)
Subscribers – 111 million
$11.4K – $182K Estimated monthly earnings
$136.5K – $2.2M Estimated yearly earnings
PewDiePie’s net worth is estimated to be $64 million USD.[11]
10. 5-Minute Crafts
Subscribers – 78.3 million
$55K – $880.5K Estimated monthly earnings
$660.3K – $10.6M Estimated yearly earnings
5-Minute Crafts has an estimated net worth of approximately $25.94 million. [12]
Conclusion
YouTube has created a platform and advertising ecosystem that allows aspiring video content creators to be rewarded financially for their efforts. YouTube has one of the most lucrative ways to monetize content creators audience of any platform online. These monetary rewards have inspired a huge volume of creators to work diligently over long periods of time creating and uploading content for the chance to make large amounts of money.
YouTube inspires the volume from video uploads and then can use its algorithm to see which ones audiences want to watch and optimize the user experience. Their real power comes from their algorithm and ability to get and keep people’s attention to show them ads. They have a vast ad network with a diversification of different industries. YouTubers get paid based on the ad rate for their audiences. Ad rates differ between countries, industry, and category. This is why the earn rate are so variable in this blog’s list of YouTubers, they are only estimates based on volume.
Google owns YouTube so they have the additional edge of sharing YouTube videos on Google search.
YouTube gets so many creators based on the lottery system because so many people want to be the next MrBeast. However, you don’t need to be #1 to make a living on YouTube, but you do need to be in the top 0.33% of creators. There are 51 million YouTube creators, and of those approximately 168,300 people make a full time living on YouTube.[13][14]
YouTube channels have become such a powerful platform we may see them going public as a business much like websites, apps, and software have done in the past 25 years. YouTube channels are one of the world’s newest and most powerful platforms of the past 12 years.
