MrBeast becomes first YouTuber to hit 500 mn subscribers, gets a custom Play Button

3 min readNew DelhiJun 14, 2026 12:04 PM IST

Jimmy Donaldson, popular as MrBeast, has become the first YouTuber to surpass 500 million subscribers on the video-streaming platform. The achievement comes less than two years after he became the most-subscribed creator on YouTube, surpassing former leader PewDiePie and overtaking India’s T-Series in the platform’s creator rankings.

For the feat, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan presented MrBeast with a custom Play Button. Sharing a post on X, Mohan wrote, “Congratulations @MrBeast on making history as the first creator to reach 500 million subscribers on @YouTube.”

“This achievement is a testament to what’s possible when a creator has the freedom to follow their creativity and be their authentic selves. Jimmy, you are an incredible innovator and we’re so proud to be part of your journey,” the post added.

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Congratulations @MrBeast on making history as the first creator to reach 500 million subscribers on @YouTube! 🎉

This achievement is a testament to what’s possible when a creator has the freedom to follow their creativity and be their authentic selves. Jimmy, you are an… pic.twitter.com/8fK63NafCE

— Neal Mohan (@nealmohan) June 13, 2026

Who is MrBeast?

MrBeast first joined YouTube in 2012 at the age of 13. During his early years, he experimented with gaming content, reaction videos, and commentary on YouTube trends.

At 27 years old, MrBeast has built a global audience through ambitious videos featuring massive cash giveaways, large-scale competitions, elaborate challenges, and philanthropic projects. Over the years, MrBeast turned his channel into a multimedia enterprise involving hundreds of employees and international production teams, producing some of the most expensive content on YouTube.

Beyond content creation, Donaldson expanded into business ventures, including Feastables, a snack-food company, while also leading charitable initiatives focused on food distribution, housing support, and infrastructure projects in communities around the world.

MrBeast’s net worth

In March 2025, Forbes reported that MrBeast earned $85 million last year, securing the number one spot on the Forbes Top Creators 2024 list. However, the YouTuber shut these claims down, saying, “99.9% sure they just make up numbers. That’s just not even remotely accurate lol.”

Earlier, he responded to an X comment tagging him “the only billionaire under 20 to have inherited his wealth.”

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Responding to the claim, the YouTuber shared that he was borrowing money from his mother to pay for his wedding. “I have very little money because I reinvest everything (I think this year we’ll spend around a quarter of a billion on content),” he wrote.

“Ironically, I’m borrowing $ from my mom to pay for my upcoming wedding lol,” MrBeast added.