Once upon a time, YouTube was just another website on the Internet where regular people can post and watch funny videos. It’s certainly come a long way from that.
Now, the video-sharing platform has become a lucrative avenue for corporations, celebrities, and influencers to earn million-dollar paychecks.
Just look at the current biggest YouTube stars and the impressive fortune they’ve made over the years.
Jeffree Star
Jeffree Star is one of the most controversial figures on YouTube right now, but he’s also the richest. Thanks to his cosmetic empire, Jeffree Star Cosmetics, and loyal YouTube fanbase, the 34-year-old beauty guru has accumulated a net worth of $200 million.
Starting out as a pop artist in the same vein as Lady Gaga, Star switched careers in the 2010s to launch a makeup company using his own life savings. He was among the first video creators to use YouTube to successfully promote their own brands.
PewDiePie
PewDiePie, whose real name is Felix Kjellberg, is a Swedish gamer and commentator who once held the title as the channel with the most number of subscribers on YouTube. He currently has 105 million subscribers.
He started out posting ‘Let’s Play’ and other video game-related content before switching to more comedic videos. Kjellberg has also once starred in his own web television series ‘Scare PewDiePie’, which was exclusively shown on YouTube Red.
The 30-year-old Internet star has an estimated net worth of $40 million.
DanDTM
Another gamer millionaire on YouTube is DanTDM.
The British internet personality, whose real name is Daniel Middleton, started his online career in 2012 when he created The Diamond Minecart channel, now shortened to DanTDM.
His content, which covers games like Minecraft and Pokémon, has won him two Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards in 2015 and 2016. Middleton has also set various Guinness World Records in games like Rocket League and Minecraft.
At 28 years old, Middleton boasts of a fortune reportedly worth $35 million.
Ryan’s World
The youngest person on this list is Ryan Kaji, the eight-year-old star of the hit channel Ryan’s World. He began his career in 2015 with his parents, Loann and Shion, recording him opening and playing a variety of toys.
Kaji’s bubbly personality earned him 25.5 million subscribers on YouTube, and he quickly became one of the highest-paid content creators on the platform. He has since launched his own line of toys.
The Internet star has also scored a show on Nickelodeon called, ‘Ryan’s Mystery Playdate.’ The boy has a net worth of $32 million.