How Much Money Do The Richest YouTubers Make?

YouTubers are some of our biggest celebrities today, and they can make some serious coin on the video-sharing platform. Think of YouTube stars, and the likes of PewDiePie, James Charles, and Emma Chamberlain probably come to mind — but are they among the richest YouTubers of them all? 

It's possible to make millions on YouTube, and some people are able to do it easily, becoming multi-millionaires as they upload videos from the comfort of their computer. Whether performing stunts, unboxing toys, singing and dancing, or simply vlogging, they're making some serious money. If we went back a decade or two, and told people that you'd be able to make a living through being a YouTuber, they'd have no idea what you were talking about. But as digital culture has evolved, so have our favorite internet personalities, YouTubers among them. So, how much money do the richest YouTubers make, and who are the richest YouTubers out there?

The richest YouTuber made almost $30 million in one year

The richest YouTuber earned almost $30 million from June 2019 to June 2020, but just who is it? The richest YouTuber, earning $29.5 million in a year, is a 9-year-old boy (via Forbes). Ryan Kaji has been making videos with his parents since 2015, often reviewing and "unboxing" toys. Formerly called Ryan ToysReview, Ryan's World has almost 30 million subscribers, and the videos on the channel have been viewed almost 50 billion times. According to Celebrity Net Worth, he's worth $32 million altogether.

Kids' toys are big business. The seventh highest-paid YouTuber, per Forbes, is Anastasia Radzinskaya, or simply Nastya, a 7-year-old girl from Russia. She might be a few places below Kaji, but Nastya still made around $18.5 million in the same time frame — she's currently the biggest children's YouTuber on the planet, and her family have since moved from their home in Russia to Florida (via Insider). They might not be the first YouTubers that spring to mind, but they're some of the richest around.

Second place took $24 million last year

On YouTube, Jimmy Donaldson made $24 million, to come in at second place after Ryan Kaji (via Forbes). If you don't recognize the name, perhaps you're familiar with the YouTube channel Mr. Beast? The 23-year-old is the man behind the wildly successful channel, where he goes viral by doing various exciting stunts, while also dabbling in philanthropy — his Team Trees initiative has raised over $22 million to date (via Insider).

With almost 50 million subscribers and over 3 billion video views in total on Mr. Beast, it's no surprise that Donaldson is one of the richest YouTubers — and that he can afford to do so many of his expensive stunts.

Most of the successful YouTubers and internet personalities we think of make millions of dollars by creating and monetizing content. Some of the big names like Brent Rivera (via Celebrity Net Worth), Emma Chamberlain (via Celebrity Net Worth), and Trisha Paytas (via Celebrity Net Worth) might not top the list alongside Kaji and Donaldson, but are still worth $4 million, $8 million, and $4 million, respectively, showing that even being a multi-millionaire isn't enough to make someone top the list.