From Ryan Kaji To Markiplier: YouTubers With Multimillion-Dollar Earnings In 2021

Jan 24, 2022 by apost team

The internet has changed the way most people consume media, and the video platform YouTube has greatly contributed to that change. When YouTube was created in 2005, people had the opportunity to share their own videos with the world for the first time. This has developed into a multimillion-dollar industry that has produced some of the world’s most recognizable stars. 

The website continues to grow and offers the opportunity for anyone to launch their own career in the entertainment industry without ever stepping foot in Hollywood. In the year 2021, viewers saw YouTube stars bring in the most earnings than in any previous year. The accumulated earnings from the highest-paid YouTube stars for 2021 equals $300 million. This number is record-breaking and 40% higher than the total earnings in 2020.

The highest-paid star earned $54 million in just one year, and his videos accumulated 10 billion views. This star also has his own restaurant chain and sells burgers to his fans. There are also two children on the list who made millions of dollars by posting videos of decorating for Halloween and playing with toys. Around half of the earnings come from ad revenue, and the rest is merchandise sales and other ventures. Some stars have sold rights to their old videos to a company called Spotter for a significant payout. 

Here we look at a list of the highest-paid YouTube stars and their channels. The top earners on this list made more money in 2021 than some celebrities, including Billie Eilish, Kim Kardashian and even Angelina Jolie. Read on to see who was the highest-paid YouTube star in 2021. 

Ryan Kaji

Kaji first started his YouTube channel, Ryan’s World,  when he was only 4 years old. He began by playing with toys and would review them for his viewers. Now that he is 10, Kaji is becoming less interested in toys and playtime, so his channel has transitioned to adding animated characters to appear alongside him in videos. According to Forbes, Kaji earned $27 million in 2021, which is down from what he brought in during 2020.

Like Nastya

Like Nastya is another channel from a child star who makes wholesome content for kids to watch. Anastasia Radzinskaya, who is just 7, earned $28 million in 2021. That year she sold the rights to her old videos to a company called Spotter. In 2019, she made the top 3 on Forbes’ list of the highest-paid YouTube stars. The girl and her family moved to the United States from Russia, and her videos are translated into several languages. The videos show her doing things like playing with her best friends, visiting petting zoos and frequenting amusement parks.

Unspeakable

The Unspeakable channel is run by Nathan Graham, who is from Houston, Texas, and has been making content on YouTube for over 10 years. Graham also sold the rights to his old videos to Spotter for a lump sum but retains the rights to his new videos. In 2021, he earned $28.5 million, which was enough to earn a spot on the Forbes list for the first time. The channel features content about video games and also some live-action stunts like filling a room with alligators.

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Rhett & Link

This duo posts videos to their channel Good Mythical Morning every day. The talk show is hosted by Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal, who have been posting videos on the platform for over a decade. The success of the show has allowed the men to pursue other YouTube channels like Good Mythical More and Mythical Kitchen. The latter is a cooking show hosted by chef Josh Scherer. McLaughlin and Neal earned $30 million in 2021.

Markiplier

This channel earned $38 million in 2021, showing an increase from the previous year and earning itself the place as Top 3 of most-earning YouTube channels. Markiplier grew to fame as a Let's Player posting videos of himself playing horror games while he was still studying bioengineering. He has since branched out to self-written short movies, sketches, and other artistic content. Along with ad revenue, the star earned a great deal of money from sales of his own clothing brand in 2021. The YouTube star also focuses on charity work, regularly donating to several charities and medical research.

Jake Paul

Paul is known for his YouTube career, as well as for his recent foray into the world of professional boxing. He fought in three highly publicized matches against MMA fighters in 2021: the first against Ben Askren, a mixed martial artist, and the second and third against Tyron Woodley, another mixed martial artist. Paul won all three fights. He now uses his YouTube channel mostly to promote his boxing career. And it has paid off, as he earned $45 million and the spot as the Top 2 in 2021.

MrBeast

MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, is the highest-paid YouTube star of 2021, earning an incredible $54 million in one year. Donaldson’s videos are some of the most-watched on the platform and show him and his friends doing incredible stunts like being buried alive. In 2021, he recreated the sets from the show “Squid Game” and hosted his own version of the games. With the addition of his restaurant chain MrBeast Burger, Donaldson has changed the way the world views internet stars. 

What do you think of this list of YouTube stars? Do you watch any of these channels? Let us know, and be sure to pass this along to your friends and family.