YouTube’s Top Earners In 2020

Remember when a survey showed that a bunch of kids between 8 and 12 “aspired” to be vloggers and YouTube stars instead of astronauts? If you look at Forbes’ 2020 highest-paid YouTube stars, it kind of makes sense.

1. Ryan Kaji (earnings = $29.5m; subscribers = 42m) — Ryan’s toy unboxings, science experiments, and other stuff you do when you’re a (comically rich) 9-year old brought in 12B views. The young YouTuber is turning this attention into a media empire.

2. MrBeast ($24m; 48m) — 22-year-old Jimmy Donaldson (AKA MrBeast) is the master of what some call “Jenga storytelling” — as in, you know how something will end but are compelled to watch to the end.

3. Dude Perfect ($23m; 58m) — A team of 5 brothers who do some absurd stunts, like Go Kart paintball and challenging NFL players to a football skills competition.

4. Rhett and Link ($20m; 42m) — A comedy duo (43-year-old Rhett McLaughlin, 42-year-old Charles Lincoln III) who started with a nerdy talk show in 2012 but have built their YouTube empire into a 100-employee operation.

… 🎧 Skipping to No. 8: Blippi ($17m; 27m) — Think “Mr. Rogers for YouTube.”