1) PewDiePie
PewDiePie is the most subscribed YouTube channel of all time, with over 57 million subscribers. He has 3.1 billion views on his videos and he's been on YouTube since 2010. The Swedish gamer has made a name for himself as one of the most iconic people on the site, but he's not that rich in real life. In fact, he lives in an apartment in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn which he bought for $875K back in 2013. His net worth is estimated to be around $12 million USD. That sounds like a lot of money, but keep in mind this was calculated by taking his earnings (post-tax) from 2009-2016 and multiplying it by 5 to account for inflation. That number would've been higher if he hadn't lost more than $6 million USD in 2016 due to paying off taxes owed in Sweden after having sold 50% of his company/the company lost more than half its value according to Forbes.
For what it's worth, Forbes listed him as being worth only about $9M back when they were calculating how much income tax the YouTuber owed. Though maybe those numbers were outdated? Regardless, this guy isn't poor by any means...and actually seems pretty loaded now!
2) Markiplier
Markiplier is a famous YouTube channel with over 20 million subscribers. But what many people don't know is that Markiplier had to take out loans in order to get his channel up and running. He also used up all of his savings just to keep it afloat for the first few months.
Markiplier's story doesn't stop there, though. He almost quit the whole operation when he was offered a job as a game tester with an annual salary of $37,000. He turned down the offer because he believed in himself and his idea too much to give up on it. And today, he has one of the most popular channels on YouTube!
3) Jacksepticeye
Jacksepticeye is one of the more well-known youtubers on this list, and he was worth a lot at one point. He's not broke now, but he lost a lot of money in 2007 when his business went bankrupt. The thing about Jacksepticeye is that he's still doing really well for himself and has done really well since then. His channel has over 10 million subscribers, so it's not like he can't make any money off of it at all! On top of that, he has millions of other sources where he makes money from (like social media) . It's hard to say exactly how much Jacksepticeye earns annually, but we do know for sure that he does have an annual income and is not as broke as some people might think
4) Smosh
Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox have been on YouTube for years. They've done everything from comedy sketches to video game reviews, but they're not quite as rich as you might think. For the past five years, Smosh has made around $7 million a year according to one estimate, which is pretty good for two guys who started a channel when they were just 15. But that's still only about $14 million over five years—that's less than most people make in a year! The amount of money they've made off of sponsored posts alone is enough to put them comfortably in the top 10, though.
Some YouTubers are actually poorer than you think:
-Smosh (Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox) - In the past 5 years, Smosh has earned $14 million total.
5) The Game Grumps
The Game Grumps, who made $4.6 million in 2015, are not among the richest YouTubers on YouTube. In fact, they're not even on the list of top 10 highest-paid YouTube stars according to Forbes. The Game Grumps are a group of Let's Players that started their channel in 2012 and have played games like Animal Crossing and Super Smash Brothers as well as Minecraft. They also have a spinoff channel called Steam Train with Ross O'Donovan and Danny Avidan where they play video games like Mario Kart 8 and Dark Souls III together. The trio has over 12 million subscribers on their main channel alone! Though they don't make enough money for their videos to qualify for the top 10 highest-paid YouTube stars, these hilarious guys are still millionaires thanks to investments from one of the biggest gaming companies in the world: Valve Corporation.
6) VanossGaming
VanossGaming is an American YouTube personality, known for playing video games on his channel. He has a net worth of $3 million dollars, with an annual salary of $1 million dollars. He was born in Venezuela and moved to San Diego when he was 6 years old. His family originally immigrated to the United States because they felt it would be a better life for them than living in Venezuela, which at the time was going through difficult economic times. They didn't know anyone in San Diego so they were forced to live out of their car for six months until they could afford their first apartment. VanossGaming uploads a new video every Monday and Thursday about gaming or other relevant content that he feels his viewers might enjoy. Vanoss's favorite game is Fortnite as he enjoys how many different ways there are to play.
In addition, he usually does giveaways and challenges for his subscribers if they choose to purchase something from one of the following sponsors: Gaming laptop company Cyberpower PC, peripheral company Razer, energy drink Monster Energy and fast food chain Wendy's.
Vanoss lives with his mom who helps him edit videos before posting them on YouTube.
7) CaptainSparklez
The name CaptainSparklez might sound familiar to you if you are a gamer. His channel is geared towards gaming, and he has amassed over 10 million subscribers. The 24-year-old YouTube star is also rumored to have made $6 million in 2016. So it would be safe to assume that he doesn't need the money, right? Wrong! In a recent interview with Newsbeat, CaptainSparklez revealed that he lives paycheck to paycheck and his only financial security is his YouTube income.
I'm not really rich, he said in the interview. I live paycheck to paycheck, he said. I don't make much, like 30,000 per year. He explained that this was because of how much time he spent on videos and livestreams every day. It's like a 9-5 job for me, but then all my hours go into making content for YouTube as well, so it becomes 12 hours at least every day just being on camera or editing content for my channel. He says most people don't know about the difficulties because they're getting their information from social media posts on Snapchat or Instagram which can make him seem wealthy when in reality he isn't.
8) DanTDM
DanTDM is one of the most popular youtubers on YouTube with over 20 million subscribers and 12 billion views. Even so, he's still not as rich as you might think.
Forbes estimated that DanTDM made $16 million in 2016, but that was before YouTube cut ties with their content creators for advertising revenue.
Some sources say he's worth about $2 million, which would make him poorer than you think. He currently has a net worth of just under $5 million dollars.
You're probably reading this thinking: He's rich! But remember, people who are a lot richer than DanTDM exist - such as DJ Khaled or PewDiePie (both of whom have higher earnings) or even your favorite celebrity.
9) JennaMarbles
1. Jenna Marbles is worth $2 million
Jenna is the only female on this list and she's worth a whopping $2 million! She's one of the most popular female youtubers with over 10 million followers on twitter and over 10 billion views on her YouTube channel. She has a book, clothing line, and even an app! What can't she do?
2. Roman Atwood
Roman is also one of the more popular male youtubers out there with over 13 million followers on twitter. He's got some videos that have gone viral like I told my kids I ate their Halloween candy or i bet my life. But after thinking about it...he lives in Ohio which is not cheap to live in at all. He could have money but he might be keeping it on the low because he seems like he wants to stay humble by doing things like pretending to jump off a building for his viewers' entertainment. And don't forget about his girlfriend who often pops up in his videos. When they're not together, they seem to really miss each other so they must have some serious cash between them if he doesn't mind living across the country from her. He may be wealthier than we think but we'll never know until he tells us himself.
10) ShaneDawson
ShaneDawson has been on YouTube since 2007 and has amassed a following of over 17 million subscribers. He's also known for his sketch comedy and pop culture parodies. But even with all the success he's seen, he admits that the money isn't rolling in as much as you might think it is. In fact, ShaneDawson revealed that he hasn't been paid for any of his work on YouTube in over six years! That means that for over 6 years now, Shane's entire channel has relied solely on what advertisers pay YouTube to run ads before his videos. And from what we can see, there are plenty of advertisements on ShaneDawson's videos! So how does he make his living? Well, back in 2005 when Shane had just started making videos, he told The New York Times: I was literally making next to nothing. It turns out that the early days of your career aren't always easy and some people have to find other ways to make ends meet while they're still trying to get their foot in the door. So while this celebrity may not be wealthier than you thought, at least we know where he's coming from and why his life is like this.
You must be logged in to post a comment.