World’s Top YouTuber With $2.6 Billion in Assets Says He “Can’t Even Afford a Burger,” Prompting Backlash: “I Wish I Were as ‘Poor’ as You”

[Financial News] MrBeast, the world’s top YouTuber with assets totaling 2.6 billion dollars (about 3.8 trillion won), has stirred controversy after revealing that he has “almost no cash” in his personal bank account.
On the 15th, Fortune magazine highlighted MrBeast’s remarks in a piece titled “Billionaires Who Don’t Act Rich Despite Being Rich.”
Earlier this month, MrBeast said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), “I borrow money to spend. That means I basically don’t have any money,” adding, “If you exclude the value of my equity in the company, most people watching this video probably have more money in their bank accounts than I do.” He went on to say, “My equity in the company won’t even buy me a McDonald’s burger in the morning.”
MrBeast, who is 27 years old this year, is estimated to have a net worth of at least 2.6 billion dollars. He owns more than half of Beast Industries, a company valued at 5 billion dollars.
In addition, he runs several other businesses, including the multimillion-dollar chocolate brand Feastables, the packaged food brand Lunchly, the delivery and takeout-focused brand MrBeast Burger, and the production company MrBeast LLC.
When combined with the revenue from his YouTube channel, which has accumulated 107 billion views, his net worth is believed to be even higher.
Despite this, MrBeast has stressed that he does not have “wads of cash” in his pockets. Through WSJ, he said, “People are like, ‘You’re a billionaire.’ And I’m like, ‘That’s just my net worth,’” adding, “Right now, I’m actually in the red.” He continued, “It’s funny talking about my personal finances. No one believes me no matter what I say.”
Most online commenters have mocked him for “pretending to be poor.” Reactions included, “He must mean he doesn’t have enough to buy the entire McDonald’s corporation,” “I wish I were as ‘poor’ as he is,” and “A guy selling chocolate bars with his name on them is saying he can’t even afford a Happy Meal?”
Fortune magazine, meanwhile, explained, “The reason MrBeast claims he is poor, despite earning tens of millions of dollars a year and running a 5 billion dollar business, is because he reinvests almost all of his money back into his ventures.”
MrBeast said, “I personally have almost no money. I reinvest everything,” adding, “This year alone, I plan to spend about 250 million dollars just on content.”
He also said, “Ironically, I’m borrowing money from my mom to pay for my upcoming wedding.”
moon@fnnews.com Moon Young-jin Reporter