--- title: "MrBeast Warns Youth Not to Be Like Him" description: "MrBeast, one of the world's most famous YouTubers, is begging wannabe influencers not to follow in his footsteps." date: "2024-03-16" modified: "2024-03-16" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/mrbeast-warning-wannabe-influencers" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "influencers" - "social media" - "the digest" - "YouTube" --- # MrBeast Warns Youth Not to Be Like Him ![MrBeast, one of the world's most famous YouTubers, is begging wannabe influencers not to follow in his footsteps.]() *\Image: Monica Schipper for Nickelodeon via Getty / Futurism\* ## Not as I Do One of the [world's most famous YouTubers]() is begging wannabe influencers not to follow in his footsteps. "It’s painful to see people quit their job/drop out of school to make content full time before they’re ready," [MrBeast posted]() on X-formerly-Twitter. "For every person like me that makes it, thousands don’t." "Keep that in mind and be smart plz," advised the 25-year-old influencer, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson. This isn't the first time the [philanthropically-minded]() social media sensation has warned youth not to be like him — though this more recent disclaimer is, at least, a bit more humble than the last. "No one's ever gonna do what I do better than me," Donaldson [said during an interview]() on what appears to be his own hype channel, [Mentality Madness](), in 2023. "It's not even humanly possible. I reinvest every penny I make, I work every hour I'm awake. No, the next me isn't gonna be because no one's gonna do what I do." ## Beast Meat While those claims seem both hyperbolic and dubious, the man makes a good point: content creators generally have to [work extremely hard]() to get noticed, becoming semi-professional [algorithm gamers](), [marketers](), [video editors]() and [actors]() all at the same time. And even if a would-be influencer excels at doing all that, there's no guarantee they'll go anywhere given that a lot of social media stardom is based just as much on [dumb luck]() as it is on talent or acumen. Earlier this year in another MrBeast-centric article, an influencer agent [told *Fortune*]() that people can't make the big bucks like Donaldson without diversifying their revenue streams — which means, in layman's terms, that they have multiple lucrative side hustles. "If you’ve put years of effort into one platform and revenue stream it can be quite a difficult career decision to be put in," Thomas Walters, the Europe CEO and cofounder of the Billion Dollar Boys influencer agency, told the magazine. "In some cases, creators have their entire following on one platform, and those are the creators that we feel for in all of this, who need to think about diversifying away from areas where they might be potentially compromised in the future." Indeed, MrBeast doesn't make his money off social media alone. Instead, he's parlayed his viral stardom into founding multiple businesses of his own, including a [scandal-plagued burger joint]() and a chocolate business. He also is sponsored by [multiple]() [big boy]() [businesses]() too, including, strangely, the [Charlotte Hornets]() basketball team. Ultimately, Donaldson's advice is spot-on — except for his [follow-up tweet]() about betting one's net worth in a game of roulette. More on social media: [*Trump Secretly Begged Musk to Buy Failing Truth Social*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()