YouTube history was made on June 12, 2026. Jimmy Donaldson, popularly known as MrBeast, officially crossed the 500 million subscriber mark, becoming the first individual YouTuber in history to reach this landmark milestone.
To celebrate the occasion, MrBeast held a special livestream on YouTube, which already gathered nearly 10 million views shortly after it ended. Over 600,000 people watched the stream live, which ran for about an hour and a half. In a fun moment, his fans messed with him a little, unsubscribing from his channel just as he was about to hit the mark, before resubscribing minutes later.
MrBeast first became the most-subscribed individual creator on YouTube back in November 2022, and then became the most-subscribed channel overall in June 2024, surpassing Indian music label T-Series.
During his livestream, Donaldson spoke emotionally about his journey. He shared that both his parents were in the military, and his family went bankrupt during the 2008 financial crisis. When he started his channel, he could not even afford equipment and had to save AdSense money just to buy a microphone and computer.
Speaking ahead of the milestone, Donaldson said: “These metrics, whether it’s views or subscribers, I have more than I could have ever imagined I would have as a younger kid.”
Giving back has also been central to his mission. To celebrate reaching 20 million subscribers, MrBeast launched the #TeamTrees campaign, raising over $25 million to plant more than 25 million trees.
With 500 million subscribers now behind him, MrBeast continues to redefine what is possible in online content creation and shows no signs of slowing down.
