Forbes’ Highest-Paid YouTube Stars List Is Once Again Topped By A 9-Year-Old

Forbes Highest-Paid YouTube Stars Of 2020 Is Once Again Topped By A 9-Year-Old

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Forbes’ list of highest-paid YouTube stars is once again topped by 9-year-old Ryan Kaji with his “Ryan’s World” channel earning $29.5 million in 2020.

That’s right. A 9-year-old raked in $29.5 million with 12.2 billion views and 41.7 million subscribers on YouTube in 2020.

This November he became the first YouTuber featured in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with a float based on his superhero alter ego. It was a marketing ploy as much as it was a thrilling moment for the kids who tune into Kaji’s videos of DIY science experiments, family storytime and reviews of new toys. That’s just the start: The bulk of his business comes from licensing deals for more than 5,000 Ryan’s World products—everything from bedroom decor and action figures to masks and walkie talkies.

Amazing.

Related: The Highest-Paid YouTube Stars Of 2019

The rest of the 2020 Forbes’ highest-paid YouTube stars list is littered with names familiar to anyone with access to the internet.

Coming in second in 2020 was Mr. Beast (Jimmy Donaldson) at $24 million in earnings. Like Ryan Kaji, Donaldson also has his own merchandise line thanks to 3 billion views this year.

The familiar faces of Dude Perfect were watched 2.77 billion times in 2020, placing them in third place with $23 million in earnings. Their popularity led to a national tour, a documentary titled Backstage Pass, and allowed them to raise around $160,000 for the Red Cross and Feeding America when the pandemic hit.

In fourth place this year are Rhett and Link at $20 million in earnings. In addition to their original YouTube channel, Rhett and Link also own “Good Mythical Morning” and “Smosh” which when combined gives them a total of 41.8 million subscribers and employs 100 people.

With $19.5 million, Markiplier (Mark Fischbach) rounds out the top five thanks to his 27.8 million subscribers including a new channel he founded with CrankGameplays (Ethan Nestor) called “Unus Annus” which, by their design deletes all of its videos after a year has elapsed.

The rest of the top 10 includes a Minecraft wizard, a six-year-old Russian girl, an adult creating kids content, an emerging TikTok star, and a controversial beauty expert.

6. Preston Arsement – $19 million
7. Like Nastya (Anastasia Radzinskaya) – $18.5 million
8. Blippi (Stevin John) – $17 million
9. David Dobrik – $15.5 million
10. Jeffree Star – $15 million

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Before settling down at BroBible, Douglas Charles, a graduate of the University of Iowa (Go Hawks), owned and operated a wide assortment of websites. He is also one of the few White Sox fans out there and thinks Michael Jordan is, hands down, the GOAT.