YouTube creator Jimmy "MrBeast" Donaldson is preparing to start a new channel focused on financial education, according to a report from Business Insider. The channel would cover topics such as investing and Roth IRAs for his hundreds of millions of followers.
At the same time, Donaldson's Beast Industries is launching MrBeast Financial, a financial services business that could include student loans and insurance products. The simultaneous timing has drawn attention.
MrBeast is the most-subscribed channel on YouTube with 461 million subscribers, according to Social Blade rankings. Across all his channels, he commands more than 476 million subscribers, Sportskeeda data shows. Fortune reports his core viewers are teenagers and young adults.
When someone with that level of influence discusses financial products, viewers may struggle to distinguish between educational content and marketing, especially if the same person is selling those products. Financial services are heavily regulated in the United States, with loans and insurance carrying significant long-term costs and risks that require careful disclosure.
Federal Trade Commission guidelines require influencers to clearly disclose any material connection to products they endorse. Financial products face even stricter scrutiny from regulators like the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
In 2022, Kim Kardashian paid $1.26 million to settle SEC charges for promoting cryptocurrency without disclosing her $250,000 payment. Compliance experts note the SEC can remove influencers from securities-related marketing and work with the Department of Justice to pursue criminal penalties when warranted. FTC violations can result in civil penalties up to $53,088 per violation.
Business Insider's Katie Notopoulos previously wrote about explaining to her elementary school-aged son that real-world money isn't simply "an object to build into pyramids or toss around in bags" after watching MrBeast's Amazon Prime show. Now, the creator explaining Roth IRAs, student loans or insurance products while simultaneously selling those products through MrBeast Financial raises questions about whether viewers can separate genuine advice from sales pitches, even with proper disclosures.