Colin Sheridan: Who is MrBeast? The YouTube mogul captivating, and profiting from, your kids

MrBeast dominates YouTube with over-the-top giveaways and stunts, raising questions about his influence on kids and digital culture

MrBeast speaks onstage during the 2023 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards at Microsoft Theater oin Los Angeles, California. Picture: Getty Images

I'm going to say a couple of words and, depending on what stage of your life you’re at, they’ll either mean a very lot or very little: MrBeast. I know, it sounds like a supersize burger at a hip eatery in Ranelagh. Or a rapper from Detroit. Unfortunately, it’s neither. 

What it is is a young man, a Youtuber, which, for those of us who did Arts in college is something we probably never foresaw as a realistic career path (think YouTubing, DCU, 460 points). We live in strange times, however, and as of January 2025, MrBeast is the most-subscribed YouTuber on the internet, with 351m subscribers. And, as you’d expect, he’s insufferable.