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MrBeast ranks first on Forbes’ 2026 Top Creators list with an estimated $300 million in gross earnings for March 2025 to March 2026. He is the highest-earning YouTuber on that ranking. The list does not, however, establish who is richest in terms of accumulated net worth, and the two questions are easy to confuse.
The top five on Forbes’ 2026 list
Forbes Australia published its write-up of the 2026 Top Creators ranking on June 24, 2026. The five highest-earning creators on that list are:
| Rank | Creator | Estimated gross earnings (March 2025 to March 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson) | $300 million |
| 2 | Dhar Mann | $65 million |
| 3 | Steven Bartlett | $52 million |
| 4 | Markiplier (Mark Edward Fischbach) | $38 million |
| 5 | Rhett & Link | $37 million |
Source: Forbes Australia, Forbes Top Creators 2026. This is the most recent Forbes creator ranking available at the time of writing, so check for a newer edition before citing it as current.
What these figures measure
Each number is Forbes’ estimate of gross earnings across a creator’s activity and businesses for the March 2025 to March 2026 window. Four qualifications matter for any reading of the list:
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- Gross, not net. The figures are not audited, and they are not personal take-home pay. Taxes, costs, and payments to staff or partners are not netted out.
- Earnings, not equity. Forbes says it counts earnings rather than the stakes creators hold in public and private companies. A company valuation or ownership share does not appear in these numbers.
- More than YouTube. The list spans YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and other platforms, and it includes licensing, live events, film, and product businesses. These figures are not YouTube-only ad revenue.
- One period. The estimates cover roughly one year. They are not a standing annual salary or a current run rate.
Why “richest” and “highest-earning” are different questions
Net worth is a stock: what a person owns, including equity in companies, minus what they owe. Earnings are a flow measured over a period. A creator can earn heavily in one year and still hold less wealth than someone with older or larger ownership stakes. The Forbes ranking answers the flow question. It does not answer the stock question, and we did not find a cited audited net-worth comparison for these five creators that would.
For that reason, “highest-paid YouTuber” or “highest-earning YouTuber” is the accurate headline for this ranking. “Richest” needs a source that measures personal net worth.
Rank #2
Where the money comes from
Forbes’ creator profiles describe a different mix of businesses for each of the top five. The descriptions below paraphrase those profiles.
1. MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson)
Forbes describes a portfolio that includes media production, Feastables (food), Lunchly, Viewstats, toy and clothing licensing, and Beast Games.
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2. Dhar Mann
Forbes highlights a large scripted-content studio, brand partnerships, and a deal with Fox Entertainment.
3. Steven Bartlett
Forbes lists Diary of a CEO, podcasts, books, live events, investments, and a media holding company.
4. Markiplier (Mark Edward Fischbach)
Forbes points to a self-funded feature film, Iron Lung, alongside his podcasts.
5. Rhett & Link
Forbes cites Good Mythical Morning, Mythical Kitchen, and distribution beyond YouTube.
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Audience size is a separate measure
Subscriber counts are not earnings. On June 12, 2026, YouTube reported that MrBeast became the first individual creator to reach 500 million YouTube subscribers. The same post notes that YouTube previously recorded him as the most-subscribed individual creator in November 2022 and as the most-subscribed channel overall in June 2024. These are platform milestones, not financial disclosures, and they should not be used to estimate income. Read YouTube’s announcement.
Quoting these figures accurately
Forbes Australia’s article includes two quotes that fit a discussion of creator-led studios and storytelling. Jeffrey Katzenberg, identified in the piece as a DreamWorks cofounder and former chairman of Walt Disney Studios, says of MrBeast: “It’s a 21st-century studio,” and “He’s taken every old-school aspect of great storytelling and reconceived it for a new audience on a new platform.” Dhar Mann is quoted saying: “The greatest thing that happened to me was that I had no traditional studio or filmmaking experience.”
Neither quote addresses how the earnings were calculated, so do not use them to support the figures. When citing the ranking, attribute the numbers to Forbes and describe them as estimated gross earnings for March 2025 to March 2026, for example: “Forbes estimates MrBeast’s gross earnings at $300 million for March 2025 to March 2026.”
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