Jakarta – MrBeast, the top-earning YouTuber, has officially joined the bid to acquire TikTok’s operations in the United States. Working with tech entrepreneur Jesse Tinsley, the 26-year-old, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, has submitted a cash offer for TikTok’s U.S. unit. Donaldson has expressed his interest in acquiring TikTok through several social media posts, stating, “I will buy TikTok so it won’t be banned.” In a follow-up TikTok post, he mentioned discussing the acquisition with a group of billionaires, with confirmation from the U.S. law firm Paul Hastings.
It is said that Tinsley leads a group of high-net-worth investors, but Donaldson is the only publicly named individual. The statement did not reveal the offer amount, although Trump mentioned a value of USD 1 trillion. According to Forbes, Donaldson, with 346 million YouTube followers, was the most successful internet creator last year, earning USD 85 million. His extravagant actions on his MrBeast YouTube channel have helped him become an internet superstar, often giving away large prizes for his content. Besides earning ad revenue from YouTube views, he also promotes various products.
From The Guardian, Donald Trump himself has stated that 50% of TikTok’s shares should be acquired by U.S. entities to keep it operational. He mentioned being open to Elon Musk or Oracle’s Larry Ellison buying TikTok. The future of TikTok in the U.S. remains uncertain, even though the app is back online after its Beijing-based owner, ByteDance, temporarily shut it down.