YouTube star MrBeast, the highest-earning creator on the internet, has officially entered the race to acquire TikTok’s U.S. operations.
The 26-year-old, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, has teamed up with tech entrepreneur Jesse Tinsley, founder of employer.com, to make an all-cash offer for the social media app’s American unit. The announcement came as President Donald Trump expressed openness to U.S. tech billionaires Elon Musk and Larry Ellison purchasing TikTok in the U.S.
MrBeast, who has previously hinted at his interest in buying TikTok through social media posts, stated on X on January 13, “I’ll buy TikTok so it doesn’t get banned.” In a follow-up TikTok post, Donaldson said he had been discussing a potential bid with “a bunch of billionaires.”
The bid was officially revealed by the U.S. law firm Paul Hastings on Tuesday, which confirmed that Tinsley is leading an investor group that includes “institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals.” Donaldson is the only publicly named member of the group.
The size of the offer was not disclosed, though President Trump has valued TikTok at $1 trillion. According to Forbes, MrBeast, with 346 million YouTube followers, earned $85 million last year.
The law firm also noted that Brad Bondi, the brother of Trump’s attorney general nominee Pam Bondi, is advising on the bid.
Trump has floated the idea of a deal involving Musk, the world’s richest person, or Ellison, Oracle’s founder. During a press conference on Tuesday, Trump expressed his willingness to allow Musk or Ellison to purchase TikTok, stating, “I’d like Larry [Ellison] to buy it too.”
Ellison, who attended the press conference, commented that the proposal seemed like a “good deal.” Trump noted that TikTok could be worth $1 trillion with the proper U.S. permits, under 50% U.S. ownership.
TikTok’s future in the U.S. remains uncertain. The app was briefly shut down by its Beijing-based parent, ByteDance, in anticipation of a January 19 deadline for ByteDance to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations or face a potential ban.
However, after receiving assurances from Trump, TikTok resumed operations, and Trump signed an executive order on Monday suspending the enforcement of a law requiring the app’s sale.
