He is the American dream.
Popular YouTube personality MrBeast says the opening of his new burger restaurant at the American Dream mall in New Jersey drew more than 10,000 people and sold more burgers in one day than any restaurant had before.
But who is MrBeast? And how did he get 10,000 people to go to American Dream mall on Sunday?
Jimmy Donaldson, now 24, started the MrBeast YouTube channel as a teenager with a dream of going viral. He built a decent following with a variety of stunt videos before landing on something that everyone loved: giving away money.
Donaldson gave $10,000 to a random homeless person in 2018. That got him a bigger following, which earned him more ad revenue. Then he gave $100,000 to his mom. That led to more followers and more revenue.
As the virtuous cycle continued, Donaldson’s following grew exponentially and he started separate money-making projects, including a merchandise line. He also started giving away larger and larger amounts of money. About one month ago, he gave his 100 millionth YouTube subscriber an entire island.
Donaldson has also launched donation projects that aren’t just about racking up views. He organized a $20 million operation to plant 20 million trees and a $30 million donation drive to remove plastic and pollution from the world’s oceans.
One of Donaldson’s side projects is MrBeast Burger. It originally launched as a “ghost kitchen,” with the burgers prepared in existing restaurant kitchens and delivered through apps like Seamless and Grubhub.
Last week, Donaldson tweeted about his plans to open the first brick-and-mortar MrBeast Burger at American Dream. As a man with 104 million YouTuber subscribers, he was prepared for a big crowd.
“Please be aware that if you come it will probably be a lot of waiting in line (like hours) and I can’t guarantee we get you in that day,” Donaldson tweeted. “I also can’t guarantee you’ll meet me and the boys, we’ll do our best but I just want to make sure I set realistic expectations.”
Sure enough, thousands of people showed up. Donaldson estimated that 10,000 people were there within 10 minutes of the opening.
The first person in line drove 22 hours from Nebraska and got there on Friday evening.
“We just love what he does,” Victor Galvin, also a YouTuber, told the Bergen Record. “He gives back to the community, and it’s just an awesome thing.”
Donaldson said MrBeast Burger at American Dream set a record for most burgers sold in one day by a single restaurant. When Guinness World Records asked for a fact check, the MrBeast Burger account replied, “We are on it.”
MrBeast’s YouTube channel doesn’t yet have a video about Sunday’s grand opening, but it’s only a matter of time.
