{"id":5820,"date":"2026-08-23T13:37:34","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T13:37:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5820"},"modified":"2026-08-23T13:37:34","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T13:37:34","slug":"despite-his-2-6-billion-net-worth-mrbeast-said-hes-had-to-borrow-cash-and-didnt-even-have-enough-money-in-his-bank-account-to-buy-mcdonalds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5820","title":{"rendered":"Despite his $2.6 billion net worth, MrBeast said he\u2019s had to borrow cash and didn\u2019t even have enough money in his bank account to buy McDonald\u2019s"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cI\u2019m borrowing money. That\u2019s how little money I have,\u201d Donaldson told the Wall Street Journal<\/em> earlier this year. \u201cTechnically, everyone watching this video has more money than me in their bank account if you subtract the equity value of my company, which doesn\u2019t buy me McDonald\u2019s in the morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more At Olympics-like event, Chinese robots smash athletic records set by humans \u2014 including Usain Bolt\u2019s 100-meter sprint time<\/a><\/p>\n

The 28-year-old entrepreneur has said he keeps less than $1 million for himself, despite being a billionaire and owning more than half of his $5 billion company Beast Industries. Aside from his nine-figure Amazon deal and popular YouTube channel with 137.5 billion lifetime views, Donaldson hit the ultra-rich club\u2014at least on paper\u2014from a slew of successful businesses. He\u2019s launched ventures including multimillion-dollar chocolate brand Feastables; Lunchly, a Lunchables-esque packaged food product; MrBeast Burger, a virtual restaurant that only allows for pickup and drop-off; and production company MrBeast LLC, which helps manufacture his viral videos.<\/p>\n

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Through his assets, Donaldson is projected to be worth at least $2.6 billion\u2014although he emphasized it\u2019s not a fat wad of cash burning a hole in his pocket. Forbes<\/em> has also estimated his annual earnings reached $85 million between April 2024 and April 2025, a far cry from the typical American salary of $64,220 a year. However, that doesn\u2019t mean he\u2019s splurging on luxuries and only flying private. Donaldson claimed he\u2019s actually in the red.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s funny talking about my personal finances, because no one ever believes anything I say,\u201d Donaldson explained. \u201cThey\u2019re like, \u2018You\u2019re a billionaire!\u2019 I\u2019m like, \u2018That\u2019s net worth.\u2019 I have negative money right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wake up, I just work\u2026I\u2019m just so busy working I don\u2019t really think about my personal bank account,\u201d Donaldson continued. \u201cI\u2019m just laser-focused on making the greatest videos as possible, and building the business as big as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Why MrBeast says he\u2019s in the red <\/h2>\n

Donaldson rakes in eight-figure earnings and runs a $5 billion business, yet still claims to be broke. So where is all of his money going? Right back into his business ventures, the YouTube star said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI personally have very little money because I reinvest everything (I think this year we\u2019ll spend around a quarter of a billion on content). Ironically I\u2019m actually borrowing $ from my mom to pay for my upcoming wedding,\u201d Donaldson wrote on X in response to a post heralding him as the only billionaire under 30 who didn\u2019t inherit their wealth.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more Meet the 18-year-old junk remover who vibe-coded his own pricing calculator and makes up to $15,000 a month<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u201cBut sure, on paper the businesses I own are worth a lot,\u201d he continued.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The billionaire entrepreneurs who say they\u2019re broke\u2014or act like it<\/h2>\n

Other billionaire founders have echoed that they don\u2019t feel as wealthy as their net worth suggests. Ben Francis, the founder and CEO of sportswear brand Gymshark, insisted his $1.3 billion net worth is \u201call on paper,\u201d and that his wealth isn\u2019t a \u201creal\u201d marker of success.<\/p>\n

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\u201cPeople assume there is some bank balance with my name on it that has billions in which is just completely untrue,\u201d Francis said on The SuperPower Podcast<\/em> in 2023. \u201cNone of it is real.\u201d<\/p>\n

After all, it only takes one negative earnings report or fierce new industry competitor to jolt his net worth. Since Francis owns 70% of the company, his fortune is wrapped up in the success of his assets\u2014which can fluctuate in value at any given moment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt could double, it could [halve],\u201d the Gymshark founder continued. \u201cThat\u2019s why I think it\u2019s important that no individual should ever pin their self-worth on things like wealth, net worth, or anything financial.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Even the billionaires who do have cash to burn are just skirting by, out of choice. Lucy Guo, the cofounder of $29 million company Scale AI, isn\u2019t keen to spend the $1.3 billion stake she has in the business. The youngest self-made billionaire woman in the world doesn\u2019t like to \u201cwaste\u201d money, opting to fly commercial, drive an old Honda Civic, wear Shein clothes, and leverage meal deals to get the best price. In fact, she believes flashing wealth and needlessly splurging on life luxuries is a sign of insecurity; Guo doesn\u2019t feel the need to prove she\u2019s successful.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWho you see typically wasting money on designer clothes, a nice car, et cetera, they\u2019re technically in the millionaire range,\u201d Guo told Fortune<\/em>last year. \u201cIt\u2019s like, act broke, stay rich.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Canada demand for trucks tariff relief imperiled trade talks<\/a><\/p>\n

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A version of this story was published on Fortune.com on January 13, 2026.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jimmy Donaldson, the world\u2019s most popular YouTuber, claims he didn’t \u201ctechnically\u201d have enough money to buy McDonald\u2019s in the morning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5819,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[346],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-billionaires"],"yoast_head":"\nDespite his $2.6 billion net worth, MrBeast said he\u2019s had to borrow cash and didn\u2019t even have enough money in his bank account to buy McDonald\u2019s - Cross Country Moving Team<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5820\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Despite his $2.6 billion net worth, MrBeast said he\u2019s had to borrow cash and didn\u2019t even have enough money in his bank account to buy McDonald\u2019s - 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