The Influencer Economy Is Growing, But It’s a Tough Racket

A silhouette of a mobile user next to a screen projection of Youtube logo on March 28, 2018. Dado Ruvic/Illustration/Reuters

Commentary

For older generations of Americans who grew up watching TV, it may come as a surprise that the most-viewed entertainer in the world is arguably a 26-year-old YouTuber who styles himself as “MrBeast.” Jimmy Donaldson (his real name) has 290 million subscribers on the video-sharing platform and receives anywhere from 100 million to 300 million views on a typical upload.