Former Grocery Store Clerk Titled World’s Richest YouTuber of 2017

A picture shows a YouTube logo on December 4, 2012 during LeWeb Paris 2012 in Saint-Denis near Paris. (Eric Piermont/AFP/Getty Images)

You probably haven’t heard his name before but Daniel Middleton from the United Kingdom has been dubbed the world’s richest YouTuber of 2017 by Forbes Magazine.

The 26-year-old YouTuber, known as DanTDM on the video platform website, made a whopping US$16.5 million in the past year for recording and uploading videos online.

Middleton is an avid gamer who records himself playing video games such as Minecraft, a pixelated world where you collect resources to build a world out of blocks and craft weapons to protect your character from monsters, while describing what is happening in the video. He also provides tips and tricks on how viewers can increase to a higher level in the game.

The former grocery store clerk has over 16 million subscribers on his YouTube channel and many of his videos have attracted over 10 million views each. He started his channel in 2012.

Middleton mainly makes his money from the advertising on the videos, reported Daily Mail. According to YouTube, after a channel reaches 10,000-lifetime views, the YouTuber can start making money on the videos they upload. YouTube generally gives around 68 percent of its profit from advertising to the video content creator. On average, a YouTuber can earn around US$1.50 every 1,000 views, according to the newspaper.

The rising YouTube star has also toured the world talking about his online life. He became well known for having the second fastest-selling show of all time at the Sydney Opera House.

According to the Daily Mail, the former Northampton University student started his YouTube career by filming himself playing popular adventure game Pokemon.

The gamer has also addressed the issue of being a good role model for his fans on his YouTube channel, which has viewers as young as five.

“It’s something I was just not prepared for at all. It’s something I’ve slowly been learning about in the past three or four years. In the past five years YouTube has evolved. Being a YouTuber was not a thing before,” he said in a previous interview, reported Daily Mail.

Middleton also holds the Guinness World Record for ‘most views for a dedicated Minecraft video channel,' according to the newspaper.

Gaming can be a fun past time for children and adults but excessive gaming by children has long been a concern for parents. In 2015, a 17-year-old boy in Russia died after playing computer games for 22 days in a row only stopping for a quick nap or snacks, reported Mirror. Doctors believed his death was caused by second class syndrome, thrombosis from not moving around.

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From NTD.tv