YouTube megastar MrBeast (real name Jimmy Donaldson) announced this week that his company, Beast Industries, will acquire Step, a financial application focused on serving teenagers. The app has raised a total of $500 million in funding, boasts over 7 million users, and aims to help Gen Z build credit, save money, and invest. It had previously attracted investments from celebrities like Will Smith and Stephen Curry, as well as several venture capital firms.
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In a statement, MrBeast said, “Nobody taught me about investing, building credit, or managing money when I was growing up. I want to give millions of young people the financial foundation I never had.” This acquisition aligns with his business strategy—a leaked business plan last year already indicated his interest in the fintech sector. It is also reported that the company plans to follow the model of Ryan Reynolds’ Mint Mobile by launching a low-cost Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) service.
The business ecosystem of Beast Industries now extends far beyond YouTube ad revenue. According to documents disclosed by Bloomberg, its chocolate brand, Feastables, has become a primary profit driver, with profitability even surpassing that of his YouTube channel, which has 466 million subscribers. The acquisition of Step marks MrBeast’s systematic transformation of his personal influence into a diversified business entity encompassing content, consumer goods, and fintech. Step founder and CEO CJ MacDonald stated that he looks forward to “enhancing the platform’s capabilities and bringing more groundbreaking products to users” through this collaboration.
Roger Luo said:This acquisition exemplifies the capitalization of influence. By combining his deep understanding of young audiences with Step’s financial products, MrBeast is building a cross-generational trust loop. His business now forms a complete ecosystem: content drives traffic, consumer goods monetize, and financial services retain users.
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