The 20 Richest YouTubers of 2022 — Based on Net Worth

Emma Chamberlain started her YouTube channel in 2016, shortly after her 15th birthday. The channel is an eclectic mix of fashion and makeup, food, travel, vlogs and more, with 11.3 million subscribers and over 1.5 billion views. After moving to Los Angeles in 2018, Emma joined up with James Charles and The Dolan Twins to form the Sister Squad. She’s had series' on Snapchat and Instagram, designed her own fashion line, has a mail-order coffee company, has her own podcast and has won numerous awards. The star, who has been on several magazine covers, has been open about her struggles with body dysmorphia and eating disorders. Celebrity Net Worth estimates her fortune at $12 million.

Roman Atwood started his first YouTube channel in 2009, posting prank videos. While he hasn’t posted on that channel in years, it has 10.3 million subscribers and over 1.5 billion views. His main channel, Roman Atwood Vlogs, which he started in 2013, consists of vlogs and prank videos too — and has 15.5 million subscribers and over 5.4 billion views.

While his videos have been hugely popular, his pranks haven’t always been harmless fun like the award-winning one where he filled his house with plastic balls. His wife has been on the receiving end of some particularly cruel pranks. When in one prank he “confessed” that he had cheated on her, she pranked him right back with a similar “confession,” which he didn’t take very well. He was also arrested after a prank where he pretended to rob an ATM. A movie called Natural Born Pranksters made a loss and was panned by the critics. Still, Roman has an estimated $14.5 million to his name, according to Wealthy Gorilla.

When a 15-year-old British boy created a YouTube account in 2008 under the name JideJunior, there were hints at what the future held in store: Among the videos he posted was a rap about his chemistry homework. A year later he started a new channel under the name everyone would come to know him by: KSI. This channel now has 23.7 million subscribers and over 5.8 billion views. At first he focused on commentary on the FIFA video games, but there were some comedy-rap songs too that helped kickstart his career as rapper. He now has two studio albums to his name, as well as a slew of singles and collaborations.

In 2011, he started another YouTube channel under his real name, JJ Olatunji, posting mainly reaction videos. That channel has 14.8 million subscribers and over 3.3 billion views. KSI was a member of British YouTube group Sidemen, too. In addition to YouTube and music, he’s also an actor, has written two books, has been involved in creating video games, been a boxer and is co-owner of several companies. Wealthy Gorilla estimates his net worth at $15 million.

Born in Slovakia, David Dobrik moved with his family to the United States as a child. In his teens he gained a following on Vine. In 2014, when he was 18, he started his main YouTube channel, which now has 18.3 million subscribers and over 7 billion views. A second channel, which he started in 2016, has 8.48 subscribers and nearly 1 billion views.

His videos include pranks, comedy skits and challenges, and he also heads The Vlog Squad, a ensemble of YouTubers. However, Dobrik has also recently faced allegations of bullying and sexual misconduct.

Preston Arsement (L) first started the gaming channel TBNRFrags on YouTube in 2010, and has since amassed 7.54 million subscribers and nearly 1.7 billion views. However, he’s taken the approach of diversifying his content with multiple channels. For example, Preston, which he started in 2012, has 19.3 million subscribers and over 6 billion views. PrestonPlayz, which he started in 2018, has 12.3 million subscribers and over 4 billion views. The strategy seems to be working, because according to Celebrity Net Worth, he has an estimated $20 million to his name.

Rhett McClaughlin and Link Neal are better known as comedy duo Rhett & Link. The two met in elementary school, when they both had to stay in during recess because they had written swear words on their desks. What was supposed to be a punishment led to a friendship that has stood the test of time. They were even roommates at university, where Rhett studied civil engineering and Link industrial engineering, which is also one of the best jobs for women in science and engineering.

The two joined YouTube in 2006 with the channel Rhett & Link, which has 4.99 million subscribers and over 900 million views. Their main channel is Good Mythical Morning, which they started in 2008. Good Mythical Morning has 17.5 million subscribers and over 7.8 billion views. Their YouTube success has earned them a high net worth, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

Anastasia Radzinskaya is the face of Like Nastya, one of the most popular children’s channels on YouTube with nearly 90 million subscribers and over 72 billion views. She – or rather, her parents – started the channel in 2016 and she also has several other channels. Like Nastya is dubbed into other languages too, including German, French, Arabic and Hindi, which has helped the channel become one of the fastest growing on the platform. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Radzinskaya has an estimated net worth of $20 million. Not bad for a content creator who’s only 8 years old.

Lilly Singh isn’t just one of those Canadians you didn’t know were millionaires: she’s a multimillionaire. Singh created her main YouTube channel in 2010 to post hilarious comedy sketches. That channel now has 14.7 million subscribers and over 3.46 billion views. In 2011, she added another channel that consisted mainly of vlogs and has racked up 2.77 million subscribers and over 450 million views.

Small movie roles followed. Her growing popularity led to a world tour and a documentary about that tour. Once she moved from her native Toronto to Los Angeles, her career really took off. Two books, numerous acting parts and TV appearances – she’s currently a judge on Canada’s Got Talent – endorsement deals and several awards later and she has an estimated net worth of $20 million, according to Wealthy Gorilla.

James Charles is not only one of the richest YouTubers, but one of the richest TikTokers, too. Charles started his YouTube channel in 2015, when he was 16, to post makeup tutorials after having taught himself how to apply makeup. Within a year, CoverGirl appointed him as their first male brand ambassador. When he was 19, he had his own clothing line and makeup collection. His YouTube channel now has 24.2 million subscribers and over 3.6 billion views and, according to Wealthy Gorilla, he has an estimated net worth of $22 million.

Toronto native Evan Fong has proved that being a YouTuber is one of the jobs that can make you a millionaire in Canada. He started his main channel, VanossGaming, in 2011 and it has since gained 25.6 million subscribers and over 14.5 billion views. As the name implies, this channel focuses on gaming. Evan was also creative director for the game Dead Realm and starred in the computer animated series Paranormal Action Squad and Alpha Betas. In 2017, he launched a music career and the channel Rynx, which has had over 77 million views. Celebrity Net Worth estimates his net worth at $25 million.

There are many ways to diversify your income stream and earn money while you’re sleeping. One of these is to become a YouTuber and here, Jimmy Donaldson – or MrBeast – discovered another secret: have multiple channels and make sure each one is wildly successful. He started his main channel in 2012, when he was 13. That channel now has 92.1. million subscribers and more than 15 billion views.

A master of the viral video, his different channels combined have over 160 million subscribers and over 22.5 billion views. Donaldson has also branched into other business ventures, including MrBeast Burger and investing in tech companies. He has raised millions for charity, focusing mainly on environmental issues, and all the profits from his Beast Philanthropy channel go towards charitable causes. Celebrity Net Worth says he has an estimated $25 million to his name.

Even though Jake Paul first gained a huge following on Vine, he started his YouTube channel in the same year that he started posting on Vine. It was 2013, he was 16 at the time, and he mostly posted prank videos. This landed him a role in Bizaardvark, but not everyone appreciated his work. While filming the second series of the show, he got fired after a slew of complaints and a public nuisance lawsuit against him.

Paul has been embroiled in countless controversies ranging from allegations of sexual assault and scamming people to illegally riding a motorized vehicle on a protected beach in Puerto Rico. Still, his main channel has 20.4 million subscribers and over 7.1 billion views. Celebrity Net Worth estimates his fortune at $30 million. Like his brother Logan, Jake has embarked on a boxing career as well.

Early in 2015, then 3-year-old Ryan Kaji watched toy unboxing videos on YouTube and asked his mom why he wasn’t on YouTube like all the other kids. So, his mom quit her teaching job to focus on creating content for Ryan’s very own channel, which later became known as Ryan’s World. Ryan’s toy reviews have become so influential that they can make or break a toy’s sales. We’re looking forward to seeing whether Ryan changes his channel’s focus as he grows up. He turns 11 later this year. Meanwhile, 32 million subscribers and over 50.7 billion views have helped earn him a net worth that Wealthy Gorilla estimates at $32 million.

For many of us, video games can help mental health. For Daniel Middleton, gaming also helped his bank balance. The British YouTuber created his main channel, now known as DanTDM, in 2012, providing commentaries on games like Minecraft. The channel now has 26 million subscribers and over 18.6 billion views. Daniel has three Guinness World Records and three Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards to his name. He’s also the author of a bestselling graphic novel and, according to Celebrity Net Worth, he has an estimated $35 million to his name.

Better known as Markiplier, Mark Fischbach originally created his YouTube channel in 2012 to feature sketch comedy videos. He’s since added gaming videos and has collaborated with other YouTubers too. His channel has 32.4 million subscribers and over 17.8 billion views. In addition to some TV and movie roles, Markiplier has branched out into podcasting and the clothing brand Cloak. Among his multiple awards are ones recognizing the large amounts of money he’s raised for charity through livestreams.

Jake Paul’s older brother Logan also first gained a following on Vine before making it big on YouTube. Still, the 26-year-old’s YouTube career started in 2007 with Zoosh, now ldogandjslice, which has amassed a little over 10 million views. In 2013, Logan started TheOfficialLoganPaul, which has 5 million subscribers and over 627 million views. His main channel, Logan Paul, has been up since 2015 and has 23.4 million subscribers and over 5.8 billion views. In addition to a controversial career as YouTuber and podcaster, Logan Paul has had acting parts in movies and TV shows and is a professional boxer.

Most people know Swedish YouTuber Felix Kjellberg by his alias, PewDiePie. A year after he started his main YouTube channel in 2010, he left university due to lack of interest in his course. His parents wouldn’t financially support him, so he had various jobs to pay the rent while creating his gaming-based content. By July 2012, he had 1 million subscribers; today, that number has grown to a whopping 111 million, with over 28.2 billion views.

He has a type of Oprah effect, which has really helped the sales of especially indie video games, and while he’s been embroiled in several controversies, he’s also raised vast amounts of money for various causes. He has a slew of awards and a bestselling book to his name. Wealthy Gorilla estimates his net worth at $40 million.

Stevin John is better known to viewers as Blippi, the character he plays on the eponymous YouTube channel he created in 2014. After serving in the United States Air Force, Stevin returned to his hometown and a few years later, he created Blippi, the star of fun, educational videos for kids. These videos and the character proved hugely popular with kids and parents alike.

In 2020, London-based media company Moonbug Entertainment bought the channel and there are now Blippi channels in several languages. The main channel has 15.2 million subscribers and over 12 billion views. Stevin John has an estimated net worth of $40 million, according to Wealthy Gorilla.

If you don’t count Justin Bieber as a YouTuber (and some may not — though we'll make a case for it next), Jeffree Star once again tops our list of the richest YouTubers, with an estimated net worth of $200 million, according to Wealthy Gorilla. The makeup artist started his career as influencer on MySpace (back when that was still a thing) and has been active on YouTube since 2006.

His social media fame helped him have a short-lived music career, and he has also been the star of two documentary web series. The real catalyst for his YouTube channel becoming hugely popular, though – it has over 16 million subscribers and more than 2.55 billion total views – was when he founded Jeffree Star Cosmetics and posted makeup tutorials to promote the brand.

While most of us know him solely as a music superstar now, Justin Bieber started his career on YouTube — and his channel is still a titan on the platform. When an almost 13-year-old Justin Bieber’s mom posted videos of the Stratford, Ontario native singing, nobody could have dreamed where it would lead. Justin’s YouTube channel has since amassed 68 million subscribers and over 27 billion views. While he’s not primarily a YouTuber anymore, his channel is still very active. The videos are just much slicker than those early homemade ones.

How did it all happen? A record company executive was searching for videos of a different singer when he stumbled upon young Justin’s videos, had him record demos, got him to sing with Usher and landed him his first record deal. Over 150 million records sold, countless awards, a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and a net worth that Wealthy Gorilla estimates at $285 million later and Justin is well on his way to become one of the world’s richest singers.