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Eight-Year-Old Boy Is Highest Paid YouTuber For Second Year In A Row

Eight-Year-Old Boy Is Highest Paid YouTuber For Second Year In A Row

Doesn't look like he'll be short of presents this year

Jake Massey

Jake Massey

When you were eight-years-old, you probably spent most of your days mucking about and playing with toys. Well, that is exactly what Ryan Kaji does as well - but he's raking in an estimated $26 million (£19.8 million).

According to Forbes, Ryan - who has 22 million subscribers on his channel - was the highest paid person on YouTube for the second year in a row, with his earnings increasing from $22 million (£17.3 million) last year.

The rich list was compiled based on how much money the YouTubers brought in from the site between June 2018 and June 2019.

Ryan Kaji has made a hell of a lot of money from playing with toys.
YouTube/Ryan's World

Ryan, from Texas, USA, started out reviewing toys when he was three and has now surely earned enough to buy every toy he could possibly desire.

But rather than retire at the age of eight, Ryan has expanded further and now has a line of more than 100 toys, a show on Nickleodeon and is branching out into science experiments on his channel, Ryan's World (formerly Ryan ToysReview).

But it's not all completely rosy in Ryan's household. In September, his parents were accused of not fully disclosing sponsored content.

Consumer watchdog Truth In Advertising claimed Ryan's parents Shion and Kieu-Loan Guan did not always clearly disclose when sponsored products were incorporated in videos - which was almost 90 percent of the time, the watchdog claimed.

Ryan is the highest paid YouTuber for the second year in a row.
YouTube/Ryan's World

In its complaint to the Federal Trade Commission, Truth in Advertising said Ryan's content might not be as innocent as it seems.

The complaint read: "It is often difficult to discern the innocent (or sometimes not so innocent) antics in Ryan ToysReview videos from the sponsored content. And for preschoolers, it is impossible to discern the difference."

It continues: "When a YouTube video directed to children under the age of five mixes advertising with program content, as Ryan ToysReview videos frequently do, the preschool audience is unable to understand or even identify the difference between marketing material and organic content, even when there is a verbal indicator that attempts to identify the marketing content.

"Ryan ToysReview's sponsored content is presented in a manner that misleadingly blurs the distinction between advertising and organic content for its intended audience."

Ryan's parents came under fire from an advertising watchdog.
YouTube/Ryan's World

Responding to the accusations in a statement, the parents said they always complied with advertising regulations.

The statement read: "The well-being of our viewers is always the top priority for us, and we strictly follow all platforms' terms of service and all existing laws and regulations, including advertising disclosure requirements.

"As the streaming space continues to quickly grow and evolve, we support efforts by lawmakers, industry representatives and regulators such as the FTC to continuously evaluate and update existing guidelines and lay new ground rules to protect both viewers and creators."

Featured Image Credit: YouTube/Ryan's World

Topics: Interesting, US Entertainment, YouTube