He’s arguably the most successful YouTuber of all-time, but it turns out PewDiePie is close to being overtaken as the most subscribed individual on the platform.
The online star, born Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg, already has his suspicions about who might be overtaking him in the race to YouTube success, and it’s none other than MrBeast.
The American YouTuber is famed for his large donations and monetary-filled content, and is backed by the current titleholder to become the most subscribed to person on the site.
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He's had several huge projects in the past year, one of which included recreating the Netflix smash hit Squid Game on his channel.
Speaking in a question and answer video on 13 August, Felix explained his beliefs that the fellow YouTuber could be popular enough to make a serious contender to himself.
The Swede admitted: “He [MrBeast] definitely will. Come on, I've been retired for like two years now. I can't wait for it to be over.
He added: “His fans are infiltrating my comments, I guess I am getting a taste of my own medicine. That's alright, he definitely deserves that. I hope he does that."
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And it turns out that PewDiePie’s suspicions might be correct, as MrBeast’s 107 million subscribers are mounting up to his own 111 million followers on the video-sharing site.
And his warm response to MrBeast, born Jimmy Donaldson, taking over the reins as the most subscribed channel, has been positively received by fans.
One fan commented beneath the video about their shared maturity on the topic, writing: “We’re growing up, aren’t we.
“My gratitude for this man will always be deep, I am glad to have been apart of this generation."
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“Pewds is entering this really calm and reflective phase, man,” another fan offered.
“It feels amazing to have watched this guy grow so much over the last decade, and overcome so many obstacles and uncertainties. It's very inspiring. Role model for sure.”
“PewDiePie is the most down-to-earth YouTuber I have ever watched. I love this man. Much love to him,” another fan wrote.
Jimmy, however, has already topped the platform’s rich list for last year with reported earnings of $54 million (£39.5 million) in 2021.
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The 23-year-old has had some huge projects over the past year, which also included a recent collaboration with UK supergroup the Sidemen.
According to Forbes, who compiled the list, MrBeast’s haul from 2021 is the most that any creator on YouTube has ever made.
But as for whether he could top PewDiePie on his subscriber success, well, we’ll have to wait and see.
Gabriella Ferlita