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MrBeast says he has “negative money” despite $2.6 billion net worth
The YouTuber tied much of his wealth to equity in Beast Industries, while Mark Cuban said many billionaires are cash-poor because their assets are illiquid.
YouTube creator Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, told the Wall Street Journal earlier this year that he has “negative money” and is borrowing money, despite being worth about $2.6 billion, according to Yahoo Finance. Donaldson said much of his wealth comes from equity in his roughly $5 billion company, Beast Industries, and he argued that people watching his content likely have more money in their bank accounts than he does if the value of his business equity is excluded. He described his personal situation as having very limited cash on hand. Yahoo Finance also notes that Mark Cuban discussed similar dynamics, saying the “billionaire” label does not necessarily mean someone holds a billion dollars in liquid assets. Cuban said a proposed one-time 5% billionaire tax in California is easier to talk about than to apply, because many wealthy individuals do not keep even that share in cash. Cuban said in an email that when he became a billionaire he did not have anywhere close to 5% in cash, and he pointed to the tendency for entrepreneurs to keep assets invested rather than held in liquid form. The discussion contrasted Donaldson’s claim of less than $1 million in cash with the broader idea that billionaire wealth is often concentrated in stocks and real estate, which are not as readily spendable.