How much of Greenville's economy relies on MrBeast?
The biggest YouTuber of all time is changing things in a small eastern North Carolina town. So how much of an effect can an online celebrity have in a real life city?
I did not know who MrBeast was until, maybe five years ago. I got a phone call from a woman who was asking about a podcast I’d done where I went almost to the top of a 2,000 foot tall television tower. The woman said she was a producer, and wanted to know how I’d gotten permission to go up there, who to talk to, that sort of thing. She was polite, thorough, professional, and I tried to help her out. And– when I asked who she was a producer FOR, she said … MrBeast.
I had no idea who that was.
MrBeast never did go up in a TV tower, far as I can tell. That does not seem to have held him back. At this point, he has more than 300 million total subscribers on YouTube, and some of his videos have more views than the Super Bowl. He’s opened restaurants. He’s launched his own food company called Feastables. The MrBeast logo is now on the jerseys of the Charlotte Hornets. And, I might add, MrBeast is 25-years-old.
You may be wondering: How does he do it? Where does he do it? What city is home to the headquarters of this man’s media empire– the epicenter of the YouTube universe? The answer: Greenville, North Carolina.
I know, right? Greenville! Population 87,000 people! East Carolina University! B’s Barbecue! That place! MrBeast grew up right down the road, and he’s never left. He is a very big deal, but is there a way to measure how big of a deal he is, online and offline? For that, I talked to Washington Post tech reporter Drew Harwell to trying to find the complicated answer to a ridiculous question: How much of Greenville’s economy relies on MrBeast?
You can listen below, or subscribe to the North Carolina Rabbit Hole podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other place where you get your podcasts.
You can read the original Washington Post story from Drew and Taylor Lorenz about MrBeast and Greenville here, and find more of Drew’s fantastic and occasionally frightening reporting on AI, algorithms, influencers, and more at his website, drewharwell.com.
My son has worked as a videographer and production assistant on several MrBeast projects. He reports that as fun-filled as many of his stunts appear, there is a dark, contentious atmosphere during many of the productions. I think there is such a thing as getting too big, too fast in any industry, but a YouTube "creator" in his early twenties with the adulation of a population the size of the US? That generates a whole other level of hubris.
As a mother who enjoys watching Mr. Beast's videos with my two children I find his content wholesome without being nerdy. There's no cussing and the videos are action based and exciting. One thing in particular, I didn't hear you discuss, about Mr. Beast is his philanthropic work. My favorite videos are the giving away of the surgery or basic needs like shoes to hundreds sometimes thousands of people. He could easily give to just local charities ( and he does) but he gives globally and uses his platform to educate people and particularly young kids who are his audience. While my kids dream of being part of Mr. Beast's inner circle of friends I dream of being part of Mr Beast Philanthropy. There's truly something for everyone and that's what makes his content so relatable and why he's so successful.
Thanks for the story I found it fascinating and informative.