The YouTube star MrBeast has joined an investor group that is vying to buy the US side of TikTok before a possible ban could be put in place.
The 26-year-old, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, is the internet’s most-followed and highest-earning creator. His YouTube channel alone has 346 million subscribers.
The young star has joined a group of American investors who have been assembled by technology entrepreneur Jesse Tinsley.
Tinsley, the founder of Employer.com, has submitted an all-cash bid alongside Donaldson and other “institutional investors and high net worth individuals,” according to the spokesperson for the group and as reported by Bloomberg.
The firm declined to comment on more details of the offer in the report, including a full list of those involved.
Investors try their chance at buying TikTok, including Mr Beast
This comes after the ByteDance-owned TikTok went dark for a few hours over the weekend, following months of back-and-forth about its future.
On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to extend the deadline for a sale by 75 days.
While the short-form content platform isn’t out of the woods yet, it now has more time to figure out the next steps.
Previously, when faced with either being banned or selling, ByteDance has publicly refused to sell TikTok. While it hasn’t yet made a public comment about its current thoughts, bidders are now lining up to be in with a chance as the platform is home to 170 million US users.
Exciting News, America! 🇺🇸
I'm in Washington DC at the inauguration to meet with President Trump and his team to discuss our offer to buy TikTok.
We've assembled an incredible team of investors led by me including @MrBeast @Employerdotcom among many of the great institutions…
— Jesse Tinsley (@JesseTinsley) January 21, 2025
On Tuesday (January 21), Jesse Tinsley took to X to explain that he’s in Washington DC at the inauguration “to meet with President Trump and his team to discuss our offer to buy TikTok.”
The entrepreneur said there is an “incredible team of investors” including MrBeast “among many of the great institutions and families in the United States…”
When speaking about why they’re interested, Tinsley expanded in the social media post to say: “This is about more than just a platform it’s about ensuring TikTok remains a safe space where freedom of speech thrives and where creators and communities can connect, inspire, and share ideas safely and respecting data privacy.”
The investors are now awaiting a response from ByteDance’s board.
Featured Image: Screenshot from a MrBeast YouTube video