{"id":20920,"date":"2026-02-10T19:49:23","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T19:49:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2026\/02\/10\/mrbeast-expands-his-business-empire-with-gen-z-banking-app-acquisition\/"},"modified":"2026-02-10T19:49:54","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T19:49:54","slug":"mrbeast-expands-his-business-empire-with-gen-z-banking-app-acquisition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2026\/02\/10\/mrbeast-expands-his-business-empire-with-gen-z-banking-app-acquisition\/","title":{"rendered":"MrBeast Expands His Business Empire With Gen Z Banking App Acquisition"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Jimmy Donaldson\u2019s latest venture adds digital banking to the growing list of businesses under Beast Industries. Photo by Michael M. Santiago\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Money is a recurring motif in the content of Jimmy Donaldson<\/a>, known on YouTube<\/a> as MrBeast<\/a>. Videos from the 27-year-old influencer frequently feature elaborate challenges where winners receive cash prizes or philanthropic efforts where funds are given away<\/a>. The YouTube star, who runs the platform\u2019s most popular channel with more than 460 million subscribers, is now taking his interest in finance in a new direction by acquiring fintech startup Step, which makes a banking app aimed at Gen Z.<\/p>\n

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Step will join a number of other ventures<\/a> operating under Beast Industries<\/a>, Donaldson\u2019s media company, the content creator announced yesterday (Feb. 9). Beast Industries did not disclose how much it paid for the acquisition. Step offers services that allow users under 18 to open bank accounts and credit cards.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody taught me about investing, building credit, or managing money when I was growing up<\/a>,\u201d said Donaldson in a post on X. \u201cI want to give millions of young people the financial foundation I never had.\u201d<\/p>\n

Donaldson, who began posting on YouTube in 2012, has parlayed his unprecedented online success into a wide range of business opportunities. Beast Industries brands include the Feastables snack line, a lunch kit company and a toy venture, alongside media efforts that include Amazon Prime\u2019s Beast Games<\/em> television show.<\/a><\/p>\n

Helmed by venture capitalist Jeff Housenbold<\/a>, Beast Industries is valued at upwards of $5 billion. Last month, it raised $200 million from Bitmine Immersion Technologies, an Ethereum treasury company.<\/p>\n

The first signs of Donaldson\u2019s interest in expanding into banking emerged in October, when he filed a trademark for a financial services company called MrBeast Financial that would offer banking, cryptocurrency, consumer lending and advisory services. In an interview a few months later, the content creator confirmed plans to eventually launch a bank and revealed that he\u2019d also like to eventually begin creating financial literacy content on a separate YouTube channel<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Step, at least for now, will be operated by Beast Industries as a standalone business<\/a>, as reported by The Information. Founded in 2018 by fintech veterans CJ MacDonald<\/a> and Alexy Kalinichenko<\/a>, the company currently has more than 7 million customers and centers around making money management attainable for young users. \u201cOur goal has always been to improve the financial future of the next generation,\u201d said MacDonald in a statement.<\/p>\n

The app has also proven popular in Silicon Valley. Step has raised more than $500 million from investors such as the digital payments company Stripe<\/a> and venture capital firms Coatue Management, General Catalyst<\/a>, and Crosslink Capital. Donaldson isn\u2019t the first celebrity to show interest in Step\u2014the app has received backing from NBA player Stephen Curry<\/a>, actor Will Smith<\/a> and influencer Charli D’Amelio<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Donaldson\u2019s massive fanbase is expected to further draw young customers for Step. Gen Z accounts for 46 percent of MrBeast\u2019s YouTube audience<\/a>, according to data from Parrot Analytics. Across platforms, the creator has more than 1 billion followers<\/a> and reached\u00a01.4 billion unique people in the last 90 days alone.<\/p>\n

Donaldson\u2019s business empire continues to grow. Other upcoming ventures include a mobile phone service known as Beast Mobile<\/a> that will follow the mobile virtual network operator (MNVO) strategy of running on infrastructure from a larger carrier, and a two-sided marketplace that matches content creators with Fortune 1000 marketers.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"MrBeast<\/p><\/div>\n