Image via Getty/Jason LaVeris
If you believe the hype, YouTubers are the future of the entertainment industry. If we’re all migrating towards the internet anyway to consume our media, then it only makes sense that websites devoted to providing original content—like YouTube—will only continue to thrive. Whereas older generations missed the wave of original online entertainment content during their youth, and older millennials tend to focus more on Netflix and other streaming services, YouTube belongs to Generation Z. These #youths flock to YouTube en masse for the platform’s promise of free entertainment, but they stay for the sheer variety of content available.
Almost by definition, YouTube houses a virtually infinite amount of content of all different types, so that literally anyone should be able to find something they are interested enough in to spend hours watching (which translates into hours of advertisements, which, in turn, equals money). It is no wonder, then, that YouTube would want to reward and protect the content makers who are able to accumulate the most eyeballs on a page. On a more sentimental level, many YouTubers claim that the website becomes a community, a place where literally anyone can carve out a small home for themselves and find like-minded people.
But turning those eyeballs into multiple zeroes in a bank account isn’t exactly an intuitive process. Most YouTubers who report high incomes owe that money to a wide range of sources. These revenue streams can range from a book of some kind, an online store selling merch, signing with a talent agency, working with YouTube Red to produce even more original content, collaborating with more traditional media platforms outside of YouTube to create more videos, or even going on tour.
The dollar amounts on this list are from a December 2016 Forbes ranking. The publication based its ranking on “raw, pretax estimates of earnings…on data from Nielsen, IMDB, and interviews with agents, managers, lawyers, industry insiders, and the stars themselves.” Combined, the top ten highest paid YouTubers made a whopping $70.5 million in 2016.
Colleen Ballinger
Worth: $5 Million
Channel: Miranda Sings
Subscribers: 7,931,579
Miranda is just trying to become a famous singer, even though she can’t even apply lipstick properly, has a slightly psychotic-looking smile, is a huge egomaniac, and, most problematically, cannot sing at all. Beyond her failing singing career, though, the character Ballinger created in Miranda functions as a parody of a classic YouTuber, going on rants against “the haters” and giving tutorials for things she knows nothing about. Ballinger’s wacky, deeply ironic creation has earned her a massive following because she is a talented, and remarkably original comedian.
Rhett and Link
Worth: $5 Million
Channel: Good Mythical Morning
Subscribers: 12,498,825
Rhett and Link met during the first day of first grade in North Carolina and have been inseparable since, but their multimillion dollar career in media started soon after college, when they quit their engineering jobs to focus on their quickly growing YouTube channel. Their ascent to fame started with the pair’s daily morning show, Good Mythical Morning, a kind of variety show that features taste tests and fun challenges and a “mythical wheel” that dictates a sketch they must perform in the show’s last act. Their repertoire has now grown to include a wide variety of other media, including, but not limited to a weekly YouTube show titled The Mythical Show, a podcast about each other’s lives called Ear Biscuit, a YouTube Red series called Buddy System, an IFC original show called Rhett & Link: Commercial Kings, and a documentary called Looking for Ms. Locklear.
German Garmendia
Worth: $5.5 Million
Channel: HolaSoyGerman
Subscribers: 32,083,358
German is a record-breaking YouTuber: At 27, he is the youngest person on this list, and as a Chilean, he is the only Latin American on the list, not to mention the fact that his is the most subscribed Spanish-speaking channel on all of YouTube. He has two channels, and the second, JuegaGerman, has well over 20 million followers, too. His fanbase comes to him for his unique brand of comedy that manages to find the humor in everyday things, like making friends or family relationships. German also has a band called Ancud whose videos are regularly uploaded to his main channel.
Markiplier
$5.5 Million
Channel: Markiplier
Subscribers: 17,979,912
Markiplier is a gamer who's loud and over-the-top style of video game commentary has earned him a place among YouTube royalty. He focuses on horror and indie games, but he also regularly makes vlogs to speak directly to the gaming community and his fanbase. But Markiplier is also interested in using his platform to give back, and regularly hosts events to raise money for various charities. In a July 2016 video, he claimed he had raised over $1 million for charity.
Tyler Oakley
$6 Million
Channel: Tyler Oakley
Subscribers: 7,944,187
Tyler Oakley owes his fame to YouTube, but he has also successfully molded himself into a bonafide media icon, with television appearances and video collaborations for other platforms outside of his original channel, including work with PopSugar and Ellen DeGeneres. Oakley is an LGBT activist and his videos tend to speak to the intersection of pop culture and LGBT culture; he also has a healthy following on Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Rosanna Pansino
$6 Million
Channel: Rosanna Pansino
Subscribers: 8,766,045
Rosanna is a baker, and her YouTube show, Nerdy Nummies, features tutorials on how to make “nerdy” cookies, cakes, cupcakes, and other baked goods that look like characters from video games, shows, and movies. The concept of a baking show is smart, because it naturally allows for guests, and Rosanna has invited plenty of other famous YouTubers onto Nerdy Nummies. The new faces add a new dimension to her own channel, thereby diversifying her content, but they also come with a built-in audience and organic advertising abilities on the guest’s channels. The amount of commas in her bank account definitely proves that business strategy right.
Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox
$7 Million
Channel: Smosh
Subscribers: 22,731,647
Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox are the brains behind the sketch comedy channel Smosh (although Padilla left the channel in June 2017 to pursue a solo career in video creation). Their off-the-wall style has paved the way for the channel to expand styles to include a wide variety of different recurring sketches and a growing list of characters. The pair are also smart businessmen, and knew how to monetize their success: Smosh is a website, a mobile and Xbox One app, and a game alliance network.
Lilly Singh
Worth: $7.5 Million
Channel: ||Superwoman||
Subscribers: 11,998,432
Lilly’s channel is a love letter to growing up as a child of immigrants; most of her most-watched videos interact with Punjabi culture with an affectionate sense of humor. For example: One of her most popular recurring video involves Lilly dressing up as her parents to respond to popular, sometimes controversial, trends. Her charismatic and genuine nature has inspired legions of fans, allowing her career to expand beyond YouTube vlogs to include book deals and even a makeup collaboration with Smashbox. She was also one of the first YouTubers to work with YouTube Red to create a feature-length film, titled A Trip to Unicorn Island.
Roman Atwood
$8 Million
Channel: Roman Atwood Vlogs
Subscribers: 13,127,635
Roman is a vlogger in the most traditional sense of the word; his daily videos are really just life updates, where he shares details about his family, which includes three small children. But Roman also has another, much cheekier side to him. His second YouTube channel, which has just over 10 million subscribers, is simply called RomanAtwood where he posts some pretty wild pranks. Forbes has even dubbed him “the digital Johnny Knoxville.”
PewDiePie
$15 Million
Channel: PewDiePie
Subscribers: 56,407,814
In news that will surprise no one who understands anything about how the world works, PewDiePie (real name: Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg) has been earning millions of dollars for years now despite his controversial style and propensity for problematic behavior. The majority of his videos consist of his unique brand of video game commentary; he’s loud, playful, and goofy, qualities which have helped boost his channel to become the single most subscribed on YouTube. However, some of his outlandish behavior crosses the line into deeply controversial territory. In his videos, every other word is a swear word, and he also often calls things “retarded” or “gay.” But that’s mild compared to his more egregious behavior. Case in point: In early 2017, his YouTube Red series was canceled and he was dropped from the Disney-owned Maker Studios over a “joke” that involved calling for “death to all Jews.”