In a major milestone for the online video community, Jimmy Donaldson, popularly known as MrBeast, has overtaken T-Series to become the most subscribed YouTuber.
MrBeast shared the news on Sunday via X (formerly Twitter), proudly declaring that he has "avenged" Swedish YouTuber PewDiePie. In his announcement, MrBeast also posted a screenshot showing his channel's latest subscription count of 267 million, surpassing T-Series' 266 million subscribers.
"After 6 years we have finally avenged Pewdiepie," read the note attached to his post. This statement references the long-standing rivalry between PewDiePie and T-Series for the top spot on YouTube. Last year, MrBeast had publicly expressed his support for PewDiePie, vowing to help him reclaim his throne.
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and a prominent figure on social media, was among the first to congratulate MrBeast. "Wow, congrats!" Musk tweeted in response to the news.
Fans and followers of MrBeast also celebrated the achievement, with one user commenting, "I'm literally shaking and crying right now I can't believe we finally did it." Another fan suggested that the next target should be reaching 1 billion subscribers.
In an interesting turn of events last month, MrBeast challenged the Chief Executive Officer of T-Series to a boxing match. This challenge came as MrBeast was closing in on T-Series in subscriber count. The 26-year-old YouTuber tweeted a picture showing the narrowing gap and wrote, "I challenge the CEO of T-Series to a boxing match." While Bhushan Kumar is the Chairman and Managing Director of T-Series, the CEO's name is not listed on the company's official website.
The competition between PewDiePie and T-Series dates back several years. PewDiePie, whose real name is Felix Kjellberg, was once the most subscribed and highest-earning YouTuber, known for his video game commentaries. However, in 2017, Disney severed ties with PewDiePie after discovering that some of his videos contained Nazi references. Despite this setback, PewDiePie continued to hold a significant lead over T-Series for some time.
In 2020, PewDiePie announced a hiatus from posting content on YouTube, at which point he had 102 million subscribers. This opened the door for T-Series to eventually claim the top spot, which they held until MrBeast's recent surge in popularity.
MrBeast's rise to the pinnacle of YouTube is a testament to his innovative content and massive fan base. Known for his elaborate challenges, philanthropic endeavors, and viral videos, MrBeast has continuously pushed the boundaries of what can be achieved on the platform.