If your parents ever tell you that you and your friends are wasting your time posting videos to YouTube, you can tell them that it’s not a waste of time. People have made a significant amount of money posting various types of video to the site. And if your parents want proof, you can show them this list of YouTubers who make crazy amounts of cash.
Youtubers Who Make A Ton Of Money
By
Michael Avery in
Entertainment
On 26th September 2015
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#1
Adam Dahlberg, who you may know as SkyDoesMinecraft, began his YouTube career posting videos of himself playing RuneScape. But when someone suggested to him that he give Minecraft a try, things really took off for him. On February 27, 2011, Dahlberg began his YouTube channel SkyDoesMinecraft, and over the next few years, he uploaded over 1,200 videos with titles like "IHOP Hide N Seek" and "Dinosaur Devastation," which has attracted over 11 million subscribers, despite the fact that none of the videos are worth sitting through the commercials that precede them. (Actually, those videos may be the most exciting part.) Still, this has somehow earned Dahlberg an estimated $2.3 million.
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#2
BoyceAvenue is proof that if you want to make a living playing your music, you don't need to bother with American Idol or any other reality showyou can just start yourself a YouTube channel. Since they began their channel on September 2, 2007, BoyceAvenue has uploaded over 250 videos featuring covers of popular hits as well as BoyceAvenue originals. This attracted the attention of over 7.5 million subscribers, and their channel has been viewed over 2.1 billion times. This attention has not only made it possible for them to call themselves "the most viewed independent band in the world," but has also earned them approximately $2.3 million. For a band with no major label support, that's very impressive.
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#3
Nigahiga, whose real name is Ryan Higa, began his YouTube channel back on July 20, 2006, uploading mostly videos of himself and a friend lip-synching songs while they were still in high school. Soon after, they expanded their repertoire to include other comedy videos, like "Minecraft the Movie (Official Fake Trailer)" and "How to Be a Rapper." Since then, Higa's humble little YouTube channel goof-offs have spawned an entire production company...dedicated to goofing off. It's produced several short films, and has a merch section as well. This must be how he's been able to earn about $2.3 million. But if you're one of the few who doesn't like any of Higa's stuff, he's provided plenty of contact information in the about section of his YouTube channel, so you can call him up and tell him what you really think.
#4
ERB, the shortened name for Epic Rap Battles of History, is the brainchild of Peter Shukoff, a.k.a. Nice Peter, and Lloyd Ahlquist, a.k.a. EpicLLOYD. Since February 7, 2006, their channel has featured comedic videos of battles between people both real and fictional, famous and historical, competing with one another in rap battles. It's spawned hits such as "Blackbeard vs. Al Capone" and "the Ghostbusters vs. Mythbusters." Some of their videos even feature appearances by mainstream celebrities, like Snoop Dogg and Weird Al Yankovic. That's some serious street cred they got going on there. This must be how the duo has earned about $2.4 million. That's pretty epic itself.
#5
Jordan Maron, who goes by the YouTube handle CaptainSparklez, mainly uploads videos of himself playing Minecraft or mods of Minecraft. His most famous video is a spoof of South Korean rapper PSY's "Gangnam Style," titled "Minecraft Style," which is even less entertaining than that thrilling title would lead you to believe. If you want to check out "Minecraft Style," you're out of luck; it's been taken down from his channel the last time we checkedand we have no desire to check again. However, Maron did post a video with a lengthy explanation as to why the video was taken down. A video explaining why another video that was a lame, video game-parody of yet another video? Sounds incredible. But despite what we think, the channel has earned Maron approximately $3.2 million.
#6
CollegeHumor became one of the most popular comedy websites when it launched in February 2000. But for some reason, its founders, high school friends Josh Abramson and Ricky Van Veen, along with web developer Jakob Lodwick, found it necessary to launch a YouTube channel, too. We're guessing that they felt they weren't dominating enough of the Internet. Like its parent site, the CollegeHumor channel produces original comedy videos, some of which have gone on to earn Webby Award nominations. This quest for Internet domination has translated into $3.3 million for just the YouTube channel. The original website alone is worth an estimated $86 million.
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#7
RealAnnoyingOrange, started by Dane Boedigheimer in January 2010, features the on-going tales of an anthropomorphised orange and his friends, who are all also anthropomorphised pieces of fruit. As of this writing, those adventures are spread across 306 episodes of varying lengths, with titles like "Lawyer Up" and "The Eggspendables." Despite the channel's title, the adventures aren't actually that annoying. And they're not too funny either. In fact, they they're so unfunny, that we'd gladly accept "annoying" as a substitute. Still, all that adds up to a nice $3.4 million paycheck for Boedigheimer, so at least he's got plenty to laugh about (unlike his viewers).
#8
James Richard Wilson Jr., known on YouTube as UberHaxorNova, began his channel in April 2008. Despite the crazy super-hero sounding name, there's nothing super-heroic about his channel. He originally filled it with uploads of machinima and Let's Play videos, like most other YouTubers. Later, he expanded his output to include commenting videos and cartoons as well, like "GMOD Alcoholic Confession," and documentation of his strange obsession with professional wrestler John Cena. For some reason, this has earned him an estimated $3.5 million. Why?
#9
The YouTube channel RayWilliamJohnson is the home to Equals Three Studios, an independent production company started by Ray William Johnson. According to an interview with Forbes, Johnson began the channel while studying for a law degree at Columbia University. The channel wound up being so popular that he left law school. It's got four shows that debut new episodes each week. Some celebrity guests have even appeared on the channel, like Gabriel Iglesias and the late Robin Williams. The various videos, like "My Pet Monkey" and "World's Greatest Ninja," have caught the attention of about 10.7 million subscribers. This has netted Johnson about $4 million. Take that, Ivy League law school!
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#10
Toby Joe Turner, otherwise known as TobyGames and Tobuscus, has been uploading various videos to his three YouTube Channels since June 2006. He primarily focuses on videos with a comedic slant, like the sketch-comedy videos and animated shorts he uploads to his Tobuscus channel or comedic Let's Play videos that appear on TobyGames. And they're funny enough to catch the attention of CBS news and Wired magazine. (Take a minute or two to check out some of his Literal Trailers.) So far, his Tobuscus channel and his TobyGames channel have over 6 million subscribers each and have been viewed a combined total of over 3 billion times. That's earned him a net worth of about $4.2 million. His next video should just be him laughing all the way to the bank.
#11
Jenna N. Mourey, who you may know as JennaMarbles, began her YouTube career in February 2010, when she uploaded a video titled "How to Trick People Into Thinking You're Good Looking." In its first week, the video was viewed 5.3 million times. (As of this writing, that number stands at 62 million.) Since then, she's created quite the Internet career for herself, uploading 265 more videos, and counting, and she's appeared in videos for some of her fellow YouTubers, such as Smosh and ERB. All of this effort has garnered her 15.5 million subscribers. It's also earned her somewhere between $2.5 and $4.3 million, according to various sources. Next, she should make a video called, "How to Trick People Into Giving You A Lot of Money for Making Lame Videos."
#12
Smosh is a collaboration between Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox, two guys from California who just want to make you laugh. Every Friday, they upload another video to their YouTube channel, like "If Board Games Were Real," and "Time Traveling Pick-Up Master." Their comedic efforts have gained them 21.1 million subscribers, which must be what encouraged them to begin their seizure-inducing website. With all of this, the comedic duo has earned somewhere between $5.7 and $6 million. They've also been able to parlay their talents into a feature-length movie that was distributed by 20th Century Fox in summer 2015. From what we've seen, parts of it are even funny. You should be able get a copy of it at your local Walmart!
#13
If you have trouble falling asleep at night, then BluCollection is the YouTube channel for you. Unlike most of the other entries on this list, BluCollection does not offer any funny videos, any music videos, any Let's Play videos, or even a shot of the host's face. What BluCollection does is provide detailed video reviews of toys, over 1,000 of them since December 2010. And even though it may not be the intent of the channel, they'll all make you more tired than a Thanksgiving dinner and a couple of beers. This unassuming channel has attracted a little over 2.5 million subscribers and 4.4 billion views. What's even more surprising is that this has earned the camera-shy proprietor of this channel an estimated $4.8 to $6.5 million.
#14
Yogscast began as two guys named Lewis Brindley and Simon Lane uploading videos of themselves playing World of Warcraft back in July of 2008, according to their website. They've since focused their attention on less-than-comedic Minecraft-centric Let's Play videos, such as the 20 episode series "The Trials of Derpulies." What their site doesn't tell you is that their true intent is to fill the Internet with subliminal messages to bend people to their will. How else can you explain the fact that the Yogscast has grown to a network of over 20 YouTube channels? Altogether, this network has gained a following of over 20 million subscribers. In turn, this has earned the Yogscast about $6.7 million. There's a rumor that next year they're going to file for tax-exempt status.
#15
Like BluCollection, Fun ToyzCollector offers detailed, coma-inducing reviews of toys, but with a stated focus on toys suitable for pre-schoolers and younger, which is rather cruel if you think about it. Also like BluCollection, the female host of Fun ToyzCollector never appears on camera, but some rumors to her identity do exist, like one that says she and BluCollector are husband and wife. There's even a rumor that she's a former pornographic actress, but since she never shows her face, who cares? Either way, her channel has wrangled about 5.3 million subscribers and 8 billion views, since the channel began in April 2011. This has earned her somewhere between $4.9 million and $13 million, depending on who you ask. We never realized there was so much money in putting people to sleep with the boring power of toys. It boggles the mind.
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#16
Pewdiepie, who's real name is Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg of Sweden, is the undisputed king of the Let's Play video genre. Since April 29, 2010, Pewdiepie has uploaded over 2,500 videos that have gained him over 39 million subscribers, or as he calls them, his "Bro Army" (which is probably the largest army in the world), and 10.1 billion channel viewsthe first YouTube channel to do so, according to Tubefilter.com. That's more tune-ins than the most-watched shows on television. Whatever you may think of him, this has earned Pewdiepie somewhere between a reported $7 million and $12 million. Not only that, he's appeared in two episodes of South Park and was able to nab fashionista and stylist Marzia Bisognin, otherwise known as CutiePieMarzia, as his wife. But don't think he just sits on his money and plays games all day. He has donated significant amounts of money to several charities. Even with such an insane amount of money, he's got his head in the right place.
