YouTube is the world's largest video platform, which has not only delivered tons of content for its consumers but also served as a revenue source for content producers. The Google-owned video platform has turned its creators into millionaires, who nothing short of celebrities for millions of fans out there. But what comes as a surprise is how YouTube turned an 8-year-old kid into a millionaire.
Ryan Kaji, whose real name is Ryan Guan, is a popular figure on YouTube and Forbes just declared him the highest-paid YouTuber in 2019. Not just that, Ryan, who is the face of the YouTube channel Ryan's World (formerly Ryan ToysReview), has won the title of highest-paid YouTuber for two years in a row now.
Ryan beats some of the most popular YouTube channels, including PewDiePie, Dude Perfect, Jeffree Star among others. Ryan made a whopping $26 million (roughly Rs. 184.4 crores) between June 1, 2018, and June 1, 2019, putting him on top of the Forbes' list of highest-paid YouTube stars of 2019. This is up from $22 million he made last year.
The secret of Ryan's success
It's not much of a secret really. Ryan's YouTube channel was started at an early age of 3, where he showed clips of himself unboxing toys. As he grew older, the content matured accordingly and it now shows everything from science experiments, playing games, teaching young viewers on how to complete tasks like brushing teeth and more.
Ryan's YouTube channel, started in 2015, was rebranded from Ryan ToysReview to Ryan's World last October. His channel has 23 million subscribers and the videos uploaded there gets millions of views. Some of the videos have even crossed one billion views, which helped the channel garner over 35 billion views since its creation, according to Social Blade.
In addition to his successful YouTube channel, Ryan also has his own line of merchandise like action figures, T-shirts, toy cars and more. Ryan also gets his own show on Nickelodeon, Ryan's Mystery Playdate, which is a preschool-aimed series.
Forbes list of highest-paid YouTubers in 2019
Following Ryan's lead are some notable figures who made millions through their content on YouTube. Check out the list below and the earnings they made in a span of one year.
- Dude Perfect: $20 million
- Anastasia Radzinskaya: $18 million
- Rhett and Link: $17.5 million
- Jeffree Star: $17 million
- Preston: $14 million
- PewDiePie: $13 million
- Markiplier: $13 million
- DanTDM: $12 milloin
- VanossGaming: $11.5 million
