MrBeast has kept his spot as the highest-earning digital creator in the world. He topped the 2026 Forbes Top Creators ranking.
The top 50 influencers in the industry made a total of $1.02 billion over the past year.
Forbes released the annual ranking on July 1. Our correspondent saw the report on Sunday. The report showed that the top creators raised their combined earnings by 20 percent from $853 million in 2025. This is also an increase of 80 percent from the first list in 2022.
Forbes explained that the creator economy has turned into a mainstream entertainment industry. Social media stars are now making films, TV shows, and big business ventures that compete with traditional Hollywood studios.
“The creator economy is no longer trying to break into show business, it is show business,” Forbes said in its report.
Jimmy Donaldson, who is known as MrBeast, led the list with earnings of $300 million. He has a massive social media following of 873 million.
MrBeast’s business empire includes YouTube, Beast Industries, Feastables, Lunchly, Viewstats, and Amazon Prime’s reality competition series, Beast Games.
In second place is Dhar Mann, with estimated earnings of $65 million. British entrepreneur and podcast host Steven Bartlett comes in third with $52 million.
Gaming creator Markiplier is in fourth place with $38 million. The comedy duo Rhett & Link rounds out the top five with $37 million.
The top 10 also includes Codie Sanchez, Mark Rober, IShowSpeed, Druski, and Charli D’Amelio.
Forbes pointed out that top creators are moving beyond social media. They are getting into streaming, publishing, advertising, technology, and consumer products.
The 2026 ranking is based on estimated gross earnings from March 2025 to March 2026. It also looks at the size of creators’ audiences, engagement levels, and business activities.
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