YouTube star Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, announced on social media that his company, Beast Industries, has acquired Step, a financial services platform. “Nobody taught me about investing, building credit, or managing money when I was growing up,” the 27-year-old said. “I want to give millions of young people the financial foundation I never had.”
MrBeast buys Step to help young people manage money
According to Bloomberg, Step helps people save money, invest, and even start building credit before they turn 18. According to its website, Step has raised over $500 million and has more than 7 million users. “This acquisition positions us to meet our audiences where they are, with practical, technology-driven solutions that can transform their financial futures for the better,” said Jeff Housenbold, CEO of Beast Industries, in a press release on Monday.
Step offers credit and debit cards, along with interest-bearing accounts. It is not a bank itself but is backed by Evolve Bank & Trust. The cost of the purchase was not revealed.
“We’re excited about how this acquisition is going to amplify our platform and bring more groundbreaking products to Step customers,” Step CEO and founder CJ MacDonald said in a statement. Step’s mission to teach financial literacy may even benefit contestants on MrBeast’s videos, which recently included challenges like “Survive 20 Days Chained To Your Ex, Win $250,000” and “30 Celebrities Fight For $1,000,000!”
MrBeast expands his Billion-dollar empire
Beast Industries was valued at $5.2 billion in 2024. The company plans to offer more products and services for MrBeast fans, who number over 460 million on his main YouTube channel. His channel is famous for over-the-top contests and philanthropic videos that take him around the globe. Videos often cost millions to produce and involve a team of around 300 people. One of the new offerings under the acquisition will be Beast Mobile, a phone service from the company.
He has also expanded into other ventures, including a television game show on Amazon Prime Video and a pop-up amusement park in Saudi Arabia called Beast Land. His snack brand, Feastables, generates hundreds of millions in sales, rivalling the revenue from his YouTube videos.