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🎥 MrBeast: The Life and Career of Jimmy Donaldson

Podcast: AI Agents

This episode traces the evolution of Jimmy Donaldson — better known as MrBeast — from a small-town YouTuber obsessed with algorithms to the most influential creator-entrepreneur on the platform.

This episode explores:

• Early life, obsession with YouTube mechanics, and first viral experiments

• Reinventing the giveaway format and scaling spectacle as content

• Philanthropy as entertainment (Beast Philanthropy)

• The economics of reinvestment and razor-thin profit margins

• MrBeast Burger, Feastables, and brand extension risks

• Building a studio-scale production operation

• Data-driven creativity and algorithm fluency

• Criticism, labor intensity, and sustainability debates

• Redefining what a media company looks like in the creator age

A case study in attention engineering — where generosity, scale, and optimization converge to create the internet’s most powerful feedback loop.

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