{"id":101224,"date":"2015-10-18T00:05:13","date_gmt":"2015-10-17T22:05:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=101224"},"modified":"2015-10-16T16:49:51","modified_gmt":"2015-10-16T14:49:51","slug":"the-worlds-highest-paid-youtube-stars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/trending\/101224\/the-worlds-highest-paid-youtube-stars\/","title":{"rendered":"The world&#8217;s highest-paid YouTube stars"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/maddieberg\/2015\/10\/14\/the-worlds-highest-paid-youtube-stars-2015\/\" target=\"_blank\">Forbes<\/a> has listed the highest-paid YouTube stars, who rack up millions of dollars in ad revenue each year.<\/p>\n<p>YouTube stardom is something that may go amiss by some older generations, as Google&#8217;s video service draws a much younger (under 30) demographic.<\/p>\n<p>As such, some of the most popular YouTube channels (and subsequently the biggest earners) appeal to these audiences, covering topics from video games, to sketch comedy and fashion and beauty.<\/p>\n<p>Musicians have also used the service to wedge a neat piece of that Internet money for themselves, while other channels dedicated to cooking have also gained larged audiences.<\/p>\n<p>These are the 10 highest-paid YouTube stars &#8211; and what&#8217;s earning them the big bucks.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Rosanna Pansino &#8211; Culinary &#8211; $2.5 million<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Pansino is a self-trained chef, who uploads various cooking and baking tutorials on YouTube. She&#8217;s gearing up to launch her first cookbook and has partnered with various brands.<\/p>\n<p>Her most popular video is making a Princess Anna and Elsa cake from Disney&#8217;s Frozen.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/q53HUAKB9oU\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Roman Atwood &#8211; Comedy &#8211; $2.5 million<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Roman Atwood is a popular prank comedian who has over 7 million followers on YouTube. He infamously &#8220;flashed&#8221; children in a park (wearing a &#8220;don&#8217;t do drugs&#8221; t-shirt) and operates an online store.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/c44bhvx6vuw\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Lilly Singh &#8211; Comedy &#8211; $2.5 million<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Lilly Singh is a stand-up comedian and is also a singer. She goes by the YouTube name Superwoman, and has toured the world with her music.<\/p>\n<p>Her most popular video is how girls get ready.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7o4uDXft_pU\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Michelle Phan &#8211; Cosmetics &#8211; $3 million<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Michelle Phan is a self-taught makeup artist, who gained popularity by teaching viewers how to replicate celebrity looks. She&#8217;s made some good business decisions, including creating her own cosmetics line, and a makeup subscription service.<\/p>\n<p>One of her most popular uploads is a tutorial on how to look like Barbie.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/J4-GRH2nDvw\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>KSI &#8211; Video games \/ Music &#8211; $4.5 million<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>KSI, born Olajide Olatunji, started off his career as a videogame commentator &#8211; once he had amassed 11 million followes, he used his fame to launch a music career. His first single has hit over 25 million views.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/708mjaHTwKc\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Rhett &amp; Link &#8211; Comedy &#8211; $4.5 million<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Rhett McLaughlin and Charles Lincoln Neal host their own morning television newscast type show on YouTube &#8211; the duo are older (in their late 30s) and made most of their money through sponsorship deals.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZUCaSpaO5W4\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Lindsey Stirling &#8211; Music &#8211; $6 million<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Musician Linsay Stirling started posting videos of her performances in 2007. She plays the violin and dances, at the same time. Her skills and talent earned her a very loyal fan base.<\/p>\n<p>Her most popular video is Crystallize &#8211; a mash up of violin and dub-step.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/aHjpOzsQ9YI\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Smosh &#8211; Comedy &#8211; $8.5 million<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Smosh &#8211; who are childhood friends Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla &#8211; went the way of sketch comedy, and have even made their own full-length movie.<\/p>\n<p>This is the duo&#8217;s most popular video, selling a fake beef-in-a-tube product.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2uJE48aKVNo\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Fine Brothers &#8211; Comedy &#8211; $8.5 million<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Fine Brothers (Benny and Rafi Fine) on the other hand gained popularity through their &#8220;react&#8221; videos, where they get children, teens and the elderly to react to pop-culture phenomena.<\/p>\n<p>This is the group&#8217;s most popular kids react video &#8211; where children react to the Harlem Shake meme.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/NeGe7lVrXb0\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Felix Kjellberg &#8211; Video games &#8211; $12 million<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The top earner on YouTube, sporting over 40 million subscribers is Swedish video game enthusiest Felix Kjellberg &#8211; better known to fans as PewDiePie.<\/p>\n<p>Kjellberg&#8217;s claim to fame may not make much sense to anyone born before 1990, but that hasn&#8217;t stopped the YouTuber from making over $12 million, pre-tax, from providing commentary while live-streaming his playthrough of video games.<\/p>\n<p>His channel recently hit 10 billion views &#8211; he&#8217;s a montage of what he offers viewers (Language and animated violence warning).<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/IrZm1CUydzo\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"my-4\">More on YouTube<\/h3>\n<p><strong><a title=\"Permalink to Watch Tim Noakes take on SA\u2019s DIY YouTube sensation\" href=\"http:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/general\/88540\/watch-tim-noakes-take-on-sas-diy-youtube-sensation\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Watch Tim Noakes take on SA\u2019s DIY YouTube sensation<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a title=\"Permalink to The top YouTube videos in South Africa\" href=\"http:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/internet\/75844\/the-top-youtube-videos-in-south-africa\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">The top YouTube videos in South Africa<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a title=\"Permalink to Music subscription service hits YouTube\" href=\"http:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/internet\/73250\/music-subscription-service-hits-youtube\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Music subscription service hits YouTube<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Forbes has listed the highest-paid YouTube stars, who rack up millions of dollars in ad revenue each year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":101238,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9882,1],"tags":[1896,26,1246],"class_list":["post-101224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-internet","category-trending","tag-forbes","tag-headline","tag-youtube"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101224"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101224\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101240,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101224\/revisions\/101240"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101238"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}