Head of TED Chris Anderson talks to Chris Evans about why MrBeast is ‘the real deal’

Virgin Radio

20 Feb 2024, 14:45

Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, is an American YouTuber and, according to TED curator Chris Anderson, has discovered something that is “beautiful and hopeful for the future”.

The entrepreneur and director of TED joined the Chris Evans Breakfast Show with cinch to talk about his new book, Infectious Generosity: The Ultimate Idea Worth Spreading. In the book - which is out now - the author looks at many aspects of why “being generous makes sense”. One of the highlights is a section on MrBeast, and online personality  and philanthropist who makes fast-paced and high-production videos, which feature elaborate challenges and large giveaways.

The TED head said of MrBeast: “As a teenager, he was obsessed with YouTube, and with a group of friends, fought hard to crack the code, and what does it take to be successful on YouTube? How do you become a YouTube star? How do you get videos to go viral? And studied every aspect of it from how you edit a video, to the little picture you put up and the headline and so forth, and basically ended up attracting an ever bigger audience, even as a teenager.”

Our Chris said that MrBeast’s mother insisted that the teen either went to college or left home, “So he had to pretend to go to college, because he couldn't afford to leave home. And then when he could afford to leave home, he told his mum, he hadn't been going to college 'But don't worry, because you can now afford the rent elsewhere.'”

The TED curator went on: “His success has been astonishing. I mean, he now has more than 200 million subscribers on YouTube. So it's absolutely breathtaking. He puts up a video, and within a week, it's typically seen by 50 million people. I mean, there is no terrestrial media channel, I don't think, that can match those numbers. And this is a guy with a few friends, who has done this. 

“Now, what he's discovered, and what is beautiful and hopeful for the future, is that he's not out there being a merchant of doom, like much of social media, he is out there celebrating the wild, the fantastic, the exciting, the amazing, and often, the generous and the kind. He takes great delight in these amazing stories.

“He's done videos like, ‘Hey, 1000 people got their site back through cataract surgery’. And these videos, you look at the people, you look at their reaction, and you can't help but be emotionally moved by it.”

He continued: “He has his critics, people who say, ‘Well, cataract surgery? Hello, you're not addressing the underlying problem of public health inequity.’ Or, ‘Why only 1000?’ There's lots of ways in which people can snark, and it's true that there is an important role for system change and for all these other things, but I think two things. One, I've become convinced just talking to the people close to him that he is the real deal. He is, in his heart, determined to do this for good, for the long term. He's making a fortune, he plans to recycle it all. Two, it's done with respect for the people. There are some kindness videos that are out there where people get ambushed… and you could even cross the line there and exploit people just for the views. I don't think that's how to view him. I think the main way to view him is that he is inspiring millions and millions of people in the next generation. He's especially popular among teenagers.”

Virgin Radio’s Breakfast show host said: “My kids love him. I I love him. I actually love his videos. I really do. I think they're amazing.” 

The TED boss agreed: “They are amazing. He's teaching people that kindness can be cool. What about that!” 

He continued: “This is the fundamental problem that the rest of us have been wrestling with our whole lives, that good is boring. Evil is compelling. This is down to our quirky human nature. The things that we're drawn to and pay attention to. Every artist has discovered this, every storyteller, and when it comes to the battle I think that we're fighting now for, if you like, the soul of humanity, like I think it's a huge problem. But he is showing that actually, there is a different way, and I think you can make quite a strong case that the generation coming through is sick already of the mean world that we have shown them.”

Read more about Chris’ new book, including why ‘it makes sense to be generous’ and why TED had to give away all of its “best content” here. 

Infectious Generosity: The Ultimate Idea Worth Spreading is out now.

For more great interviews listen to The Chris Evans Breakfast Show with cinch weekdays from 6:30am on Virgin Radio, or catch up on-demand here.