YouTube Star MrBeast in Talks About Buying TikTok

The TikTok logos on screens in Hong Kong on Jan. 18, 2025. Anthony Kwan/Getty Images

Jimmy Donaldson, known as MrBeast for his highest-ranked YouTube channel by subscribers, is involved in talks about buying TikTok from its China-based owner.

Donaldson’s involvement was first publicized by Employer.com founder and CEO Jesse Tinsley, who’s leading the group effort, and the group’s legal team at Paul Hastings, although MrBeast spokesperson Matthew Hiltzik said on Jan. 21 that the YouTube star hasn’t officially joined any bids.

TikTok, the U.S. version of Chinese-language video app Douyin, has accumulated 170 million American users since its launch in 2017.

Under the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, enacted in April 2024, TikTok had been banned from operating in the United States since Jan. 19 because it has not been separated from its China-based owner, ByteDance Ltd.

President Donald Trump on Monday ordered a 75-day pause on any enforcement of the law to “allow my Administration an opportunity to determine the appropriate course forward in an orderly way that protects national security while avoiding an abrupt shutdown of a communications platform used by millions of Americans.”

He added that the “unfortunate timing” of the ban on the day before his inauguration interfered with his “ability to assess the national security and foreign policy implications of the Act’s prohibitions before they take effect” and his “ability to negotiate a resolution to avoid an abrupt shutdown of the TikTok platform while addressing national security concerns.”

Trump has since proposed that the U.S. government could enter a joint venture with interested U.S. companies to own half of TikTok, in exchange for a permit that would allow the app to keep running in the United States.

In a statement posted on X on Tuesday, Tinsley said he has met with the president and his team to talk about his offer to buy TikTok.

He said a team of investors, including Donaldson and Employer.com, had “officially submitted a compelling all-cash offer to ByteDance to keep TikTok in the U.S.,” and is “awaiting a response from ByteDance’s board.”

“This is about more than just a platform. It’s about ensuring TikTok remains a safe space where freedom of speech thrives, and where creators and communities can connect, inspire, and share ideas safely and respecting data privacy,” he wrote.

Lawyers representing the group include Brad Bondi, partner at law firm Paul Hastings and brother of Trump’s attorney general nominee Pam Bondi, and Legal Scale’s founding partner Neil O’Donnell, Tinsley said.

A statement issued by Paul Hastings also identified Donaldson as one of the investors.

Hiltzik said that “several buyers are holding ongoing discussions with Jimmy” and no exclusive agreement has yet to be signed.

Donaldson stirred interest in a Jan. 13 post on X saying he’d “buy TikTok so it doesn’t get banned.” The next day, Donaldson added, “Unironically, I’ve had so many billionaires reach out to me since I tweeted this, let’s see if we can pull this off.”

The Epoch Times has contacted MrBeast, Paul Hastings, and ByteDance for comment.

On Tuesday, Trump also said he’s open to the possibility that Tesla CEO Elon Musk or Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison buys part of TikTok.

While ByteDance is a private company, because it is based in China, it hosts a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) committee, as required by Chinese law to which it must abide. Chinese law may also require any entity, including private businesses, to support the Chinese regime’s intelligence work.

The platform has been found to suppress content deemed sensitive by the CCP and described as a trojan horse by the U.S. National Security Agency.

While ByteDance has dismissed U.S. concerns over national security and data security, its assurances have failed to convince the U.S. government and the Supreme Court, which on Jan. 17 upheld the law forcing TikTok to be separated from its China-based company in order to operate in the United States.

After Trump tried to separate TikTok from ByteDance in 2020, the Chinese regime updated its list of export restrictions, covering ByteDance’s algorithm and AI technologies.

In March 2023, Beijing said it would “firmly oppose” any forced sale of TikTok and that any forced sale of or divestitures from TikTok “involve technology export issues” and must abide by China’s laws and regulations.

On Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters that companies should be allowed to make their own decisions on their operations and acquisitions, but “if it involves Chinese companies, China’s laws and regulations should be observed.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.