An 8-year-old boy pulled in $22 million this year by posting videos of himself and his family unboxing and reviewing toys. A 21-year-old best known for his pranks and reaction videos pocketed $21.5 million, and a group of five men from Texas made $20 million with their sports-focused channel featuring hundreds of trick shots and stunts.
All found their success on YouTube, a video sharing service that launched in 2005.
The top 10 YouTube earners made $180.5 million, 42 percent more than a year ago, according to Forbes.
They are:
- Logan Paul, a 23-year-old who first gained fame on Vine, uploads short films and comedy sketches on his YouTube site, “TheOfficialLoganPaul.” Earnings: $14.5 million.
- PewDiePie, a 29-year-old from Sweden whose real name is Felix Kjellberg, is known for his comedic formatted shows. Earnings: $15.5 million.
- Jacksepticeye, an Irish 28-year-old whose real name is Sean William McLoughlin, posts gameplay videos and sketch comedy. Earnings: $16 million.
- VanossGaming is run by 26-year-old Evan Fong, who live streams and comments on video games played with other YouTube collaborators. Earnings: $17 million
- Markiplier, 29, shares comedy sketches and gaming videos on YouTube. Real name is Mark Fischback. Earnings: $17.5 million
- Jeffrey Lynn Steininger, 33, founded the makeup tutorial YouTube channel Jeffree Star. He first found fame on Myspace. Earnings: $18 million
- The DanTDM channel features Minecraft and reaction videos. Daniel Robert Middleton, 27, is behind it. Earnings: $18.5 million.
- Dude Perfect features twin siblings – Cory and Coby Cotton – Cody Jones, Tyler Toney and Garrett Hilbert performing stunts and comedy sketches. Earnings: $20 million.
- Jake Paul, 21, whose brother Logan is also on this list, was a Disney Channel actor before launching his YouTube channel, which features rap songs and goofy pranks. Earnings: $21.5 million
- Ryan, 8, has had 26 billion views on his channel, RyanToysReview, since 2015. Videos feature him opening and reviewing the latest toys. Earnings: $22 million