MrBeast Joins Bid to Purchase TikTok Amid Ban Threat.
YouTube and TikTok sensation MrBeast, 26, also known as Jimmy Donaldson, is part of a group of investors aiming to purchase TikTok as the platform faces a looming 75-day deadline to secure a non-Chinese owner or face a potential ban.
MrBeast (@mrbeast Instagram)
MrBeast, the YouTube and TikTok sensation, is part of a group of investors bidding to purchase TikTok as the platform faces a 75-day deadline to secure a non-Chinese owner or risk a permanent ban in the US.
On January 13th, Donaldson tweeted humorously on X, “Okay fine, I’ll buy TikTok so it doesn’t get banned,” but his lawyer clarified that the offer was serious. MrBeast, the most popular YouTuber and third-most followed TikToker, has now joined forces with a consortium of investors to make a formal bid for the social media giant.
The Urgency Behind the Bid
The bid comes after a tumultuous period for TikTok, including a nationwide outage and the looming threat of a ban in the United States. TikTok was briefly offline on Saturday night, but President Donald Trump announced that an executive order would postpone the ban for 75 days. This gave TikTok a short window to address the legal issues surrounding its ownership.
In a TikTok video released shortly after his tweet, MrBeast stated, “I just got out of a meeting with a bunch of billionaires. TikTok, we mean business. This is my lawyer right here, we have an offer ready for you, we want to buy the platform.” The investor group, led by Jesse Tinsley, founder and CEO of Employer.com, has put forward a proposal to acquire TikTok, with the aim of keeping the platform running smoothly for its 170 million users in the United States.
A Strategic Response to National Security Concerns
The group’s bid comes as part of the legal ramifications from the Supreme Court's ruling that TikTok must be sold to a company not based in China. The Paul Hastings law firm, advising the bidding consortium, confirmed that the proposal would allow TikTok to continue its operations in the US without disrupting its current service. Tinsley stated, “Our proposal is a mutually beneficial solution that safeguards this essential platform while tackling valid national security issues.”
MrBeast with fiancée Thea Booysen (@thea_booysen Instagram)
Although the bid amount has not been disclosed, it is clear that the investor group is keen to preserve TikTok’s operations while addressing concerns over national security. TikTok’s value is estimated to be between $40 billion and $50 billion, excluding its highly valued algorithm, which remains the biggest challenge in determining a precise figure for the platform.
Other Potential Buyers
TikTok’s ongoing legal challenges have prompted other bids for the platform, including the group “The People’s Bid for TikTok,” which features investors such as Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary and billionaire Frank McCourt. Their offer has backing from Guggenheim Securities and the inventor of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee.
Despite the competition, MrBeast and his consortium’s bid represent a serious effort to save the platform from a potential ban. The 75-day deadline looms large, and both sides are scrambling to find a resolution before TikTok’s future in the US becomes uncertain.
