On an unassuming street just outside of Greenville, North Carolina, Jimmy Donaldson — famously known as MrBeast — has been quietly buying out a neighborhood for himself, his family and his employees, The Post can report.
In the last couple of years, the 25-year-old — who has built a reputation for his philanthropic endeavors and sensational YouTube videos — has purchased five modest and separate homes in the area he grew up in, centered around a cul-de-sac.
With an accumulated net worth of $54 million and more than 40 billion views combined on his videos, these homes don’t exactly scream luxury living.
Instead, when Donaldson isn’t setting up stunts, pranks, huge cash giveaways and, most recently, helping the deaf hear, he’s living like your average American — far away from Hollywood-style glam.
Donaldson purchased his own home when it went up for sale — and what would be his first on the street — in 2018 for about $320,000, according to records obtained by The Post.
Occupying nearly 3,000 square feet, that two-story home is made up of four bedrooms and four bathrooms.
The kitchen featured new granite countertops, a breakfast bar, a breakfast room and a pantry. The family room comes with a gas log fireplace.
On the same level is the master suite, whose ensuite bath features a double vanity, a whirlpool tub and shower.
The second level holds three additional bedrooms, the laundry room and a bonus room.
Amenities include a screened-in rear porch, a patio, a basketball court and a separate storage building.
Donaldson then slowly began to buy up the rest of the homes surrounding his for family and employees — paying more than usual for each. (The exception: The second property he purchased there in 2020 for $263,000.)
The remaining homes were not up for sale and were purchased off-market.
The following year, he purchased those three homes for a combined $1.45 million.
There remains just one hold out house, which Donaldson’s former neighbor attributed to the family likely wanting their kids to finish school.
“My understanding is the folks who are holding out is similar to any reason why would anyone would have held out — its the best school districts in the area, and they have kids in school,” Aaron Bowden, who sold his home to Donaldson last year, told The Post.
“I wouldn’t know anything for a fact because I don’t walk in their shoes, but they may change their minds when their kids are out of high school and off to college,” Bowden added.
Bowden told The Post his own reasons for selling his home, which he had lived in since 2016, were business-related.
“We negotiated back and forth and it had to be worth my while. And he wasn’t gonna buy it, if it wasn’t worth his while,” Bowden added.
The other neighbors had their reasons for selling to Donaldson.
“Some people have been there for a while. Some people, like one neighbor had only been there for maybe a year,” Bowden said. “My immediately adjacent neighbor, they actually grew up in the neighborhood and her parents moved to the beach. They only moved up the street. They just moved into a different house.”
Bowden explained how Donaldson informed him of his plans to move his employees and family into each of the homes.
And when Donaldson is not home or traveling, his rep told The Post, the internet star is living in his studio — where all the magic happens.
Donaldson gave fans a tour of that studio last July.
He’s credited with pioneering a genre of YouTube videos that centers on expensive stunts.
To date, Donaldson has over 150 million subscribers, and his main YouTube channel ranks the fourth most-subscribed on the platform.
Source by [CNN]