Image via Getty/Jason LaVeris
It’s the age-old question of the digital era: if you didn’t post it, did it even happen? That sentiment pretty much sums up most people’s relationships to social media today. Although we know it’s bad for us (even scientists agree that Instagram is seriously messing with our sanity), we can’t seem to stop scrolling. Despite the logical conclusion that we should just put the damn phone down, like any good addiction, we keep #doingitforthegram.
But just because the mental health community agrees that using social media isn’t doing us any favors doesn’t mean there aren’t real monetary benefits to maintaining influencer-level status on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter or Snapchat. Some of the highest-earning social media stars make upwards of $6 million annually, just by posting content online. It has us begging the question: Why shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars on college, when all you need to get rich today is a really big Instagram following?
That doesn’t mean that this get-rich-quick scheme is easy. There are plenty of struggle #influencers trying to make a name for themselves online. And just because you participated in (or even started) one of the most viral social media challenges last year, that doesn’t guarantee that you will automatically bag a Kylie-level #sponsored brand partner. It seems that you’re actually more likely to be suspended from school than become a true social media influencer. But just to make you a little more jealous of all those beautiful personalities you’ve scrolled past or clicked on, check out our list of the highest earning social media stars. These numbers are enough to make anyone contemplate quitting their jobs to start a YouTube channel.
Kayla Itsines
Daniel Middleton (DanTDM)
Estimated income: $16.75 million
YouTube subscribers: 17.5 million
British YouTube star Daniel Middleton rose to fame for his reviews of the popular video game Minecraft. He continues to review other games, and has grown beyond a cult gamer following to become the highest-earning vlogger on the planet in 2017.
Evan Fong (VanossGaming)
Estimated income: $15.5 million
YouTube subscribers: 22.2 million
Many of the richest YouTube stars realized that there’s good money when you combine gaming and vlogging. This is the case with Evan Fong, whose channel VanossGaming often involves collaborating with other YouTube gaming stars and playing together.
Mark Fischbach (Markiplier)
Estimated income: $12.5 million
YouTube subscribers: 19.4 million
Mark Fischbach grew his supremely popular YouTube channel through “Let’s Play” videos. The often-hilarious videos aren’t subjective game reviews; instead, they rely on the personality and commentary of the player.
Logan Paul
Estimated income: $12.5 million
YouTube subscribers: 16 million
The older and richer brother of Jake Paul, this YouTuber recently came under the gun for a video that featured a dead body in Japan’s “suicide forest.” He pulled down the video and won’t earn any money off of it, but that won’t stop Logan from raking in big bucks every year.
Felix Kjellberg (PewDiePie)
Estimated income: $12 million
YouTube subscribers: 60 million
Known for his “Let’s Play” videos, which follow a vlogger as they play a video game, Felix Kjellberg used to be the richest YouTuber in the world. However, due to racist and anti-semitic imagery and behavior, his earnings dropped this year. That still didn’t stop him from banking a cool $12 million in 2017.
Jake Paul
Estimated income: $11.5 million
YouTube subscribers: 13.2 million
Jake Paul rose to fame on Vine with his brother Logan Paul, who also made our list. The two moved over to their own YouTube channels once Vine closed down, and Jake continued posting comedy, music videos, and more to an increasingly growing fan-base.
Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla (SMOSH)
Estimated income: $11 million
YouTube subscribers: 22.8 million
What started as a series of simple sketch comedy videos rose to international fame on YouTube when this duo migrated to the social media platform from their own site. They’ve since grown big enough to host other guest actors and have experienced three separate spans of being the most successful channel on YouTube.
Lilly Singh (||Superwoman||)
Estimated income: $10.5 million
YouTube subscribers: 13.1 million
Instagram followers: 7.2M
Ranked one of Forbes’ Top Influencers of 2017, Lilly Singh’s moniker ||Superwoman|| is definitely appropriate. The one-woman show she produces involves comedy, singing, and more. Her “Game of Thrones”-themed rap, where she put on full White Walker makeup, was definitely a highlight of viral videos last year.
Roman Atwood
Estimated income: $8 million
YouTube subscribers: 11.8 million
He’s best known for posting daily vlogs, and Roman Atwood’s commitment to content has paid off, making him one of the highest earners on YouTube. Additionally, he also owns a channel where he posts prank videos.
Tyler Oakley
Estimated income: $6 million
YouTube subscribers: 7.8 million
Unlike many of the top-earners on this list, Tyler Oakley uses his platform to talk about more serious issues, especially discrimination against LGBTQ people, being bullied, and eating disorders. His rise in popularity only goes to show that there are lots of different lucrative methods to growing audiences on social media.
