Forbes 2016 list of highest paid YouTubers will make you weep
PewDiePie -- who recently declared he will delete his YouTube channel once he reaches 50 million subscribers -- is the highest paid digital star of 2016.
The Swedish gamer -- whose real name is Felix Kjellberg -- made an estimated $15 million for the 12 months ending in June 2016, according to Forbes' recent ranking.
This is the second year the 26-year-old YouTuber has topped the list. His paycheck surged 20% from last year, when he made $12 million.
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Kjellberg’s success is innately digital. He launched his channel by making “Let’s Play” videos, which showcase a gamer playing through a video game alongside footage of that player’s narration and reactions to the game.
But in 2016, the YouTuber branched out.
His book This Book Loves You made the New York Times bestseller list and his YouTube Red series Scare PewDiePie was renewed for a second season. His second video game, PewDiePie’s Tuber Simulator, was downloaded more than 1 million times within 24 hours of its release.
Maker Studios also teamed up with PewDiePie to create a new network called Revelmode, which focuses on content, community and charity.
He also launched a sock line.
The Forbes list does not account for management fees and taxes. Figures are based on Nielsen data, IMDB, interviews with agents, managers, lawyers, industry insiders and the stars.
Overall, YouTubers got paid more this year than in 2015. The top 12 internet celebrities earned "a combined $70.5 million in the 12 months ending in June — a 23% increase from last year’s total," Forbes estimated.
Roman Atwood's income jump
Roman Atwood, known for his YouTube prank videos, came second to PewDiePie, earning an estimated $8 million.
Atwood -- who has over 10 million subscribers to his channel -- has seen his income grow 70 percent since last year.
The bump comes after a busy year, in which he toured with fellow YouTuber Yousef Erakat (FouseyTUBE) and starred in the feature film Natural Born Pranksters. He continues to sell merch -- including beanies, pens and sunglasses -- and has deals with big brands including Scott Toilet Paper. He is working on a book called Will Work for Smiles.
Lilly Singh's super haul
Rounding out the top three is comedian Lilly Singh who earned $7.5 million.
Since launching her "Superwoman" channel in 2010, the Canadian-Indian digital star has amassed nearly 9 million subscribers and over 1.3 billion views. She is known for her uplifting, honest videos and hilarious impressions of her parents.
Her YouTube Red original documentary A Trip To Unicorn Island, produced by Astronauts Wanted, premiered at the iconic TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX. She picked up a Streamy Award for the film in October.
Her book How to Be a Bawse will hit stores in March 2017.
Smosh's fortune
Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox, the duo behind the popular SMOSH brand, followed Singh with $7 million.
Last year, the comedy duo starred in their first film, Smosh: The Movie. Their second film Ghostmates is slated for a YouTube Red debut on Dec. 14.
Oakley ties for fifth
Tyler Oakley and Rosanna Pansino tied for fifth, making $6 million each.
Oakley, who this year competed on The Amazing Race, recently signed a deal with Ellen DeGeneres for his own digital talk show. He has over 8 million subscribers to his YouTube channel.
In 2015, he co-hosted the Streamy Awards (which aired on Vh1), published a book of essays called Binge and released his documentary Snervous.
Throughout his career, he's also interviewed First Lady Michelle Obama and boy band One Direction, gone on a worldwide live tour, launched a chart-topping podcast called Psychobabble and had been honored by LGBT media advocacy organization GLAAD.
Pansino is best known as the host of cooking show Nerdy Nummies. Her channel has 7.3 million subscribers.
The youngest ties for sixth
Gamer Mark Fischbach (a.k.a Markiplier) and German Garmendia tied for sixth, making $5.5 million each.
Fischbach, Latin America’s biggest YouTuber, is the youngest on the list at age 26.
Miranda Sings ties for seventh
Rhett and Link and Colleen Ballinger (Miranda Sings) came in seventh, each earning $5 million.
Ballinger created her Miranda persona — a quirky, tone-deaf wannabe singer — in 2008. Since then, Miranda has appeared as a guest on Crackle’s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee with Jerry Seinfeld and on Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show. Her book — Selp-Helf — became a New York Times bestseller after being released in July 2015. Most recently, Ballinger brought Miranda's backstory to life with a Netflix series Haters Back Off.
Rhett & Link — whose full names are Rhett James McLaughlin and Charles Lincoln "Link" Neal III — are comedians, co-hosts of Good Mythical Morning and showrunners of YouTube Red scripted series Buddy System.
Topics YouTube
Saba was a Los Angeles-based reporter who covers all things digital entertainment, including YouTube, streaming services and digital influencers. Prior to that, she spent two years at the Los Angeles Times covering entertainment for the Calendar and Company Town sections. Saba grew up in Santa Monica and graduated from Boston University with a B.S. in journalism and B.A. in political science. When not reporting, she is usually binge watching shows online or looking for new coffee shops to frequent.
