The Unexpected and Controversial Rise of MrBeast to YouTube Superstardom

In 2019, after MrBeast uploaded another philanthropy stunt video titled “I Opened A Free Bank,” more doubts were cast on his authority. In the video, which has received over 80,000 views, Donaldson rented a bank building and put up billboards to advertise his offer to give people $50 for free, no strings attached.

The crew only let a small number of people inside at a time in order to avoid overwhelming them, so there was a very long line of people waiting outside the rented bank building. However, many viewers charged MrBeast with fabricating the video by handing out fake cash. He acknowledged handing out fake cash for safety reasons, but all of the bank guests received $50 checks.