Can MrBeast Actually Buy TikTok? Full Timeline Explained
The last couple of weeks within the social media landscape have been rocked by the ever-present threat of short-form video platform TikTok being banned in the US. The ban has since been lifted thanks to an executive order by President Trump, giving parent company Byte Dance 75 additional days to find a buyer for the platform.
One of the parties seeking to buy TikTok is the popular YouTuber MrBeast. He is known for creating content that centers around inordinate displays of wealth, and it wouldn't be too farfetched to write this off as another instance. However, the business world and, to a larger extent, the esports, gaming, and internet culture landscape are treating his TikTok offer with a level of seriousness that is usually reserved for tycoons of the industry.
TikTok's Importance to Esports
Like Twitch before it, TikTok has an important dynamic with content creators and esports professionals. TikTok's ability to utilize its impressive algorithm to serve users the specific content they wish to see is a boom for the esports industry that currently commands a niche within a niche audience.
According to Esports Charts, TikTok Live Esports Viewership has grown dramatically, going from 32M hours watched in 2022 to 198M in 2024. Mobile gaming is a large part of TikTok's success in esports. Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Free Fire, and Arena of Valor are at the top for viewership records, with MLBB hitting 1.3M in peak viewers on TikTok Live. League of Legends follows the three aforementioned games in peak viewership, with 182K peak viewership on the platform during Worlds 2024.
Beyond TikTok's live-streaming efforts, they have started key partnerships with major players in gaming and esports. In July 2024, Tiktok became the official entertainment partner for the Esports World Cup. As part of the partnership TikTok created a special hub in their app and exclusive content using teams, players, and broadcasters from various titles. In the following month, TikTok was the official partner of Gamescom 2024, one of the biggest gaming conferences in Europe.
Esports orgs and their publishers have a huge presence on TikTok and the platform is a major component of their content strategies. Riot Games' official game accounts (League of Legends and VALORANT) are massive with 1.6M and 2.2M followers, respectively. FaZe Clan and TSM also have incredible followings on the platform, with 6.6M and 1.7M followers, respectively. All these stakeholders depend on TikTok to connect to new audiences in unique ways.
How Did TikTok Get Banned?
The bill to ban TikTok, forcing the need for a sale to a US company, was introduced in March 2024. The bill came after years of back and forth about the potential national security concerns that could be faced as a result of ByteDance's relationship with the Chinese government. The bill was passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate. It was signed into law by President Biden in April 2024. The date of the ban was slated for Jan 19, 2025.
TikTok and Byte Dance began their efforts to challenge the law in May 2024, calling it unconstitutional. A federal appeals court upheld the law in December, not willing to give TikTok the argument that the ban goes against the First Amendment. The Supreme Court upheld the ban on Jan. 17 with only two days remaining before the ban would take effect.
MrBeast Expresses Interest in buying TikTok
Okay fine, I’ll buy Tik Tok so it doesn’t get banned
— MrBeast (@MrBeast) January 14, 2025
MrBeast first revealed his interest in buying Tiktok through a tweet on Jan. 13, four days before the Supreme Court decision. The tweet went viral in all the frenzy of the deadline approaching and some wealthy parties were reaching out to the YouTuber about his statement.
"Unironically I’ve had so many billionaires reach out to me since I tweeted this," MrBeast tweeted in a follow-up to his original announcement tweet. "Let's see if we can pull this off."
On Jan. 15, four days before the ban would take effect, MrBeast released a TikTok video doubling down on his intent to buy the platform. The video garnered 281M views as the deadline approached. "I just got out of a meeting with a bunch of billionaires," said MrBeast as he showed off mock documents with a man he claimed to be his lawyer.
"We have an offer ready for you. We want to buy the platform. America deserves TikTok. Give me a seat at the table. Let me save this platform TikTok."
Before MrBeast could make his purchase of TikTok official, the platform was banned. The ban did not go past 24 hours as service in the US was reinstated with the extension of time for TikTok to find a buyer.
Will MrBeast Be Able to Buy Tiktok?
The leading groups who are all credible bidding on Tik Tok have reached out for us to help them, I’m excited to partner/make this a reality. Big things cooking 🥰
— MrBeast (@MrBeast) January 22, 2025
MrBeast is still in the running to buy TikTok, but the details of how he'll make it happen are a mystery. His last public statement about buying the platform was on Jan 22, where he wrote, "The leading groups who are all credible bidding on TikTok have reached out for us to help them, I'm excited to partner/make this a reality. Big things cooking."
A group led by Jesse Tinsley, the founder of Recruiter.com Ventures, has named MrBeast as one of the people within its investor group. They have officially submitted an all-cash offer to take over TikTok's US operations from ByteDance. The amount has not been disclosed at this time.
According to reporting from the Associated Press, MrBeast spokesperson Matthew Hiltzik denies that he has officially joined any bids for Tiktok.
"Several buyers are holding ongoing discussions with Jimmy," said Hiltzik. "He has no exclusive agreements with any of them."
Bloomberg reported that, in their conversation with a spokesperson MrBeast would be in more of an operational role than a financial role in any deal for TikTok.
The insight about MrBeast being in an operational role gives us some idea of what he could do for the esports community as a part of TikTok. The platform has expressed interest in fostering a better working relationship with the gaming and esports industries through its leadership summit. MrBeast could become the face of that potential partnership.
In the past, MrBeast has expressed his interest in being a part of LoL esports by buying a team in the LTA (formerly the LCS). He was part of a highly viewed "MrBeast vs Ninja show match" and hosted tournaments in Fortnite. He's made attempts to start esports-focused leagues with the Creator League, though this effort was ultimately unsuccessful.
MrBeast would come into his role at TikTok with an intimate understanding of the ups and downs of esports, both as a participant and an organizer. That's before included his years of understanding content creation on the biggest scale imaginable.
As esports continues to navigate its way through a period of change, having MrBeast as a connection point to one of the biggest media platforms can only help in its goal to reach the next generation of gamers and spectators.
Born in Trinidad and raised in New York City, Brandon spent the last seven years working in various areas of online content creation. Whether it's detailing the history of iconic Red Bull events, producing esports news shows for Bleacher Report, Cheddar, and Full Squad, or developing strategy for short-form coverage of the world's biggest streamers, if it involves gaming and culture, Brandon wants to be a part of documenting what's happening.