Celebrity

Here Are the World's Highest-Paid YouTube Stars – and What They Can Buy with Their Epic Salaries

In case you missed it: It pays to be on YouTube

Published on October 16, 2015 09:40 AM

Quick, grab the webcam.

Turns out, it pays to be on YouTube – especially if you’re one of these stars, who broadcast their videos to millions of subscribers and make a really, really good living in the process.

Forbes published the list of top-earning (read: millionaire) YouTube stars, which includes Felix Kjellberg (otherwise known as PewDiePie), Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla (Smosh), Lindsey Stirling, Lilly Singh and more.

Here’s the breakdown of what they do, how much they get paid for it and all the sweet things they could buy.

1. Felix Kjellberg

– $12 Million a Year
Channel: PewDiePie
Subscribers: 40 million
Shtick: Playing video games and making jokes
What He Could Buy With His Yearly Salary: 50 Mercedes-Maybachs, with some money left over for several Cartier Love bracelets.

2. Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla

– $8.5 Million a Year
Channel: Smosh
Subscribers: 21 million
Shtick: Live-action comedy sketches
What They Could Buy With Their Yearly Salary: Three of Kylie Jenner’s Calabasas mansions

3. Benny and Rafi Fine

– $8.5 Million a Year
Channel: Fine Brothers Entertainment
Subscribers: 13 million
Shtick: Reacting to things
What They Could Buy With Their Yearly Salary: Full tuition for 65 students to attend Yale University

4. Lindsey Stirling

– $6 Million a Year
Channel: Lindsey Stirling
Subscribers: 7 million
Shtick: Playing the violin – really, really well
What She Could Buy With Her Yearly Salary: 3,000 pounds of Ossetra caviar

5. Rhett McLaughlin and Charles Lincoln Neal III

– $4.5 Million a Year
Channel: Rhett & Link
Subscribers: 3 million
Shtick: Comedy sketches
What They Could Buy With Their Yearly Salary: Three mini islands in the Caribbean

5. Olajide Olatunji

– $ 4.5 Million a Year
Channel: KSI
Subscribers: 10 million
Shtick: Hip-hop
What He Could Buy With His Yearly Salary: Kanye West, booked for 20 events

6. Michelle Phan

– $3 Million a Year
Channel: Michelle Phan
Subscribers: 8 million
Shtick: Makeup tutorials
What She Could Buy With Her Yearly Salary: Three New York City apartments

7. Lilly Singh

– $2.5 Million a Year
Channel: Superwoman
Subscribers: 7 million
Shtick: Comedy sketches
What She Could Buy With Her Yearly Salary: A gold Bugatti

8. Roman Atwood

– $2.5 Million a Year
Channel: Roman Atwood Pranks
Subscribers: 7 million
Shtick: Pranks
What He Could Buy With His Yearly Salary: 6 luxury yachts and a few sacks of lobster

9. Rosanna Pansino

– $2.5 Million a Year
Channel: Rosanna Pansino
Subscribers: 5 million
Shtick: Cupcake wizard
What She Could Buy With Their Yearly Salary: 833,333 Magnolia Bakery cupcakes