Trending Now
How much money did you make in 2019? This 8-year-old kid on YouTube probably out-earned you.
In fact, he out-earned almost everyone.
Ryan Kaji earned a stunning $26 million on YouTube in 2019, making him the highest-earning YouTuber in the world. Ryan started his channel, Ryan’s World (formerly Ryan ToysReview), when he was just 3 years old. It consists of toy reviews, science experiments, educational videos, playing games, and more.
This is the second year in a row that Ryan has been the highest-earning YouTuber, beating other popular YouTube celebrities like PewDiePie and Jeffree Star. His income last year was $22 million.
Ryan’s YouTube fame has also evolved into other, more traditional show business deals, like a preschool-aimed series on Nickelodeon and a deal with Hulu.
Unsurprisingly, Ryan’s impressive year is causing a lot of jealousy on social media.
“I hate my life,” one person wrote.
“I need a YouTube channel,” another said.
“I might fuck around and start reviewing toys,” another joked.
Life isn’t quite that simple for this 8-year-old millionaire, though. Earlier this year, Ryan’s channel was the subject of a complaint filed to the Federal Trade Commission. A nonprofit called Truth In Advertising (TINA) claimed that the channel “deceptively promotes a multitude of products to millions of preschool-aged children in violation of FTC law.”
“When a YouTube video directed to children under the age of 5 mixes advertising with program content, as Ryan ToysReview videos frequently do, the preschool audience is unable to understand or even identify the difference between marketing material and organic content, even when there is a verbal indicator that attempts to identify the marketing content,” TINA Executive Director Bonnie Patten and Legal Director Laura Smith wrote in their complaint.
Ryan’s dad says their family strictly adheres to YouTube’s terms of service and cares about their viewers’ safety.
Something else to consider: Ryan is eight. So does he understand?
Who knows?
