"All tax write-offs..": Users joke as MrBeast admits he went over budget on ‘Beast Games’ and lost tens of millions

Jimmy Donaldson, the YouTube king of challenges and bank-breaking giveaways, recently admitted that his ambitious project, Beast Games, cost him a lot of money from his own pocket.

But, MrBeast went ahead and called himself an “idiot,” and then said, “No regrets.”

Social media is dragging MrBeast right now. One X user commented:

"All tax write-offs.."

He deserves a standing ovation from his accountant.

A user mentioned:

"I'm so confused. What does this even mean? Fixed youtubers' reputation? Who? How?"

The user experienced the five stages of confusion.

A user asked:

"So he lost tens of millions… but did he fix YouTubers’ reputations? Or just make an expensive reality show nobody remembers?"

This is the most expensive ‘mid’ content in history.

One user went on to suggest:

"Tens of millions down the drain, what a genius. Maybe MrBeast should focus on making actual content instead of trying to 'fix' YouTubers' reputation."

YouTube itself gave up on that.

A user quipped:

"why people act like I gotta shed a tear he made the choice to do so"

We saving tears for rent prices, not billionaires making bad investments.

One user highlighted:

"Lost tens of millions while making millions."

This is what happens when ‘spend money to make money’ goes too far.

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MrBeast loses money on Beast Games

Speaking to Steven Bartlett on The Diary of a CEO podcast, MrBeast spilled the tea on just how deep this financial rabbit hole went.

“We spent way too much money on it. I lost tens of millions of dollars on that show. I’m an idiot.”

So, why invest in a project that was burning money? Because MrBeast had bigger plans.

He wanted to prove that YouTubers could make high-quality content that competes with traditional TV.

“I couldn’t let the YouTube community down because creators don’t have a good rep when it comes to doing stuff on streaming platforms,” he explained.

And despite the financial disaster, Beast Games became a massive hit, pulling in over 50 million viewers in its first month.

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About Beast Games

Beast Games premiered on Amazon Prime Video in December 2024. It had over 1,000 contestants and a $5 million grand prize (which later ballooned to $10 million).

A whole city was built just for the show. A $14 million production playground where contestants battled through ten intense episodes of over-the-top challenges.

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The controversy & the win

The positive aspects of Beast Games did not overshadow all the issues that occurred during production. Beast Games contestants raised safety issues about their Allegiant Stadium Las Vegas production which included both insufficient food and water supplies and accidents within the challenges.

Five competitors sued MrBeast Productions and Amazon claiming they were subjected to mistreatment which included allegations of s*xual harassment along with being forced into volunteer work instead of paid roles.

The show faced multiple controversies but managed to set all-time viewing records.