Meet the stars of YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and other powerhouse influencers turning massive fanbases into millions of dollars.
Edited by Steven Bertoni. Reporting by Zoya Hasanand Alexandra York, with Sofia Chierchioand Martina Di Licosa. Photography by Sebastian Nevols for Forbes
The creator economy is no longer trying to break into show business—it is show business. For the first time in the five-year history of the Top Creators list, the ranking of the 50 most powerful influencers collectively broke the billion-dollar mark, bringing in a total of $1.02 billion—a 20% jump from last year’s $853 million haul and an 80% surge from the $570 million total earnings from the debut list in 2022.
Social media entrepreneurs are now building hundred-person studios, leading national advertising campaigns and even beating Hollywood at the box office. Consider two recent hit movies: Backrooms, based on Kane Parsons’ horror web series, was made for $10 million and brought in more than $260 million, and Obsession, written and directed by sketch comedy creator Curry Barker, had a budget of $750,000 and has rung up more than $290 million.
On the streaming side, Mark Rober and Ms. Rachel have brought their popular educational shows to Netflix. MrBeast debuted the second season of his Beast Games on Amazon Prime—with Season 3 already in production. Scripted content star Dhar Mann has an always-on channel with Samsung TV and recently partnered with Fox to produce 40 vertical dramas.
As Hollywood studios lose their grip on the entertainment industry—last year, the number of people working in Los Angeles in the motion picture industry fell to a historic low, according to U.S. labor statistics—Mann has found a sweet spot combining the best aspects of social media and traditional studios. “It’s a 21st-century studio,” says Jeffrey Katzenberg, the cofounder of DreamWorks and former chairman of Walt Disney Studios. “He’s taken every old-school aspect of great storytelling and reconceived it for a new audience on a new platform.”
As these new platforms continue to go mainstream and grow—entrepreneurial Forbes Top Creators continue to expand their brands and empires. As Dhar Mann tells Forbes: “The greatest thing that happened to me was that I had no traditional studio or filmmaking experience.”
#1-10
#1. MrBeast
Earnings: $300 M
Total Followers: 873 M
Avg. Engagement: 3.00%
Entrepreneurship Score: 4
Jimmy Donaldson has turned YouTube stunts into a global, multiproduct production studio. His YouTube channels have more than 640 million subscribers and score more than 5 billion views per year. His Beast Industries manages media, his food business (Feastables, Lunchly), analytic tool Viewstats, and toy and clothing licensing business. The company has reportedly taken venture investments at a $5 billion valuation. On the streaming side, he debuted the second season of his wildly popular reality contest show, Beast Games, on Amazon Prime. Season 3 is in production. His next push – personal finance. In February 2026, Beast Industries purchased Step, an app that teaches investing and asset management to teens.
#2. Dhar Mann
Earnings: $65 M
Total Followers: 171 M
Avg. Engagement: 0.09%
Entrepreneurship Score: 4
The creator of uplifting Horatio Alger tales for the algorithm, Mann’s team of 200 produces digital shows which, on a typical week, rack up nearly 300 million views. Mann’s social channels have 160 million global followers. His content is translated into 13 languages. “Most traditional studios create content and hope the audience follows. We listen to the audience and follow what they want.” He teamed with the NFL for Superbowl LX as the league’s “Chief Kindness Officer.” In January, Mann entered a deal with Fox Entertainment to produce vertical dramas. The plan: create 40 dramas in 18 months.
#3. Steven Bartlett
Earnings: $52 M
Total Followers: 38.7 M
Avg. Engagement: 0.22%
Entrepreneurship Score: 4
The Diary of a CEO host has turned the interview show he started at his kitchen table into a $425 million holding company, Steven.com with a media arm spanning podcasts, book deals, live events and an investment branch. The Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe and Top Creator alum has partnerships with Spotify, LinkedIn and Adobe, among others. He’s a new investor in Replit and Lovable, and is back breathing fire for his sixth season of investment show Dragons’ Den.
#4. Markiplier
Earnings: $38 M
Total Followers: 76.8 M
Avg. Engagement: 0.21%
Entrepreneurship Score: 4
Mark Edward Fischbach (aka Markiplier) is bridging content and Hollywood. The gaming streamer’s self-funded and self-produced feature film, Iron Lung, aired at 3,000 theaters around North America and earned $50 million at the box office—and he had a 50/50 revenue split with the theaters. Now it’s available to purchase on YouTube for viewers around the world. In the meantime, he continues to host his podcasts “Distractible” and “Go! My Favorite Sports Team.”
#5. Rhett & Link
Earnings: $37 M
Total Followers: 45.6 M
Avg. Engagement: 0.12%
Entrepreneurship Score: 4
The comedy duo annually shoots 240 episodes of their YouTube talk show Good Mythical Morning. The show has nearly 20 million viewers who tune in for taste tests, product reviews, trivia and commentary on cultural trends. They also produce the Mythical Kitchen Channel, where the Last Meal series, hosted by Josh Scherer, has featured celebs including Tom Hanks, Gordon Ramsay and Ed Sheeran. The childhood best friends are expanding their audience with a channel on Tubi. Their fourth food book, Spaghetti Head & Chicken Fingers, debuts this summer.
#6. Charli D’Amelio
Earnings: $18 M
Total Followers: 209.8 M
Avg. Engagement: 11.59%
Entrepreneurship Score: 4
If your TikTok feed suddenly feels like it’s 2020 again, you can probably blame Charli D’Amelio. Fresh off her Broadway run in & Juliet, the social media superstar is back to posting the same kinds of dance videos that made her and sister Dixie (#31 on this list) famous, and she’s back with YouTube vlogs, too. That’s all while serving as a Prada ambassador and starring in campaigns for Kate Spade. The moves may be the same, but the stage is a lot bigger now.
#7. Druski
Earnings: $20 M
Total Followers: 38.5 M
Avg. Engagement: 13.77%
Entrepreneurship Score: 4
The sketch comic these days is everywhere: YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and on national TV starring in commercials for T-Mobile and Dunkin’. This June he’s hosting the BET Awards. Born Drew Desbordes, Druski continues to collaborate with Hollywood stars across social and mainstream media. Recent pairings: Kevin Hart, Timothee Chalamet, Jeff Bridges and Zoe Saldana.
#8. I Show Speed
Earnings: $30 M
Total Followers: 184 M
Avg. Engagement: 0.39%
Entrepreneurship Score: 4
Speed started slow. In 2016, he launched a YouTube channel to publish gaming videos of NBA 2K and Fortnite. Few followed. Five years later he gained momentum when TikToks of his wild gaming outbursts went viral. He soon pivoted to soccer content, collaborating with superstars including Cristiano Ronaldo. Next came travel content with tours like Speed Does America and the Speed Does Africa. His big influence drives big brand deals: Dick’s Sporting Goods, Beats By Dre, and Doritos. This summer, as the soccer world descends on America, he launched his World Cup 2026 Tour with FIFA.
#9. Mark Rober
Earnings: $30 M
Total Followers: 90.7 M
Avg. Engagement: 0.23%
Entrepreneurship Score: 4
Social media’s mad scientist attracts more than 57 million YouTube subscribers with his high-production, educational stunts. His team of 100 produces seven-figure episodes to teach core scientific concepts: building a roller coaster to teach physics, escaping Alcatraz through science and teaming up with Ronaldo for a lesson on robotics. Brands like Rivian, Google and Disney flock to his engaging education content. His company CrunchLabs sells science kits via subscription. This spring, the former NASA engineer gave a TED talk on his plan to energize America’s STEM education system.
#10. Codie Sanchez
Earnings: $31 M
Total Followers: 10 M
Avg. Engagement: 0.37%
Entrepreneurship Score: 4
The former journalist and financier now teaches small business tips across YouTube, Instagram and TikTok to more than 7 million followers. Sanchez eschews get-rich-quick schemes, instead focusing on the earning power of so-called boring businesses: laundromats, vending machines, landscaping. “I looked down the pipe and was like, ‘Do I want to be a bad guy owning all the businesses or do I want to help other people do it?’ And I decided the latter seemed more fun.”
#11-20
#11. Jake Shane
Earnings: $14 M
Total Followers: 6 M
Avg. Engagement: 13.37%
Entrepreneurship Score: 4
He’s a content creator-turned-candy connoisseur. The chief creative officer of Katjes is bringing the German candy company to the U.S. with his witty social media strategy and budding household name. But it’s just one of Shane’s new titles. Shane also recently became a Broadway star, appeared in a Super Bowl commercial for Poppi, has long-term partnerships with Uber Eats and continued to host guests from Kylie Jenner to Nick Jonas on his Netflix podcast, “Therapuss.”
#12. Brent Rivera
Earnings: $13.7 M
Total Followers: 120.8 M
Avg. Engagement: 9.95%
Entrepreneurship Score: 4
The former Vine star is harnessing his social media clout to develop production company and talent agency Amp Studios. He’s dived into the snacks too. In 2025, Rivera launched Levels, using the power of his social media reach to sell corn and potato chips in attention-grabbing flavors like chili-lime and churro. His YouTube channel, with more than 40 million subscribers, publishes stunts and challenges, from extreme camouflage pranks to exploring sketchy abandoned buildings. Social is a family affair—Rivera often collaborates with sister Lexi (#34) on skits and challenges.
#13. Adam W
Earnings: $17.3 M
Total Followers: 67.2 M
Avg. Engagement: 7.42%
Entrepreneurship Score: 4
The skit savant posts short, slapstick comedy to an audience worldwide. His comedy relies on visual jokes, not dialogue, appealing to fans across the globe. A production perfectionist, 90-second sketches take nine hours to film and often attract hundreds of millions of likes. This channel attracts brands too, with long-term deals with Old Spice, the NFL, movie studios and tourism boards. He’s currently creating a comedy film for theatrical and YouTube release. In the spring, Waheed launched his app Double View, allowing users to record video in vertical and horizontal formats at the same time.
#14. Jesser
Earnings: $25 M
Total Followers: 54.9 M
Avg. Engagement: 0.55%
Entrepreneurship Score: 4
Basketball’s biggest creator is off the court. Jesser has scored more than 44 million subscribers to his YouTube channel posting dunk contests, stunts (shooting every type of basketball ever made) and superstar celebrity collaborations (LeBron, Giannis). He collects millions worth of brand deals with companies including Lowe’s, Google and Adidas. His massive merch business Bucket Squad sells boldly colored hoops shorts, tees and hoodies directly to consumers and in stores like Dick’s Sporting Goods.
#15. Khaby Lame
Earnings: $9.9 M
Total Followers: 252.1 M
Avg. Engagement: 4.72%
Entrepreneurship Score: 4
The most followed human on TikTok with 161.6 million fans, Italian influencer Khaby Lame has turned his miming comedy into a serious business. World-famous for his spoofs and hot takes on viral trends, Lame scores millions for deals with brands including Hugo Boss, crypto exchange Binance and many Hollywood studios, where he often posts cameos with top stars including Tom Cruise and Matt Damon. Khaby’s brand business, Step Distinctive Limited, was valued at $975 million in a January during a controversial all-stock sale to Hong Kong-based company Rich Sparkle. Rich Sparkle’s shares briefly popped, and have since plunged from the highs. View Profile
#16. Alix Earle
Earnings: $12 M
Total Followers: 14.5 M
Avg. Engagement: 8.00%
Entrepreneurship Score: 4
Get Ready With Me… using products from my own skincare brand. There’s a reason Earle is literally a Harvard Business School case study. While building one of social media’s most influential lifestyle brands—and recently finishing as the runner-up on reality TV competition Dancing With the Stars—she’s making savvy moves as an entrepreneur and investor. Her portfolio includes stakes in beverage brands like Poppi (acquired by Pepsi for $1.95 billion), Gorgie and SipMargs, alongside the launch of her own skincare line, Reale Actives, this March. And if that resume wasn’t stacked enough, a Netflix series following the Earle family is set to debut this year.
#17. Mikayla Nogueira
Earnings: $9 M
Total Followers: 21.8 M
Avg. Engagement: 7.39%
Entrepreneurship Score: 4
The Massachusetts native has turned makeup into millions of dollars. Nogueira creates beauty tutorials and reviews for her over 20 million fans across TikTok and Instagram. Big brand deals have followed, including partnerships with Estee Lauder and e.l.f. In March 2025, she launched her own brand, Point Of View, offering serums, moisturizers and lip balm, and has recently expanded to the color cosmetics space with lip kits.
#18. Stokes Twins
Earnings: $12.4 M
Total Followers: 177.5 M
Avg. Engagement: 0.21%
Entrepreneurship Score: 4
While they now have more than 140 million YouTube subscribers, former medical students Alex and Alan Stokes began their social media careers living out of their car trying to make it as creators in LA. Their living situation improved after their video “What It’s Like to Be a Twin” hit 10 million views in a week. They made videos nonstop. “Don’t do something you’re not passionate about because you’re going to burn out in like two years—because we would not be doing this if we didn’t love literally every second of making content.” Today their 70-person team makes high-production stunts and skits (I Built a SECRET McDonald’s In My Room!, I Survived The World’s STRICTEST School!), attracting billions of views and millions of dollars from Google AdSense.
#19. Nick DiGiovanni
Earnings: $14 M
Total Followers: 65.4 M
Avg. Engagement: 1.09%
Entrepreneurship Score: 4
The social media chef has perfected the recipe for viral success—his YouTube channel has more than 40 million subscribers and has racked up more than 20 billion views. Food fans tune in for his culinary stunts (making the world’s largest chocolate bar) and celeb collaborations (MrBeast, Tom Brady). The Harvard grad will soon launch a cooking show and is partnering with the World Cup, creating more than 30 pieces of content around the massive sporting spectacle. Off screen, his seasoning brand Osmo sells spices and hot sauce at Walmart.
#20. Rebecca Zamolo
Earnings: $15 M
Total Followers: 45.3 M
Avg. Engagement: 0.29%
Entrepreneurship Score: 4
Zamolo turned family-friendly videos into a media fortune, creating over-the-top superhero spoofs and spectacular stunts (building a water park in her house) for her 22 million YouTube subscribers. In 2025, she harnessed her vast reach to launch fertility supplement brand Molo, which she sells online and through Walmart. “If you want longevity in social media, you can’t just be a viral video. You have to build community and people have to care. And you have to care about the people that are watching.”
#21-30
#21. MrBallen
Earnings: $24 M
Total Followers: 31.4 M
Avg. Engagement: 2.80%
Entrepreneurship Score: 3
Best known as MrBallen, John Allen is a former Navy SEAL who turned his interest in true crime into an 11 million-subscriber YouTube channel and a SiriusXM-backed podcast, “Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories.” He recounts true tales, like science experiments gone wrong or crazy apartment tenants—and his philanthropic foundation has given more than $2 million to organizations supporting victims and families. He’s a best-selling graphic novelist, too, and his latest book comes out this year.
#22. Drew Afualo
Earnings: $2.7 M
Total Followers: 13.4 M
Avg. Engagement: 20.26%
Entrepreneurship Score: 3
If there’s a bad take on the internet, chances are Afualo has something to say about it. The creator has built an audience around her unapologetic commentary, which now powers two successful podcasts. Two Idiot Girls, co-hosted with sister Deison Afualo, has become popular enough to hit the road with live shows, while The Comment Section recently expanded from Spotify exclusivity to YouTube video episodes. Somewhere between filming those, Afualo also finds time to partner with beauty brands like Tresemme and Sol de Janeiro.
#23. Haley Baylee
Earnings: $9.6 M
Total Followers: 37.4 M
Avg. Engagement: 13.83%
Entrepreneurship Score: 3
The former pageant queen attracts millions of followers as she spoofs fashion, Hollywood and internet culture. She regularly appears at high-profile events and awards (Met Gala, Golden Globes), often hosting red-carpet interviews. Recent brand deals include Samsung, L’Oreal and Amazon. In the spring, she modeled in the 2026 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue.
#24. Ms. Rachel
Earnings: $26 M
Total Followers: 34.2 M
Avg. Engagement: 0.16%
Entrepreneurship Score: 3
Parents everywhere might owe Ms. Rachel a thank-you card. Since launching her YouTube channel in 2019, educator and children’s entertainer Rachel Griffin Accurso has become one of the most powerful forces in kids’ media, teaching millions of toddlers everything from the alphabet to emotional regulation. Her videos generate billions of views, thanks to an audience that watches them over and over again. Netflix wanted to get in on her viewership, too: The streaming giant licensed Ms. Rachel’s YouTube content and recently premiered a second season.
#25. Alan Chikin Chow
Earnings: $10.5 M
Total Followers: 131.4 M
Avg. Engagement: 0.04%
Entrepreneurship Score: 4
The writer and actor brings surreal stories of high school romance, vampires and evil teachers to the 101 million subscribers of his YouTube channel “Alan’s Universe.” Meanwhile, his simpler comedy skits attract hundreds of millions of views on Shorts. In 2026, Chow is expanding into scripted television with a Netflix series about aspiring K-pop idols.
#26. Typical Gamer
Earnings: $13 M
Total Followers: 31.6 M
Avg. Engagement: 0.02%
Entrepreneurship Score: 4
Fortnite, Grand Theft Auto and Minecraft are big business for streamer and YouTube star Andre “Typical Gamer” Rebelo. The Toronto native (he now lives in Vancouver) has 16 million YouTube subscribers and 1 million Twitch fans tuning in for his tips, gameplay and streamer collaborations. “If I could go back to 16-year-old Andre, I would tell him to not change a thing. Don’t even move a muscle a different way. Just be yourself and follow the path because this is the best reality I could have chosen.” His game development company, Jogo, brings in millions of dollars building maps and play modes for the hit multiplayer game Fortnite.
#27. Marques Brownlee
Earnings: $10.9 M
Total Followers: 33.6 M
Avg. Engagement: 0.46%
Entrepreneurship Score: 4
Bionic hands, humanoid robots, self-driving cars—if it’s tech, Brownlee will review it. The New Jersey native began posting gear reviews in high school. Fast forward 17 years, he now has 21 million YouTube subscribers watching his reviews that can launch or sink a product. He’s partnered with Ridge (the maker of high-tech wallets, power banks and phone cases), serving as its chief creative partner and releasing a brand collection of chargers, suitcases and keychains.
#28. Nurse John
Earnings: $7.2 M
Total Followers: 19.2 M
Avg. Engagement: 12.97%
Entrepreneurship Score: 3
The Canadian nurse-turned-comedian has turned hospital burnout into a multimillion-dollar stand-up career. Dela Cruz, who worked as a frontline nurse during Covid-19, began posting TikToks as a way to cope with the chaos of hospital life. His Short-Staffed Tour has sold more than 250,000 tickets since the fall of 2024, including sold-out runs in Australia and New Zealand. His 2026 spring extension, spanning 22 shows across Europe, sold out instantly, and he’s appeared at Netflix Is a Joke, the New York Comedy Festival and Just for Laughs.
#29. Tana Mongeau
Earnings: $8 M
Total Followers: 22.8 M
Avg. Engagement: 11.93%
Entrepreneurship Score: 3
A former internet lightning rod, Tana Mongeau is now playing it safe. The launch of her new podcast, “Brand Safe,” marks the start of a new, more family-friendly chapter for her online. The previous co-host of the podcast “Cancelled,” she wrapped up their international live tour last July. That was quickly followed by the September drop of her lip kit made in collaboration with Tarte, which sold out multiple times.
#30. Josh Richards
Earnings: $6 M
Total Followers: 34.7 M
Avg. Engagement: 13.25%
Entrepreneurship Score: 3
His 24 million TikTok fans tune in for internet trends and skits, often co-starring girlfriend Gabriela Moura, a creator and Sports Illustrated model. He’s scoring lucrative partnerships with tech giants including Microsoft, Amazon and Meta. Meanwhile, Richards is producing season two of his sketch series Read The Room, which he’ll release directly on YouTube.
#31-40
#31. Dixie D’Amelio
Earnings: $7 M
Total Followers: 72.9 M
Avg. Engagement: 0.93%
Entrepreneurship Score: 4
Dixie D’Amelio has come a long way from making TikToks with sister Charli (#6). The creator-turned-pop star has spent the past few years building a career that spans music, fashion and entertainment. You might catch her doing a DJ set at Coachella in partnership with Crocs, or starring as the face of jewelry brand APM Monaco. And she’ll always be front row at Fashion Week. Plus, the family has its own host of brands, from Be Happy Snacks’ popcorn to D’Amelio Footwear.
#32. Dani Austin
Earnings: $8.1 M
Total Followers: 3.8 M
Avg. Engagement: 1.54 %
Entrepreneurship Score: 4
Few creators can move product quite like Austin. Brands including Amazon, Summer Fridays and Abercrombie have all tapped the influencer, whose content blends motherhood, entrepreneurship and everyday life for an audience that keeps coming back. Add in her pop culture podcast, and it’s easy to see why Austin’s audience trusts her recommendations. Her own hair care company, Divi, is a multimillion-dollar brand sold at Target, Ulta Beauty and DTC.
#33. Nara Smith
Earnings: $7.5 M
Total Followers: 17.3 M
Avg. Engagement: 11.53%
Entrepreneurship Score: 3
Smith is making bread… and moves. The TikTok chef and style icon continues to hypnotize viewers with her soft-spoken voice and red-carpet-ready cooking outfits. She recently launched her own collection with clothing company Reformation and partnered with Algae Cooking Club to create her own cooking oil. Up next: Her cookbook, Homemade, published by HarperCollins, will be available in October.
#34. Lexi Rivera
Earnings: $6.7 M
Total Followers: 56.3 M
Avg. Engagement: 9.60%
Entrepreneurship Score: 3
Lexi Rivera has a split personality on social media. Her YouTube channel attracts more than 18 million subscribers who watch her perform outrageous stunts and challenges, often co-starring brother Brent (#12). Think staying in the world’s smallest house and going on a date with the world’s tallest man. Meantime, her Instagram account focuses on high fashion and luxe travel. Brand deals include Sephora, Netflix, Neutrogena and Prada. In the winter of 2026, she launched a collection of clothes and bathing suits with swim brand Cupshe.
#35. Jacksepticeye
Earnings: $18 M
Total Followers: 48.9 M
Avg. Engagement: 0.24%
Entrepreneurship Score: 3
If you ever hear a frenzied, high-pitched voice tell you “top of the mornin’ to ya, laddies,” there’s no doubt you’re watching a Jacksepticeye video. The Irish YouTuber, born Sean McLoughlin, has built a multimillion-dollar brand with the intro—including weekly gaming content that’s often more than an hour long, and “try not to laugh” videos. He’s also a voice actor, and he’s turned the catchphrase into a coffee brand, called none other than Top of the Mornin’ Coffee. This year he has plans to revive his holiday charity streams for causes he cares about.
#36. Tini Younger
Earnings: $3 M
Total Followers: 16.3 M
Avg. Engagement: 12.63%
Entrepreneurship Score: 3
She might be “tini,” but she’s mighty. This chef got her big break on Gordon Ramsay’s Next Level Chef and subsequently turned a viral mac-n-cheese TikTok into a loyal fan base of at-home chefs. Younger designed an apron and a chef’s knife with Hedley and Bennett and has partnered with brands like Uber Eats, Olipop and Philadelphia Cream Cheese. Up next: her new cookbook, Today We Are Cooking…, out this fall.
#37. James Dumoulin
Earnings: $9.9 M
Total Followers: 23.2 M
Avg. Engagement: 5.59%
Entrepreneurship Score: 3
The cofounder and face of The School of Hard Knockz, Dumoulin has made millions asking business owners, millionaires and everyday people to share the financial lessons they learned the hard way. Dumoulin promotes financial literacy by turning advice from a range of perspectives into entertaining, accessible content, with his media company reaching over 2.1 million YouTube subscribers and more than 9 million Instagram followers, with brand partners like Burger King, Microsoft Copilot and Celsius.
#38. Brooke Monk
Earnings: $5.2 M
Total Followers: 72.2 M
Avg. Engagement: 8.20%
Entrepreneurship Score: 3
Monk grew up homeschooled in Colorado and began posting makeup videos on YouTube at 14. She joined TikTok in 2019 and has posted online nearly every day since. “Something in my bones was like, if I’m going to do this, I’m going to go all in.” Today she posts skits, her take on social media trends and dating videos with boyfriend Sam Dezzani. Brand deals include Adobe and hair care brand K-18. Famous for her long fake eyelashes, this year Brooke launched her own lash brand Doting Beauty—kits of four styles sell for $35.
#39. Hannah Stocking
Earnings: $5.8 M
Total Followers: 74.4 M
Avg. Engagement: 6.90%
Entrepreneurship Score: 3
The viral comedy queen started as a Vine star and now has tens of millions of fans across TikTok and Instagram. Often using extreme makeup and prosthetics, she spoofs dating, beauty and fashion. The former college volleyball player and premed student has scored roles in mainstream productions including the Netflix film The Wrong Paris and is scheduled to appear on Fox’s reality show Special Forces and the revival of 1990s hit Baywatch.
#40. Erika Kullberg
Earnings: $6.8 M
Total Followers: 21 M
Avg. Engagement: 7.21%
Entrepreneurship Score: 3
Before Kullberg was shooting approachable videos for saving big bucks on bills, she was grinding out 100 hours a week as an M&A lawyer. Sick of corporate life, she launched a law service to provide legal services to the masses and started uploading finance advice on the side. “The information that I share is readily available on the internet. It’s the way it’s presented. You are competing with the scroll.” Brand deals include finance biggies like American Express and Wealthfront. Her podcast Erika Taught Me hosts interviews with money masters including Morgan Housel and David Rubenstein.
#41-50
#41. Ashton Hall
Earnings: $10 M
Total Followers: 38.1 M
Avg. Engagement: 3.36%
Entrepreneurship Score: 3
Hall’s morning routine drives serious revenue. The former furniture mover and Alcorn State running back broke the internet in the spring of 2025 with his over-the-top morning routine: pre-4 a.m. wake-up, workout, swim, dunking his face in Saratoga water (sales of the brand soon surged). Nearly 25 million fans follow him on Instagram and TikTok for wellness and travel content. His big money comes from online diet and fitness courses—annual plans start at $3,300.
#42. Leah Kateb
Earnings: $7.1 M
Total Followers: 11.4 M
Avg. Engagement: 5.85%
Entrepreneurship Score: 3
Kateb left Fiji in 2024 as the most-followed contestant on Season 6 of Peacock’s Love Island USA, and her momentum hasn’t slowed since. Since the villa, she’s been partnering with brands from L’Oreal to Google and starring in commercials for Degree and Jose Cuervo. But her influence goes beyond the screen, too: In 2025, Kateb became the re-founder and chief creative officer of clean fragrance Skylar, now sold DTC and at Sephora.
#43. Katie Fang
Earnings: $5.4 M
Total Followers: 8.2 M
Avg. Engagement: 13.33%
Entrepreneurship Score: 2
Fang didn’t plan for this to happen. The 20-year-old TikTok star first began posting content in high school and built a cult following for her “get ready with me” videos. Now a student at NYU, she’s chronicling her life in New York, shooting billboards for Kosas and creating shoppable kits with Glow Recipe.
#44. Anna Sitar
Earnings: $4.4 M
Total Followers: 27.7 M
Avg. Engagement: 13.32%
Entrepreneurship Score: 2
I’m so happy you’re here is this TikToker’s motto, and her content exudes that positivity. Her clips range from travel diaries to videos suggesting that you, too, can run a marathon. First viral thanks to her Starbucks taste tests during Covid, she’s since landed long-term partnerships with brands like Fujifilm, Neutrogena and Delta, and launched a Substack and a virtual run club.
#45. Vivian Tu
Earnings: $8.2 M
Total Followers: 10.7 M
Avg. Engagement: 0.37%
Entrepreneurship Score: 3
The internet’s personal finance guru, known as Your Rich BFF, has turned her Wall Street expertise into a media empire built on 90-second financial explainers. What began as bite-sized money advice has evolved into partnerships with major brands like fintech company SoFi, where she holds the title of “Chief of Financial Empowerment.” When she’s not hosting her podcast, she’s probably busy turning her content into books. Well Endowed was Tu’s second to hit the New York Times best-seller list.
#46. Jordan The Stallion
Earnings: $12.4 M
Total Followers: 49.1 M
Avg. Engagement: 5.15%
Entrepreneurship Score: 2
Before hitting viral fame sharing recipes for famous fast-food dishes, Jordan Howlett played college baseball and spent a stint living out of his car. Today he makes millions from brand deals with Bosch, Purina, DoorDash and General Mills. He’s currently developing a food and travel show for TV. His first book, Come Here and Cook, is set to debut in the fall of 2026.
#47. Anwar Jibawi
Earnings: $5 M
Total Followers: 83.9 M
Avg. Engagement: 0.13%
Entrepreneurship Score: 3
The former high school wrestler and premed student was an early Vine creator, collecting millions of views for his physical comedy shorts. Today he has a production studio in downtown LA with two writers and two producers, filming universal skits for his 83 million followers. His goal: comedy to reach the widest audience possible: “Can I make it for an 80-year-old person who lives in Wisconsin and then maybe a girl who lives in Pakistan—how broad is my audience for this joke?” He’s currently developing two short films and writing a feature-length comedy.
#48. iJustine
Earnings: $3.4 M
Total Followers: 12.9 M
Avg. Engagement: 0.04%
Entrepreneurship Score: 3
One of YouTube’s original gadget junkies, iJustine has been posting online videos since 2006. Today her 7 million fans watch her gear reviews (camera, earphones, laptops), unboxing videos and interviews with tech titans including Apple’s Tim Cook and Google’s Sundar Pichai. Brand partnerships skew to the technology side: Microsoft, Adobe, Apple, Sony, Nintendo, Best Buy.
#49. Steven He
Earnings: $2 M
Total Followers: 29.6 M
Avg. Engagement: 0.48%
Entrepreneurship Score: 3
The trained actor aims his comedy and sketches at the enormous Asian diaspora community. On his popular YouTube channel, He, born in China and raised in Ireland, posts video spoofs of James Bond, John Wick and Superman—plus pokes fun at growing up with tough Asian parents. “It is uniquely my experience, it is uniquely my cultural background, and it is uniquely my sense of humor. And when I tapped into that, that’s when it all came together.” He recently wrapped an indie action comedy flick Kung Fu Deadly and is planning a spy comedy he’ll publish on YouTube in 30-minute segments.
#50. Logan Moffitt
Earnings: $1.3 M
Total Followers: 10.6 M
Avg. Engagement: 8.01%
Entrepreneurship Score: 2
Moffitt’s social media food empire started with a cucumber. In 2024, he recorded on TikTok a simple cucumber salad recipe. It landed more than a million likes. The Canadian native has since attracted more than 9 million followers on TikTok and Instagram, where he shares recipes and restaurant tastings. His veggie-centered content has scored profitable product partnerships. “If you’re able to hone into that originality that you have, I think that’s when you’re going to create really good content.”
Credits
Edited by: Steven Bertoni
Reporting by: Zoya Hasan, Alex York with Sofia Chierchio and Martina Di Licosa
Editorial Operations: Justin Conklin, Francesca Walton
Photography: Sebastian Nevols for Forbes
Creative Director: Alicia Hallett-Chan
Director of Photography: Robyn Selman
Design Director: Fernando Capeto
Senior Designer: Philip Smith
Senior Photo Editor: Gail Toivanen
Producer: Peter Schnaitmann
Styling: Jenn Polk
Video: Kirsten Taggart, Ivan Clow, Simone Varano
Technical Project Manager: Juman Nidal
Engineering: Ken Barney
QA: Kristine Karapetyan
Product Team: Dmitri Slavinsky
Social Strategy: Loren Torres, Autumn Benitez, Harrison Lazarus and Wyatt Wu
Editorial Social: Colleen Curry, Sarah Muller and Morgan Grenz
Methodology
To make the 2026 quantitative list, Forbes estimated each creator’s gross earnings between March 2025 and March 2026. We count earnings, not equity held in public and private companies. Our partners at Influential provided follower counts across social platforms and engagement rates (likes, comments and shares divided by total followers). For the entrepreneur rank, Forbes scored candidates on a scale of 1 to 4, ranging from people who make most of their money from traditional advertising to those building their own companies, brands and services. (Those who exclusively pitch brands score a 1; those who build brands earn a 4.)