As the ever-popular TikTok app is still open for purchase, with companies like Microsoft in talks (according to U.S. President Donald Trump) to buy the social media platform, one group of investors is raising the bar. With bids starting around $20 billion dollars for the ByteDance app, this specific group, which includes Jimmy Donaldson, otherwise known as the Youtuber MrBeast, and Roblox co-founder and CEO David Baszucki, are pitching an offer of $25 billion. The news follows the Supreme Court’s rejection in responce to TikTok’s First Amendment challenge. At the moment, ByteDance has stated that its U.S. business is not for sale, but there have been reported talks between both parties, including Donaldson.
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According to Bloomberg, Donaldson has partnered with Employer.com founder Jesse Tinsley, Baszucki, and head of the regulated crypto platform Anchorage Digital Nathan McCauley. Tinsley is leading the group and stated that they believe it will take $25 billion to buy TikTok. While MrBeast is a part of this team, representatives for Donaldson have said that he was in talks with several parties and hopes to be a part of the front-runner, so his confirmation with Tinsley’s team is still up in the air.
This isn’t the first instance the global YouTube personality has thrown his hat in the ring for bidding on the video platform.
“The leading groups who are all credible bidding on Tik Tok have reached out for us to help them,” he said on X. “I’m excited to partner/make this a reality.”
MrBeast and CEO of Roblox Bid $25 Billion to Purchase TikTok
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While some might feel like this move is more of a publicity stunt, Donaldson’s contribution would make for an interesting development considering his immense popularity within the social media space. With over 352 million subscribers on YouTube (making him the most-followed YouTube channel) and over 106.9 million followers on TikTok which puts him at the third-most-followed creator on the app, Donaldson has curated a new age of content, for better or for worse. His philanthropy work has spanned across many facets of the economic ecosystem, with fundraisers for the non-profit Ocean Conservancy group, which raised up to $30 million, and has launched several food brands with MrBeast Burger, Feastables, and Lunchly.
When it comes to MrBeast’s collaboration with Roblox, the content creator has brought his highly controversial Prime Video reality series Beast Games to the online multiplayer game this past December. Roblox brought a branded experience based on the show that allows players to take part in MrBeast inspired challenges that will deliver in-game content prizes to winners. In esscene, the move from Donaldson to partner alongside Baszucki seems pretty casual rather than suprising.
Whether this bid will be accepted by ByteDance is still unknown. TikTok has been under high scrutiny due to its data privacy violations, sparking national security concerns from several countries including the U.S. On a federal level, a law was passed in March 2024 by the United States House of Representatives effectively banning TikTok completely unless its taken away from ByteDance. The company challenged the law but was upheld by the courts. On January 18, 2025, the app went dark across the country, with many users and influencers making their way to REDnote. Once President Donald Trump took office, the app was restored access and the ban has been delayed for 75 days, which started on January 20, 2025.
Seeing how ByteDance isn’t interesting in selling their platform, we could expect to see many more influential companies or personalities begin to put their hat in the ring with the attempts to purchase. If MrBeast is a part of the final bid, should ByteDance accept, he would most likely play an essencial part on the business side of the operation. For now, the bid for the global media platform is still in competition.
