• As a lifelong New Yorker, I once judged people who left the city. Now, I happily live in Tennessee.
• We moved to a small town to save money for a bit, but our family is still happy here years later.
• I enjoy the peace and quiet of living in a small town, but I'm also not too far from Nashville.

I'm a proud third-generation New Yorker, and I never imagined leaving the city where everything seemed to be happening.

After all, where else could I survive as a multi-hyphenate playwright, performer, and chess teacher?

Whenever my friends moved out of the city, I'd secretly scoff and label their choice a failure while priding myself on being made of tougher stuff.

However, when the COVID-19 pandemic closed schools and theaters, I couldn't pay my bills. At 38, I found myself unemployed and without a home.

Desperate, I applied to an artist residency on a donkey farm in a tiny town in rural Tennessee. I got it, and my plan was to save money, write my play, then return home to NYC in a few months.

However, I fell in love with my small town and completely upended my life to stay here with my husband and daughter. We're still happily here three years later.

I enjoy access to the outdoors but value my proximity to Nashville's thriving cultural scene

Our cost of living is far lower here than it ever was in New York City, which has been a huge perk.

My family lives in an off-grid cabin, where my husband and I caretake acres of land for our landladies in exchange for reduced rent. This helps us spend more time outside, plus tending to our garden is a fun, money-saving activity for the whole family.

I appreciate the independence and freedom that our proximity to the great outdoors gives our daughter, but as she grows older, I want to share parts of my culture that my mom did with my sister and me in New York City: visiting museums, bookstores, concerts, and theaters.

Fortunately, we live less than two hours from Nashville, and its major art scene and big-city offerings give me peace of mind and are fun to dive into when I'm missing home.

I realized I prefer living in a smaller place with fewer choices instead of a big one with too many. I don't miss the intrusive, constant bombardment of digital advertisements on everything from moving vehicles to bus stops, either.

Here, I experience less decision fatigue and stimulation, which gives me more cognitive power to be present with my family and build my artistic career.

We've made the best of the downsides of living here, too

Some parts of living in a more remote, small town have been difficult to adjust to.

We can't get a pizza delivered to our cabin in the woods. However, on the plus side, I've discovered I love cooking, and so does my daughter.

I miss living in a walkable city, but I've learned how to drive. We don't have many child-friendly activities nearby — most gymnastics, music, and art classes are a 40-minute drive from us — but we have lots of space to create fun. My husband built a giant wooden obstacle course for our daughter in our spacious front yard.

Finding good work opportunities locally has been especially difficult, but this only inspired me to create my own. A little over a year ago, I opened a grant-consulting business and began writing freelance stories.

Each day, I now "commute" to my she-shed my husband built just steps from our cabin. No trains or buses in sight.

I'm grateful we jumped outside our comfort zone to make such a big move

I often miss the easy unfettered access to live music, comedy shows, museums, theater, restaurants, and dance classes in NYC.

However, each day here is filled with its own adventures — handling rattlesnakes, felling falling trees, rescuing dogs, creating irrigation projects for excess rain.

Although I doubt I would've made this change if the pandemic hadn't forced me into a difficult position, I'm glad I embraced this new chapter.

It's allowed me to keep growing and taught me about what truly matters: spending time surrounded by people I love and creating art in a natural setting.

I'm sure some New Yorkers reading this will think I just "can't hack it" in the city — and they're right! However, I see now that the secret to living a fuller life was just outside my comfort zone.

I'm grateful for my time in the city, but I'll happily take mornings seated on our hilltop watching the sunrise over ones spent fighting for a seat on the "R" train.

• Salim Elhila is a cofounder and CEO based in Dubai.
• He and his cofounder try to optimize every minute of their day.
• They work with more than 10 professionals to help them be their best.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Salim Elhila, cofounder of Decentralized Masters. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I run a multimillion-dollar crypto business with my co-founder and best friend, Tan Gera. Last year, we generated more than $30 million in revenue worldwide. To run a company of that magnitude efficiently, Tan and I try to optimize every minute of our day.

To do that, we hire many professionals to help with both our personal and professional lives, most of whom work with both of us. On the business side, we've hired the kind of people you might expect, like personal assistants and mentors. We also have cleaners and a chef, plus a wide-ranging team that helps us look after our personal health on a spiritual, physical, and emotional level.

This is expensive. I spend $10,000 to $20,000 a month on these professionals. But doing so also allows me to generate more income through my company. The expense is worth it not only financially but also for my physical and mental health and well-being.

The Japanese concept of ikigai guided me to follow my passion

A few years ago, I learned about the Japanese concept of ikigai. The term refers to a passion that brings value and joy to a person's life. Essentially, it gives you something to live for. Following the concept of ikigai means spending the most amount of time on the tasks you love, that you're best at, that you can be paid well for, and that the world needs.

I use this idea to guide my day. I try to spend most of my time working toward my ikigai — for me, my passion is our business and also producing music. To spend more time in my ikigai, I outsource other tasks.

I'm also guided by how we gain knowledge. We can learn from our own mistakes, but that's sometimes painful and leaves you with a scar. Or, you can learn from the experience of others. That's often quicker and won't leave you hurt. That's why I hire professionals who know more than me about their areas of expertise.

We outsource home tasks and bring experts into the business

Many of the professionals Tan and I hire to optimize our lives allow us to spend more time doing what we truly love. We hire people to clean, grocery shop, and cook for us. I can cook, but it's not something I enjoy. My personal chef was one of my first hires. He prepares all my meals and snacks.

I also have a personal assistant who handles my schedules and all my personal and business obligations. On the business front, we've hired experts, mentors, and analysts with whom we meet each Friday. Tan and I are leading experts in our field, but having perspectives from other people is important.

We have a whole team looking after our health

We also invest a lot in our health. For 10 years, I worked out on my own. My ego told me I knew everything I needed. Then, three years ago, I hired a fitness coach. I made more progress in those three years than I had in the previous decade. I realized I don't know what I don't know. Now, Tan and I each work out separately with our personal trainer 5-6 days a week.

In addition to a fitness coach, I have a stretching coach who comes to my apartment two times a week in the morning. Waking up with a guided stretching routine is one of the moments I feel most grateful for the life I've created.

My most recent hire is a breath work coach. He's a somatic healer, and he's been life-changing. He uses a combination of massage and breath work to help process trauma and let go of stress and ego. I see him once a week.

We also have a physiotherapist, massage therapist, chiropractor, and osteopath on call. I have a boxing coach who I see occasionally, though not too much at the moment.

My system is unusual, but I love it

I think about not only optimizing my time, but also my energy. I start my day with the tasks that are most important. Most mornings that means stretching on the beach near my home, then doing 4-5 hours of deep focus work with Tan in my apartment. We both wear noise-canceling headphones playing binaural beats to help us focus.

The chef brings us lunch, and then Tan and I each have a workout session. In the afternoon, we have meetings and try to finish work by 7 or 8 p.m. Then we have downtime, dinner, and hit the spa or sauna.

Tan and I know we're not living a typical life. It's very structured and optimized, not to mention costly. But we love this system, and it allows us to be at our best to operate a global company. We want to make sure every moment is used the right way, and spending on that is a good investment.

• Regina Lawless met her husband at 18 and was with him for 21 years.
• He died from a heart attack when Regina was 40 and their son was 15.
• Regina found love again later that year and is now engaged.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Regina Lawless, author of "Do You." It has been edited for length and clarity.

My husband Al and I were pioneers in online dating. We met in a Yahoo chat room back in 1999. My username included the word "heaven," and Al sent me a chat saying, "Is there any room in heaven for me?"

I was only 18, so I liked Al's cheesy pickup line. Soon, I realized we had a lot in common. I had recently graduated from high school and enlisted in the Army Reserve. Al was five years older than me and had just returned from four years of active duty with the Navy. He gave me tips on how to survive boot camp.

I was attracted to Al's worldliness and his humor. Once we met in person, there was a magnetic pull between us. We got married five years after we met, and our son, Morgan, was born the year after that.

At first, Al was the breadwinner, but my salary soon eclipsed his

Al worked in manufacturing. At the beginning of our relationship, I was still putting myself through college. He helped support me financially and emotionally.

Over our marriage, our financial dynamic changed. I got my master's degree and began working in corporate jobs, eventually becoming the Diversity Equity and Inclusion Lead at Instagram. My income jumped, while he stayed pretty much the same.

That never bothered Al. He didn't feel less fortunate because he wasn't the breadwinner. Although, the more I made the more he spent. The man loved sneakers and eating out.

Al was having a heart attack, but we didn't realize

In May 2021, Al and I went on a date. When we got home, he wasn't feeling well. That wasn't too unusual. He was diabetic and had experienced pretty severe indigestion in the past.

The next day, he looked really bad. I called urgent care, and they told me to hang up and call 911. I followed the ambulance to the ER, where the doctor said, "Did you know your husband was having a heart attack?" That completely floored me.

The doctors told me to call my family because Al might not make it through the night. I went to see him in the operating room. As I walked out, I collapsed. My parents had to pick me up off the floor. Shortly after, Al died.

I was in a daze until I went away for 3 days to grieve

The next few weeks were a daze. I held Al's funeral on what would have been his 46th birthday. I was surrounded by family, but I didn't feel like I could grieve with everyone else around. I was also struggling with panic attacks.

About a month after Al passed, my sister moved in. She provided some normality to our house. We celebrated Morgan's 16th birthday and tried to make it feel as normal as possible. Once I got through that, I knew I needed time for myself. I spent three days in a hotel, finally taking the time to process my loss.

I'm getting married later this year

I was with Al for 21 years, more than half my life at that point. I thought I'd meet someone else eventually, but probably not until I was in a nursing home.

Yet, that December, about seven months after Al died, I went out with friends. Something told me to take off my wedding ring. That night, I met Jeffrey, who is now my fiancé. When he first touched my hand, I felt a jolt. He was so compassionate about me being a widow but didn't treat me like I needed to be tip-toed around.

Still, I felt guilty. I worried about what people would think and that I was betraying Al's memory. Then, my therapist said, "What would Al want?" I knew he would want me to be happy because we'd had those conversations.

Jeffrey proposed to me in 2024, and we're getting married this October. I know I can honor my love for Al while allowing new things to flower. With time, therapy, and a lot of self-work, I've been able to open myself up to the universe. I've continually chosen to stay open, even when it feels scary. That has allowed me to love again.

• Andrew Ng said that "lazy prompting" can be an efficient way to use AI — in some scenarios.
• Lazy prompting entails giving minimal context to large language models.
• It's the latest in a line of AI techniques, like vibe coding, that's transforming software development.

Sometimes, it's OK to be lazy with your AI prompts thanks to models becoming smarter, the Stanford professor and former Google Brain scientist Andrew Ng has said.

Standard prompting advice is to give large language models, or LLMs, a lot of context and specific instructions for a query.

But Ng said in an X post that "lazy prompting" — when users put information into a model with little context or without explicit instructions — could, in some cases, be a better strategy.

"We add details to the prompt only when they are needed," he said Thursday.

He pointed to developers using LLMs to debug code as an example.

"When debugging code, many developers copy-paste error messages — sometimes pages of them — into an LLM without further instructions," Ng wrote. "Most LLMs are smart enough to figure out that you want them to help understand and propose fixes, so you don't need to explicitly tell them."

The idea is that the LLM can then detect a buggy implementation and quickly provide a good solution without much context.

Developers of foundational models are scrambling to make LLMs more inferential, which means the models go beyond producing output and begin to "reason" and gauge the intent of the prompt.

Ng said that lazy prompting is an "advanced" technique that works best when the LLM has enough preexisting context — and an ability to infer intent. It would only work when users can "iterate quickly using an LLM's web or app interface," he added.

It's not useful if the LLM needs a lot of context to provide a detailed response or if the model is unable to detect hidden bugs or errors, he said.

AI is fast transforming how people code and interact with software. Vibe coding — when people give natural language instructions to AI to write code — has recently swept Silicon Valley and beyond.

Last week, Ng launched a "Vibe Coding 101" short course for newbies who want to learn how to use generative AI tools to write and manage code.

Top congressional Democrats on Thursday night spoke out over reports that Gen. Timothy Haugh has been fired as National Security Agency director.

The big picture: The Washington Post first reported that Haugh had been removed from the NSA role and as U.S. Cyber Command chief, along with his civilian deputy Wendy Noble, citing a former U.S. official and two current ones.

• Several National Security Council members were fired earlier Thursday after conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer visited the Oval Office and pressed President Trump to oust specific NSC staffers, Axios first reported.

What they're saying: Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, posted on Bluesky that Haugh had "served our country in uniform, with honor and distinction, for more than 30 years."

• At a time when the U.S. faces "unprecedented cyber threats, as the Salt Typhoon cyberattack from China has so clearly underscored, how does firing him make Americans any safer?" he wrote.
• "It is astonishing that President Trump would fire the nonpartisan leader of the NSA while still failing to hold any member of his team accountable for leaking classified information on Signal — even as he apparently takes staffing direction from a discredited conspiracy theorist in the Oval Office."

Meanwhile, House Intelligence Committee ranking member Jim Himes (D-Conn.), in a statement posted to X, said he's "deeply disturbed by the decision to remove" Haugh from the NSA.

• "I have known General Haugh to be an honest and forthright leader who followed the law and put national security first — I fear those are precisely the qualities that could lead to his firing in this Administration," he said.
• "The Intelligence Committee and the American people need an immediate explanation for this decision, which makes all of us less safe."

Background: Haugh's career includes more than 30 years with the U.S. Air Force, much of it spent in cyber and intelligence roles, according to his biography.

• Then-President Biden nominated Haugh in 2023 to serve as leader of Cyber Command and the NSA.
• Biden announced soon after that Noble would serve as deputy NSA director.
• Noble began her NSA career in 1987 as a cryptologic linguist and "has served in numerous analytic, technical, and leadership roles spanning target and language analysis, strategy development, joint collection programs, and liaison operations, serving at both NSA Headquarters and various overseas locations," per her bio.
• Representatives for the NSA declined to comment and referred Axios to the Pentagon. The Pentagon and the White House did not immediately respond to Axios' requests for comment in the evening.

Go deeper... Scoop: Multiple firings on Trump's National Security Council after Loomer visit

Editor's note: This a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

• The US economy added 228,000 jobs in March, exceeding the forecast.
• The unemployment rate surprisingly increased to 4.2%.
• Confidence in the job market and the economy has fallen.

The US economy added 228,000 jobs in March, far surpassing the forecast, and unemployment unexpectedly jumped.

Job growth was expected to be 137,000, and the unemployment rate was expected to hold steady at 4.1%. Unemployment instead rose to 4.2%, and has consistently been at least 4% for almost a year.

February's job growth was revised from 151,000 to 117,000, and January's job growth was revised from 125,000 to 111,000. Together, that's a revision of 48,000 fewer jobs.

Federal government employment fell by 4,000 in March. DOGE and its unofficial leader Elon Musk have pushed for large-scale federal employment cuts, with a wave of terminations for probationary workers, who were in their roles for only a short period of time, coming in February and early March.

However, a court ruling put a hold on many of those cuts, and the bulk of those workers remain in legal limbo.

Agencies have begun developing more extensive plans to reduce the size of their workforces. Thousands of workers at agencies in the Department of Health and Human Services are expected to see their jobs cut; terminations started Tuesday.

Workers at other agencies are bracing for what's next. Federal government cuts will likely affect the overall job counts in future releases.

The new jobs report also showed wage growth cooled based on year-over-year changes. Average hourly earnings increased from $34.67 in March 2024 to $36 this past month. That 3.8% rise is a slower increase than the 4% year-over-year rise in February.

Amid the rise in unemployment, labor force participation, which includes people working or actively looking for work, increased from 62.4% in February to 62.5% in March.

Americans have been losing confidence in the US economy, adding to an emerging vibecession amid a cooling but still fairly strong labor market.

University of Michigan data shows consumer sentiment has declined for the year's first three months. The Conference Board's Present Situation Index, which is based on what people think about business and job market conditions, took a hit, data up to March shows. Consumers aren't feeling great about what's to come, either.

"Consumers' expectations were especially gloomy, with pessimism about future business conditions deepening and confidence about future employment prospects falling to a 12-year low," Stephanie Guichard, senior economist for global indicators at The Conference Board, said.

The Federal Reserve uses labor market data as a key input for its interest rate decisions. Fed chair Jerome Powell said in a press conference on March 19 after the Federal Open Market Committee decided to hold interest rates steady that unemployment "remains low and has held in a narrow range for the past year," and wage growth is surpassing inflation.

The next scheduled interest rate decision is in May, meaning plenty more data about economic activity will be available before the Committee makes its next call.

CME FedWatch, which estimates the likelihood of future Fed moves based on market trades, shows the chance of rates holding steady or being cut in May is roughly a coin toss. Chances of the Fed holding rose slightly after the report, from about 56% to about 61%.

Powell said in the March press conference after the interest rate decision that the administration is making big changes to trade, immigration, fiscal policy, and regulation and is uncertain about what this will mean for the economy. Trump announced on April 2 his latest tariff plans, which could mean consumers could soon face higher prices.

"We do not need to be in a hurry to adjust our policy stance, and we are well-positioned to wait for greater clarity," Powell said.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

• At the end of 2023, I decided to travel around Europe to find a new place to call home.
• I visited cities in Spain, Greece, and the UK before settling in the perfect spot.
• I've now been living in London for a few months, and couldn't be happier with my move.

By the time I turned 18, I'd lived in four different countries — England, Kuwait, China, and the United Arab Emirates.

Sparked by my desire to live in one place — and the draw of reasonable university fees — I moved to my "home country" of the Netherlands, where my parents were from but I'd never lived before.

For almost 10 years, I lived there and ignored the growing sense of restlessness within me. However, I couldn't say I was truly happy.

Knowing it was time for a change, I decided to start thinking about moving somewhere else.

So, at the end of 2023, I gave up my apartment, stored my belongings in my mom's basement, and decided to travel the world to find my new home.

I started my journey in Spain

My first stop was Xàbia, Spain, a coastal town where I spent five weeks petsitting a red lab in a stunning house overlooking the ocean.

Here, I saw what it would be like to live somewhere I could spend my weekends at the beach or hiking.

I loved being in a place with an abundance of sunshine, but ultimately, it didn't feel like home. So, I decided to move on to my next destination.

Next, I spent two weeks in Belfast

I had never visited Northern Ireland before, and I immediately fell in love with the country's dynamic energy. I loved the comedy clubs, cozy pubs, and history lining the streets.

However, I felt like something was missing, and didn't find enough variety in the restaurant scene to satisfy my cravings. So, I continued my search.

I headed to Kythira, an island in Greece

Every year, my friends and I take a two-week vacation to a different Greek island.

So, when we traveled to Kythira, I was curious to see if it was a place I'd want to call home.

I pictured spending a year on the sandy beaches with the sun shining down on me. After a long day of work, I could even take a dip in the ocean.

However, after talking to locals, I learned the island was pretty empty outside the summer season. So, I realized I'd always be chasing that summer holiday feeling.

After struggling to find a place that felt like home, I decided to return to the country I was born in

After several misses, I decided to try England, the place where I was born and lived until I was three. However, I'd only visited a few times in the years since.

I spent three weeks dogsitting in a small village in Bedfordshire, which is north of London. The idyllic countryside beckoned me, with long walks in the forest, Sunday roasts in the same pub, and evenings spent reading in the garden.

I yearned for this tranquil existence, but recognized it wasn't time for me to live this type of lifestyle yet. With my isolating work and single status, finding my people in such a small village would be hard.

So, I decided to try two weeks in Cambridge, a city I'd heard so much about. I loved working in various cafes, visiting museums on weekends, and meeting people my age.

However, Cambridge is a student city at its core, which didn't feel right for where I was at during this part of my life.

I finally ended up settling in the perfect city

Finally, I spent a month in London when my sister asked me to watch her pomsky.

I assumed the expensive, busy, and overwhelmingly gray city wasn't for me based on previous short visits. However, during this trip I got to see another side of London.

I loved the large parks that made me forget I was in a city, the dazzling theater scene, and the cozy cafés where I could type away without feeling lonely.

I grabbed coffee with fellow journalists I met online and recognized a potential community. Because London is a highly populated city, I felt like I had the best chance of finding my tribe — something I'd been missing for the past few years.

After a few months in London, I couldn't be happier

I've been in London for a few months now, and still feel like I'm trying to find my feet. However, I'm slowly building a community and even reached out to high school friends who ended up in London after university.

I always visit the same local café, where I sit with my laptop and a dirty chai at least twice a week. I avoid crowded areas like Soho and Liverpool Street and push myself to visit a large park every weekend.

Sometimes, I feel like Carrie from "Sex and the City," and other times, I feel far less glamorous and far more cold.

I didn't think I could be happy in such a busy and urban setting, but I've loved carving out my piece of the city, and I plan to keep doing so.

• A Virgin Atlantic flight diverted halfway through its journey from London to Mumbai.
• The Airbus A350 landed at an airport in Turkey and didn't take off for another 40 hours.
• Passengers spent the first night in the departure lounge before hotels could be arranged.

Airline passengers have been delayed nearly two days after a medical emergency forced an unexpected stopover.

Virgin Atlantic Flight 358 took off from London Heathrow Airport at midday Wednesday and was scheduled to land in Mumbai around nine hours later.

However, data from Flightradar24 shows the Airbus A350 turned around over Turkey four hours into the journey.

It diverted to Diyarbakır Airport, which is also used as a military base and doesn't usually accommodate large, wide-body planes like the A350.

The airport is around 2,300 miles as the crow flies from Mumbai and 2,100 miles from London.

An airline spokesperson told Business Insider that one of the passengers was severely unwell and was helped by local medical teams after leaving the plane.

The A350 also required technical inspections, which appear to have exacerbated the delay.

Some passengers took to X to complain about the ordeal, sharing a video of the disgruntled crowd.

One user said that 12 hours after landing, passengers were yet to receive "proper food or accommodation."

In an X post, the airline said customers had to stay in the departure lounge overnight because it was outside the airport's operating hours — while refreshments, including water, were provided.

There were also difficulties with immigration requirements before airport authorities "made an exception to allow passengers to leave the airport temporarily," another post from the airline said.

"The majority of our customers were provided with overnight hotel accommodation ahead of their onward journey today," the Virgin Atlantic spokesperson told BI Friday. "We'd like to sincerely apologize for the delay and any inconvenience caused."

They added that, after receiving the necessary technical approvals, the flight was set to continue at noon local time on Friday — almost 41 hours after landing in Diyarbakır.

The Airbus A350 is scheduled to land in Mumbai at 8:30 p.m. local time Friday.

• Beast Industries generated $473 million in revenue in 2024 and expects to about double that in 2025.
• MrBeast said of his net worth that he's a billionaire on paper but has under $1 million in the bank.
• Jimmy Donaldson's company is eyeing expansions in media, CPGs, and software, per a pitch deck.

MrBeast has shaped the creator economy more than any other YouTuber, with mind-bending competitions and gargantuan cash giveaways that have yielded a multifaceted business known as Beast Industries.

MrBeast — whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson — solidified his status as YouTube's most-subscribed creator with videos like "$456,000 Squid Game in Real Life!" He is now looking to expand his business across three overarching categories: media, consumer product goods, and software.

Business Insider gained insight into Beast Industries' portfolio and future aspirations through a February 2025 pitch deck sent to prospective investors.

A representative for MrBeast did not respond to requests for comment from BI.

Beast Industries' media segment refers to the 26-year-old's YouTube presence and his hit Amazon Prime show, "Beast Games." His CPG business includes chocolate company Feastables, the packaged food brand Lunchly, and a collectible action figure line dubbed MrBeast Lab. On the software front, Donaldson operates Viewstats, a social media analytics platform for fellow creators.

In 2024, Beast Industries "generated $473 million in revenue" — marking 114% year-over-year growth compared to revenue of $221 million in 2023, according to the deck. The company is forecasting revenue of $899 million in 2025.

Donaldson tends to reinvest his earnings in his businesses. MrBeast's net worth is unknown, but he said in a February 2025 interview on the "Diary Of A CEO" podcast that while he's a billionaire on paper, he has less than $1 million in his bank account. That implies that MrBeast's stake in Beast Industries comprises much of his net worth.

Bloomberg reported in February that Beast Industries was raising money at a $5 billion valuation.

Here's a closer look at the inner workings of Donaldson's burgeoning business empire.

How MrBeast got rich

Donaldson posted his first YouTube video in 2012. He now has over 380 million YouTube subscribers and, according to the pitch deck, clocked an average of 3 billion views a month. His viewership spans the globe, with 70% hailing from outside the US, he said in a March 2025 interview on the Colin and Samir YouTube channel. Accordingly, his content is dubbed into more than 40 languages.

On YouTube, creators typically make money from the ad revenue-sharing program AdSense and through brand deals. Donaldson's videos have featured integrations from brands like Yahoo Sports, Samsung, and Shopify.

In total, Donaldson's media business — including his high-budget YouTube channel as well as his Amazon series — accounted for $226 million in revenue in 2024, per the deck.

Donaldson's 10-episode "Beast Games" deal was valued at $100 million, according to the deck. The show marked Prime's biggest unscripted series launch ever, despite the fact that the production faced criticism over its safety protocols and a spate of negative press.

And at the end of the day, the show wasn't a moneymaker for the YouTuber, who said he was out tens of millions of dollars from his own pockets due to the show's costs.

MrBeast's growing business empire

Beyond YouTube, Donaldson has had varying success in the food business. MrBeast Burger, a ghost kitchen company with which he's no longer involved, spawned a legal battle with his partner in the venture, Virtual Dining Concepts.

Elsewhere, Feastables — a chocolate company that emphasizes ethical sourcing practices — appears to be thriving. It drove $215 million in net revenue in 2024, up from $96 million in 2023, per the deck. Donaldson is exploring expansions into milk and ice cream under the Feastables moniker.

Donaldson's toy business, MrBeast Lab, drove $65 million in net sales within its six months of launching, according to the pitch deck.

And he collaborated with YouTubers Logan Paul and KSI on Lunchly. The packaged lunches generated $5 million in sales in their first 11 weeks on shelves, and the brand is set to expand into 13 additional national retailers in June 2025.

MrBeast's philanthropy, investments

Philanthropy has also been a key component of Donaldson's content ethos, though those efforts have sometimes garnered controversy for MrBeast.

A separate YouTube channel exclusively dedicated to MrBeast's charity work counts over 27 million subscribers.

Previous social media-fueled charity campaigns to plant more trees and clean the oceans — dubbed #TeamTrees and #TeamSeas — raised $22 million and $32 million, respectively, according to the deck.

MrBeast's business future

Donaldson has big ambitions for Beast Industries' future: by 2029, the company is forecasting revenue of $4.8 billion.

In media, Donaldson is exploring ways to be off-camera, according to the pitch deck, including with animation. An in-house writers' room — with backgrounds in novels, gaming, comics, TV, and film — is also developing "Beast Universe" IP for licensing across toys, gaming, comics, and merch.

In the CPG space, Donaldson is exploring new product launches in three categories: health and wellness (such as vitamins, electrolytes, and protein powder), personal care (soap, lotion, creams, and ointments), and beverages.

Donaldson is also forecasting big gains for Feastables — to the tune of $375 million in net revenue in 2025.

On the software front, the deck said Donaldson is exploring a video game platform, a loyalty program offering early video access and exclusive content to subscribers, a creator platform to help other YouTubers replicate his success, and a fintech offering dubbed Beast Financial.

• AppLovin confirmed a preliminary bid in an SEC filing to buy TikTok's business outside China.
• China's ByteDance faces a Saturday deadline to divest TikTok's US operations.
• AppLovin joins a long list of suitors who have put in last-minute bids.

Adtech company AppLovin has submitted a last-minute bid to acquire TikTok's operations outside China, joining a crowded list of suitors a day before a US TikTok ban is set to take effect.

AppLovin confirmed it submitted a preliminary "indication of interest" to President Donald Trump in a Thursday SEC filing.

The company, which helps developers market and advertise their apps, said in the filing that "there can be no assurance" that a transaction involving TikTok would proceed.

It's unclear exactly how AppLovin would finance or structure a deal, given TikTok's vast scale. TikTok's US operations are estimated to have a sale value of $40 billion to $50 billion.

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives has previously suggested TikTok's global valuation could exceed $100 billion, potentially reaching $200 billion if its algorithm is included in the calculation. AppLovin has a market capitalization of just over $89 billion.

The bid places AppLovin among a growing list of late-stage suitors vying for TikTok as US lawmakers push for the app's separation from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance.

This week, Amazon put in a last-minute bid to buy TikTok, The New York Times reported. And on Wednesday, Reuters reported that a consortium led by OnlyFans founder Tim Stokely had submitted an intent to bid on TikTok.

They add to a flurry of other names that have been linked to buying TikTok.

Oracle has emerged as a leading contender, according to multiple reports, with a deal reportedly involving oversight of TikTok's US user data.

The YouTuber MrBeast said in January that he was part of a group making an all-cash offer for TikTok's US operations.

Other parties linked to a TikTok deal include Microsoft, Walmart, video-sharing platform Rumble, and AI startup Perplexity.

TikTok's future in the US has been uncertain since April 2024, when Congress mandated ByteDance divest TikTok's US business or face a nationwide ban. After taking office in January, Trump extended that deadline by 75 days.

The White House has been directly involved in deal talks as national security concerns remain central to negotiations.

On Wednesday, Trump introduced an effective 54% tariff rate on Chinese imports. The president told reporters on Air Force One on Thursday it gives the US "great power" to negotiate and a potential bargaining chip in a TikTok deal. On Friday, China announced a 34% tariff on all products imported from the US.