Caspar Lee went viral on YouTube in the 2010s, leading to some mind-boggling million-dollar paydays.

“I started making YouTube videos when I was 16. It wasn’t really a business avenue. I just thought, this is a cool thing and I want to try to build it up as big as I can,” Lee, 31, told The Times of London in a Friday, July 4, profile. “When I was 18, I asked my parents if I could take a year off before going to university and do YouTube full time. At that point I had two or three thousand pounds in my bank account.”

As Lee started making more videos, his income slowly grew, too.

“I was fortunate to be part of [a] group of YouTubers in the right place at the right time, and the audience and figures grew,” Lee recalled. “I managed to interview Ed Sheeran, Kevin Hart [and] Dwayne Johnson. I turned my YouTube channel into a talk show. I think nearly 10 million people saw the Ed Sheeran video — that was when things really took off. By the time I was 21, I’d made my first million.”

Here's How Much a Famous Child YouTuber’s Family Claims They Made Annually

He added, “It felt good to get to that point and have a financial cushion for me and my family, but making even more money doesn’t incrementally make you more happy. Even though I made an extreme amount of money quickly, I didn’t know how long it would last.”

For Lee, who didn’t grow up overtly wealthy, he tried to save “as much as possible.”

“It’s kind of how someone feels when they win the lottery,” he said. “I don’t really get a buzz from spending. If I spend money on something that I think can make more money one day, then I get a buzz, but I don’t like buying something that I know is just going to lose its value the second I walk out the room.”

Lee has since transitioned his career offline, launching multiple businesses and a venture capital fund, also worth millions.

YouTube Star MrBeast Has ‘Very Little Money’ Despite Billionaire Status

“I can’t really see a time when I’ll stop working. You never know what’s going to happen with global politics or economics, so I hope to have a diverse portfolio of investments that will keep me going,” he added. “My venture fund has been incredible. I’ve invested a lot of my personal money into that.”

All in all, Lee wants to be able to build “a nest to look after [his] family.”

“I don’t have children yet, but I want to make sure my future family will be well looked after,” Lee, who married model Ambar Driscoll in February, added. “Once you feel secure financially, any additional money doesn’t necessarily make you happier. Some people spend their life trying to just chase money for the wrong reason, but I really enjoy building things. It’s the process, not the money, that makes me happy.”

• Elon Musk said on X that he's forming a new political party amid a feud with President Donald Trump.
• He said it would be called the "America Party."
• Musk has publicly criticized Trump's spending bill, which the president signed on July 4.

Elon Musk declared on X the formation of a new political party amid his ongoing feud with President Donald Trump over the "Big Beautiful Bill."

"Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom," Musk wrote in an X post on Saturday afternoon.

Musk's post came a day after he conducted a July 4 poll, asking X users if they want "independence" from the two-party system. About 65% of the 1.25 million participants voted "Yes."

Musk, who was a staunch supporter of Trump's 2024 reelection bid, has been publicly critical of the president's "Big Beautiful Bill," a sweeping domestic policy bill that includes extensive tax cuts and could add more than $3 trillion to the national debt, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

The Tesla CEO has characterized the bill on X as a form of "debt slavery."

Just days after stepping away from his work at the White House DOGE Office, which was tasked with cutting spending and reducing the deficit, Musk in June called the legislation a "massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill."

Musk then proposed the idea of forming a new political party that represents the "80% in the middle."

Musk's repeated attacks on the bill led to a spectacular public fallout between him and the president. Trump even suggested that his office would look into possibly deporting Musk, a South African immigrant.

Musk's July 4 poll on X came the same day Trump signed the bill into law.

The CEO said on his social media platform that one way the new party could work is to focus on winning just a handful of Senate seats and House districts that could serve as the "deciding vote" on "contentious laws," given the "razor-thin legislative margins" in Congress.

Musk and a White House spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

Musk's back-and-forth regarding his involvement in political affairs has been followed by volatile times for the CEO of Tesla, his EV company.

Wall Street analysts, including Tesla bull Dan Ives, have said that Musk's politics could lead the company astray if the chief executive doesn't snap back into focus.

Earlier in June, Baird analysts downgraded the Tesla stock, noting that the Musk-Trump spat adds "uncertainty to TSLA's outlook.

• Brad Barrett shares three questions everyone must ask before pursuing financial independence.
• Barrett emphasized the importance of rethinking spending habits and prioritizing savings.
• Open discussions about money with your partner are crucial for a successful relationship, he said.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Brad Barrett, who hosts the ChooseFI podcast. Business Insider has verified his professional history.

My journey to financial independence, or FI, started long before I had heard of or read about this term.

I'm a Certified Public Accountant, and I began my career at a big accounting firm. I lived at home with my parents when I got my first job and started saving big chunks of my salary. I was frugal and made decisions in the service of a life I wanted in the future.

In 2013, I read the Mr. Money Mustache blog, and it all made sense to me. His post on the "shockingly simple math behind Early retirement" has become one of the seminal articles in our community. The article was a thunderbolt in my life, and my reaction was: "Oh, wow, I can actually do this."

I left my full-time job in early 2015, at age 35, about 13 years after I started working. Since then, I have gone on an entrepreneurial journey and have worked on a travel rewards website, a newsletter, and a podcast called ChooseFI, which I have been running for nine years.

To me, FI is not only about quitting your job early and never working again. It's about reaching a point where we can control the most important and finite aspect of our lives, which is our time.

FI can be a yearslong journey that requires making changes and sacrifices. From talking to people on my podcast and answering questions at FI events, here are three questions I wish everyone would ask themselves before starting their journey to FI.

1. Are you ready to make a change?

One of the biggest issues people have is that they are ashamed of their financial lives. They feel that they've made mistakes and are stuck. My question to them is, are you ready to make a change? If you've messed up financially, are you ready to stop beating yourself up about past mistakes? I've made calamitous money mistakes, but I've still reached FI.

If you are working toward building a nest egg, are you willing to think long term and forgo everyday convenience in exchange for building a better life in the future? It's about not succumbing to instant gratification like buying fancy cars and going out to dinner all the time. It's also about the little things, like planning a week's worth of meals that you can cook at home, so you don't end up getting fast food just because it's 6 o'clock on a Tuesday evening and no one's eaten yet.

On the other hand, if you are someone who has a significant savings rate, are you willing to spend more of it to ensure you are making your life better?

2. Can you rethink what 'afford' means?

In modern American society, saving money is seen as countercultural and unusual. And that's ridiculous.

In order to live a functioning life, you need to have a savings rate. And you need to account for that rate every time you ask yourself whether you can afford something.

Some people make $5,000 a month and think that means they can spend up to $5,000 that month. That mindset needs to change to, "Hey, I need a savings rate. Can I afford this if I'm ever going to retire or have any kind of financial security?" If you decide your savings rate is 30%, that means you only have $3,500 to spend a month.

This doesn't mean you're depriving yourself. It's about prioritizing spending on what is most important to you and saving to have freedom in the future.

3. Are you ready to have conversations about money?

While no one should stuff financial independence down other people's throats, you have to have conversations about money with your family or partner.

I've seen every combination of FI relationships work — many where one partner is working and the other has retired early. Those were the result of significant conversations that weren't just, "Hey, I'm retiring today, but can you still pay the bills?"

Getting on the same page financially is important for any couple, whether in the FI community or not, because we know, money is one of the biggest stressors in life and in relationships.

It's OK to date somebody who has significant debt, because that happens. But are you on the same page? Are they trying to pay that debt off?

There's, of course, no requirement that you have this certain net worth to date somebody in the FI community. But is it going to go well if you have a 50% savings rate and the person you're dating is going more and more into debt every month? No.

In the wake of Charmed and Nip/Tuck star Julian McMahon’s shocking death, fans of the beloved actor are looking back at his previous relationships and deep loves of his life.

“With an open heart, I wish to share with the world that my beloved husband, Julian McMahon, died peacefully this week after a valiant effort to overcome cancer,” his wife, Kelly Panigua, told Deadline in a statement on July 4, confirming the actor’s passing. “Julian loved life. He loved his family. He loved his friends. He loved his work, and he loved his fans. His deepest wish was to bring joy into as many lives as possible. We ask for support during this time to allow our family to grieve in privacy. And we wish for all of those to whom Julian brought joy, to continue to find joy in life. We are grateful for the memories.”

McMahon was best known for his roles on the two hit series, as well as his appearance as Dr. Doom in two Fantastic Four movies, 2005’s Fantastic Four and 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.

McMahon’s personal life included three marriages to singer Dannii Minogue, actress Brooke Burns and his longest marriage to Paniagua.

Marcia Cross and More Stars Mourn Shannen Doherty: ‘Fierce Spirit’

Dannii Minogue

McMahon and the Australian singer and actress — who is also the younger sister of Kylie Minogue — met while filming the 1988 series Home and Away. The pair wed in 1994, but their marriage ended after 18 months.

The pair spent a lot of their marriage apart, as Minogue worked in England and McMahon was pursuing roles in the United States. In an interview with Mamma Mia’s podcast No Filter, Minogue also said that McMahon’s mother played a role in their split.

“There was no relationship, she wouldn’t speak to me, I wasn’t allowed to be near her in the house, she said she wasn’t coming to the wedding,” Minogue said. “We just had no idea how to handle it — we were just trying to.”

Minogue also said traveling frequently to see McMahon was expensive. “I was travelling every two weeks to see him, and I not only ran out of money – I was in debt,” she said.

“I thought, ‘I’ll support you until you get on your feet. Then we can support each other,’” the singer added. “Then the marriage was off… it was a huge struggle emotionally, physically, mentally, financially.”

Brooke Burns

Burns and McMahon were married from 1999 to 2001 and share one daughter, Madison, who was born in June 2000. In the wake of McMahon’s death, the actress paid tribute to her ex-husband on social media.

Burns shared a photo of her ex-husband and daughter together via Instagram on July 5 and captioned it, “Rest in peace” alongside a broken heart emoji.

Shannen Doherty

Doherty and McMahon dated briefly when they were both starring on Charmed. The pair’s relationship reportedly took place while he was married to Burns, during the same time frame of Doherty’s third and final season on the show, which aired from October 2000 to May 2001. The pair also costarred in the 2001 TV movie Another Day.

Nicki Swift reported Burns found out about the relationship via the National Enquirer and once explained, “It was the straw that broke the camel’s back. He’s a good father. Funny, he was really great when we were together … he got carried away by all the Los Angeles hoopla.”

Kelly Paniagua

McMahon and Paniagua began dating in 2003 and tied the knot in Lake Tahoe in June 2014, the Daily Telegraph reported at the time. The pair had gotten engaged in November 2013 while on a trip to Melbourne, Australia.

The pair were very private and did not speak about their relationship frequently. In her statement confirming McMahon’s death, Paniagua described him as her “beloved husband.”