Top 5 The Highest Paid YouTubers in 2016

1. Michelle Phan: Net Worth – $50 million

This lovely 29 year old is the richest YouTube Personality with a true net worth of $50 million big ones. Ignoring her parents wishes for her to become a doctor, she went to college for illustration and Design. She started posting makeup tutorial videos in 2006, while she was supporting herself by working as a waitress. The videos teach you everyday makeup styles, as well as how to resemble your favorite celebrities. The bulk of her wealth is from her partnership with the makeup company Lancome, as well as her makeup subscription service, Ipsy.

2. Pewdiepie: Net Worth- $18 Million

This Swedish dreamboat’s real name is Felix Arvid Ulf Kjelberg. He started on Youtube in 2010, funding his videos with his employment at a hot dog stand, as his parents refused to support him after he dropped out of college. I guess they were afraid he would not be successful. No worries on that front, I guess. Kjelberg was named one of “The World’s 100 Most Influential People” by time magazine, and his wealth increases everyday. He has an impressive 12 billion total views on his videos, and over 43 million subscribers. He also has his own app, and his web-series “Scare PewDiePie” is currently airing on the paid subscription service YouTube Red.

3. Smosh: Net Worth – $11.8 Million

This sketch comedy twosome from America has gone a long way since 2011, when their projected revenue was a mere 133,000, and their total subscribers were just over 3 million. Now Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla are multimillionaires with a true net worth of $11.8 million, and 22 million subscribers. A video of theirs that was just released 2 days ago already has almost 2 million views. They had their start on famous gamer-geek website newgrounds.com, then migrated to YouTube in 2005. This proved to be an excellent decision, as their enviable wealth proves. They rake it in from their comedy and gaming channels, as well as a real life movie and comedy albums.

4. Markiplier: Net Worth $5.1 Million

This bubbly Hawaiian 26 year old has over 12 million subscribers, and billions of total views on his Let’s Play channel. He started in 2012, and now banks $5.1 million by making daily videos of himself playing video games. So, living the dream essentially. He distinguishes himself with his signature voice, and his charity work. He regularly live streams for charity, playing video games while raising over $900,000 for various charities such as the Best Friends Animal Society, and the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance. This last one is particularly special to him, as he recently took a hiatus from his channel to mourn the suicide of a close friend. After he returned, he achieved 10 million subscribers. He was also in Disney’s Gamer’s Guide to Pretty Much Everything.

5. Grace Helbig: Net Worth $5 Million

Have a certain soft spot for this YouTube celebrity, as we attended Ramapo College at the same time. I honestly can’t remember if we ever saw each other on campus, but she has certainly come a long way since then. She has amassed a wealth of about $5 Million, from a combination of her YouTube channel, her funny handbooks for Millennials, and she even has a talk show on E!