If your annual paycheck pales in comparison to that of a nine-year-old kid, don’t be surprised.
YouTube star Ryan Kaji just earned $29.5 million in 2020 from unboxing games and toys on his channel Ryan’s World, making him the highest paid star on the video platform for a third year running.
Kaji, whose real name is Ryan Guan and hails from Texas, earned $26 million in 2019 and $22 million in 2018, according to Forbes.
If the millions in earnings wasn’t enough, according to The Guardian, it is further estimated he earned $200m from Ryan’s World branded toys and clothing, including Marks & Spencer pajamas and clothes available at Target and Walmart. He also signed an undisclosed, but likely multimillion dollar, deal for his own TV series on Nickelodeon.
In the past, several of his videos have racked up more than one billion views.
Kaji has been an influencer since 2015, where he reviewed toys. His family now run nine YouTube channels.
According to The Guardian, Ryan’s World was the most popular channel with 41.7m subscribers and 12.2bn views. Kaji’s most popular video, Huge Eggs Surprise Toys Challenge, has more than 2bn views, making it one of the 60 most-viewed videos ever on YouTube.
