YouTube and TikTok star MrBeast is looking to buy TikTok as part of a group of investors, as a 75-day time limit ticks down for the social media company to find a non-Chinese owner or risk being permanently banned.
“Okay fine, I’ll buy Tik Tok so it doesn’t get banned,” MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, posted on X on January 13th. But while his tone was joking, Donaldson – the single most popular YouTuber and the third-most popular TikToker – was serious, his lawyer said.
The bid from Donaldson and a group of investors is just the latest twist in what’s been an extraordinary few days for TikTok.
It went dark on Saturday night as a nationwide ban was looming but was back online about 12 hours later, after President Donald Trump announced he would sign an executive order to delay the ban by 75 days.