Beast Industries, owned by YouTuber Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson, announced Monday that it has acquired Step, a banking app aimed at teens and young adults. The move comes a few months after Donaldson announced plans to launch a new YouTube channel focused on personal finance and investing. His main channel has 466 million subscribers and has long been one of the most popular on YouTube, often featuring videos of Donaldson giving away huge sums of money.
MrBeast’s other business ventures also include a chain of ghost restaurants, snack brand Feastables, and an upcoming phone service company called Beast Mobile. It is his company’s first foray into financial services.
Step is one of many mobile banking services, similar to Monzo or Revolut, but specifically aimed at teenagers, which may explain why Donaldson chose it over his competitors – his audience is mainly Gen-Z and Gen Alpha. Step’s investors also include Gen-Z influencers Josh Richards and Charli D’Amelio, the latter of whom has appeared on MrBeast’s YouTube channel.