MrBeast, Patrick Starrr, and Bailey Sarian Make Forbes’ List of Top Content Creators in 2022

Landing on a Forbes “top” or “best of” list is a major honor in any industry. The publishing powerhouse does its due diligence researching and vetting leading stars across the world before putting together its esteemed rankings. For the very first time, Forbes focused on top content creators and released a list of the 50 most influential creators of 2022. 

It’s no wonder Forbes zeroed in on social media VIPs this year. The creator economy is massive and currently estimated to be worth $100 billion dollars. Creators are doing and achieving more than ever before. They have changed how fans discover talent, ultimately democratizing the media landscape and who has access to it.

The list itself recognizes the internet’s most elite—prominent influencers who are “redefining celebrity for our connected age.” It also represents the massive shift that’s taken place in pop culture: creators have become self-made celebrities. They have revolutionized the way we think about talent, brand partnerships, and content. 

It should come as no surprise, then, that three of our big-league Jellysmack creator partners made the illustrious list of top content creators: MrBeast, Patrick Starrr, and Bailey Sarian.

This trio of social media legends represents the bleeding edge of content creation. They take internet stardom to a new level.

Their internet cred runs deep. They’ve built massive media empires by chasing their passions, and we’re especially proud to see them land on the list because we believe deeply in helping creators scale and Go Bigger not just across social media, but beyond.

Here’s a closer look at their career trajectories and what they’ve each accomplished.

#1 MrBeast | 162M followers

YouTube legend, inspiring philanthropist, and internet pioneer MrBeast regularly entertains his massive audience (he just hit 100 million YouTube subscribers) with near-impossible challenges, donation videos, and wild projects that only he’d think of. His genre is groundbreaking, and his digital fame rests heavily on his belief in his fans. He has an audience-first mindset and it shows—they follow him everywhere (most recently he debuted MrBeast Burger at the American Dream Mall in New Jersey to a crowd of thousands). And when he’s not busy entertaining people on YouTube, he’s spreading feel-good vibes with his food pantry, MrBeast Philanthropy, which has fed over 111,000 individuals to date.

#14 Patrick Starrr | 11.7M followers

Talented makeup artist Patrick Simondac, aka Patrick Starrr, has a magnetic personality. People are drawn to him because he’s as authentic as it gets. He began his career at a MAC Cosmetics makeup counter, and though he felt limited by the brand at the time, he learned the importance of focusing on his passion. In 2013 he launched his YouTube channel, which eventually grew into the powerhouse empire we all know today. Starrr has collaborated with top-tier celebrity clients including Kim Kardashian, Jessica Alba, and Naomi Campbell, but it’s the way he connects with his audience that truly sets him apart. In an interview with Variety, his agent and manager Christina Jones shared that he FaceTimes and DMs his followers in order to get to “know his fans on a deeper level.” He’s that committed. And we love him, too. At the beginning of the year we featured an out-of-the-home billboard campaign featuring our creator partners, and of course, we had to include Patrick in our ad placements.

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#34 Bailey Sarian | 12.1M followers

Bailey Sarian is a mastermind in the digital world. She found a way to create a niche in the saturated space of true crime content by performing makeup tutorials while sharing fascinating mysteries. And it worked. People love watching her do makeup while simultaneously hearing her spill intimate details about murders. So much so that she’s amassed an enormous following and been able to expand into audio with a weekly podcast Dark History, a charismatic exploration of bone-chilling stories from the past.

The Forbes top content creators list includes such a wide array of talent, including these additional profound creators who are carving their own paths:

#2 Charli D’Amelio 

Charli is a dancer and TikTok star with a clothing brand, Hulu show, VC fund, and consumer products company, all at the age of 18. She also just joined the new season of “Dancing with the Stars.”

#5 Emma Chamberlain

Emma is a comedic vlogger with dry wit, and has started her own coffee company, Chamberlain Coffee which recently raised an impressive Series A round.

#18 Marques Brownlee

Marques reviews tech gadgets to his audience of over 21M on his YouTube channel and across other platforms. He has even locked in major interviews with Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerburg, and Elon Musk that viewers can’t get enough of.

#41 Benny Drama 

Benny is a funny celebrity impersonator on TikTok that even celebrities love. His take on Kourtney Kardashian even landed him a feature on season 1 of Hulu’s “The Kardashians.”