The 10 Highest-Earning Creators in 2026
Estimated earnings, audience size, and the businesses behind today's biggest creators.
Creator income has grown into a major media business. The biggest creators increasingly earn money from a mix of platform revenue, sponsorships, products, businesses, and other ventures. This ranking uses Forbes' 2026 Top Creators estimates for the period March 2025–March 2026. The Forbes list covers creators across platforms, so this is a creator ranking rather than a YouTube-only ranking.
Ranked #10 to #1
Jesser
- Estimated earnings:
- $25M
- Category:
- Basketball and sports entertainment
- Revenue sources:
- Ad revenue, brand deals, merchandise
Ms. Rachel
- Estimated earnings:
- $26M
- Category:
- Early childhood education
- Revenue sources:
- Ad revenue, books, licensed products
Mark Rober
- Estimated earnings:
- $30M
- Category:
- Science and engineering
- Revenue sources:
- Ad revenue, CrunchLabs, brand partnerships
IShowSpeed
- Estimated earnings:
- $30M
- Category:
- Gaming, livestreams, travel and reaction content
- Revenue sources:
- Ad revenue, sponsorships, merchandise and live content
Codie Sanchez
- Estimated earnings:
- $31M
- Category:
- Business and investing content
- Revenue sources:
- Media, sponsorships and business ventures
Rhett & Link
- Estimated earnings:
- $37M
- Category:
- Comedy and entertainment
- Revenue sources:
- Mythical Entertainment, advertising, merchandise and podcasts
Markiplier
- Estimated earnings:
- $38M
- Category:
- Gaming and entertainment
- Revenue sources:
- Ad revenue, merchandise and business ventures
Steven Bartlett
- Estimated earnings:
- $52M
- Category:
- Business, podcasts and entrepreneurship
- Revenue sources:
- Podcast/media business, sponsorships and other ventures
Dhar Mann
- Estimated earnings:
- $65M
- Category:
- Short-form scripted stories
- Revenue sources:
- Advertising, production business and brand partnerships
MrBeast
- Estimated earnings:
- $300M
- Category:
- Large-scale challenges and entertainment
- Revenue sources:
- Advertising, Feastables, Beast Industries, merchandise and licensing
What the numbers tell us
MrBeast's estimated $300 million is more than the combined $296 million earned by the other nine creators in this top 10. The ranking also shows how creator businesses increasingly extend beyond a single platform: media companies, products, sponsorships, podcasts, and other ventures can all contribute to creator income.
Primary source: Forbes, Top Creators 2026. Visual Capitalist also publishes a visualization of the Forbes ranking. Forbes' creator ranking covers multiple platforms and uses estimated annual earnings rather than publicly reported creator income. Audience figures can vary by platform and date, so this article avoids presenting cross-platform follower totals as YouTube subscriber counts. Prepared for Viszlyn.io.