Jimmy Donaldson, widely recognized as MrBeast, has not yet joined the bidding contest for TikTok, according to a spokesperson for the popular YouTuber.
Donaldson sparked excitement with a post on January 13 on X, revealing his intention to potentially buy TikTok to prevent it from being banned. He followed up the next day, mentioning he had been approached by numerous billionaires since his tweet, hinting at the possibility of making this acquisition happen.
This speculation heightened when reports surfaced about an investor group, spearheaded by Jesse Tinsley, founder and CEO of Recruiter.com Ventures, attempting to purchase TikTok’s U.S. operations with an all-cash proposal. Both Tinsley’s Monday post on X and a Tuesday statement from Paul Hastings LLP, the law firm advising the group, referenced MrBeast’s involvement in this initiative. However, a spokesperson for MrBeast quickly clarified that Donaldson has not officially committed to any bids, stating, “Several buyers are holding ongoing discussions with Jimmy. He has no exclusive agreements with any of them.”
The success of the investor group’s offer remains uncertain, and details regarding the amount being proposed have yet to be disclosed. Tinsley’s representative declined to provide additional information when asked and did not respond to inquiries regarding MrBeast’s mention as part of the bidding group.
The ongoing situation with TikTok’s future in the U.S. is precarious. Following a federal law upheld by the Supreme Court, TikTok is required to secure an approved buyer for its U.S. operations by January 19 to avoid a nationwide ban. Just before the deadline, access for U.S. users was temporarily halted, but the platform returned online the following day, thanking then-incoming President Donald Trump for intervening to postpone the ban.
Trump expressed his admiration for TikTok, claiming it played a significant role in attracting younger voters during the previous election. His initial term saw attempts to ban the app due to perceived national security threats related to its Chinese connections. Shortly after resuming office, Trump instructed the Justice Department to delay enforcing the ban until early April and expressed an interest in arranging a deal for the U.S. government to take a controlling stake in TikTok, noting that many wealthy individuals have contacted him about the acquisition.
Trump mentioned on Tuesday his openness to a potential purchase by tech moguls like Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison and Elon Musk, who recently contributed significant funds to a political action committee supporting Trump. Nevertheless, neither Ellison nor Musk has publicly articulated a desire to acquire TikTok.
Additional investors, including billionaire Frank McCourt and former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, have also shown interest in acquiring the app. Furthermore, Perplexity AI, an AI startup, has reportedly reached out to TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, with a proposal to combine their operations with TikTok’s U.S. business.
McCourt’s consortium has allegedly offered ByteDance $20 billion for the platform, as stated by Kevin O’Leary, a Canadian investor from the show “Shark Tank,” who is also part of that effort. In recent remarks, O’Leary expressed his continued interest in TikTok but doubted the feasibility of a purchase given the law mandating ByteDance to divest by last Sunday.
“What we need is to go back and ask Congress to open the order and provide for these new options, because they’re not provided for right now,” he was quoted as saying by CNBC.
After the bipartisan TikTok legislation was enacted by former President Joe Biden in April, ByteDance maintained it had no intentions of selling the platform and challenged the law in court. Although China has criticized the push for divestment, there are signs of a more conciliatory stance recently.
Bill Ford, chairman of global investment firm General Atlantic and a board member of ByteDance, indicated in media interviews this week that the company is willing to work with the Trump administration and Chinese officials to find a resolution that allows TikTok to continue operating. However, representatives for ByteDance and TikTok did not respond when approached for comments.
