MrBeast and the CEO of Roblox Are Trying to Buy TikTok for Over $20 Billion

Popular YouTuber MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson) is reportedly among a group of investors vying to acquire TikTok in a bid exceeding $20 billion. Bloomberg reports this consortium includes Jesse Tinsley (founder of Employer.com), Roblox co-founder and CEO David Baszucki, and Nathan McCauley (head of Anchorage Digital). The group estimates the TikTok acquisition will require $25 billion.

While TikTok's owner, ByteDance, has declared its U.S. operations are not for sale, and the Tinsley-led group acknowledges a lack of direct response, MrBeast's representatives confirm ongoing discussions with various parties. MrBeast aims to join the leading bidder, potentially shifting alliances depending on the evolving situation. He tweeted on January 22nd, "The leading groups who are all credible bidding on Tik Tok have reached out for us to help them, I’m excited to partner/make this a reality. Big things cooking."

Earlier this week, former U.S. President Donald Trump stated that Microsoft was in negotiations to purchase TikTok, anticipating a bidding war. Microsoft has yet to verify this claim.

TikTok was briefly unavailable to its 170 million U.S. users just before a January 19th deadline requiring its Chinese owner, ByteDance, to either sell or face a ban due to national security concerns. The app's temporary outage followed the Supreme Court's rejection of TikTok's First Amendment appeal. The court acknowledged common data collection practices but cited TikTok's scale, susceptibility to foreign control, and the volume of sensitive data collected as justification for differential treatment to address national security concerns.

Service was restored after assurances from President Trump that TikTok wouldn't face penalties. TikTok stated at the time, “It’s a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship. We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States.”

Following his inauguration on January 20th, President Trump signed an executive order delaying enforcement of the law by 75 days. He engaged in discussions with various companies and individuals regarding a potential TikTok buyout, including expressing openness to Elon Musk's involvement.