MrBeast Is YouTube's Last Dinosaur, Niche Creators Rule the Jurassic TikTok
KEY POINTS
- •Reed Duchscher, MrBeast’s ex-manager, stated 2026 is the toughest year to break out as a mega-creator due to TikTok’s personalized algorithm.
- •TikTok and YouTube’s Top 10 creator lists have barely changed since 2025, with Indonesian influencer Willie Salim as the sole newbie.
- •Influencer marketing in the US is expected to surpass $12 billion as creators monetize narrow niches like pasta cooking and husky grooming.
Once upon a time, blowing up on social media meant dancing on TikTok or joining the Hype House. Now, Reed Duchscher—MrBeast’s former manager—declares it’s 'hardest ever' to become a mega-creator thanks to TikTok’s algorithm playing favorites with niche content. Back in early 2021, five newbies stormed TikTok’s Top 10; flash forward to 2026, and only Indonesian influencer Willie Salim cracks the static leaderboard alongside stalwarts like Addison Rae and Khaby Lame. With 1.5 million full-time creators and AI spitting out endless videos, talent agents now hunt for obsessives who can cook pasta or groom Australian huskies and make $12 billion US influencer sponsorships shake with envy. Meanwhile, creators like Kelsey Reese just want a 'comfortable income,' not Kardashian-level chaos.
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Trying to be the next MrBeast these days is like betting crypto in 2017 — exciting dream, mostly just burned fingers and niche sausages.
Welcome to 2026’s social media jungle where being ‘too popular’ is actually a liability and niche obsession is the new black.
If you can’t single-handedly turn pasta videos into a tomato sauce empire, welcome to the minor leagues of influencer-dom.
Source: Businessinsider | Published: 2/10/2026 | Author: Dan Whateley,Sydney Bradley
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