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

Jimmy Donaldson, the popular YouTuber known as MrBeast, has joined forces with a group of investors aiming to purchase TikTok. The group, which includes Jesse Tinsley of Employer.com, Roblox co-founder and CEO David Baszucki, and Nathan McCauley from Anchorage Digital, reportedly plans to bid over $20 billion for the social media platform. They estimate that it would take around $25 billion to complete the acquisition.

Despite their efforts, TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, has stated that its U.S. business is not for sale. The group led by Tinsley has not received a direct response from ByteDance regarding their proposal.

MrBeast's representatives have indicated that he is currently in discussions with various parties and is open to aligning with the leading bidder. On January 22, Donaldson expressed his enthusiasm on X, formerly Twitter, stating, "The leading groups who are all credible bidding on TikTok 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 mentioned that Microsoft was in talks to buy TikTok, expressing his hope for a competitive bidding war. However, Microsoft has not yet confirmed Trump's statement.

TikTok faced a significant challenge when it was taken offline for its 170 million U.S. users just before a law was set to take effect on January 19. This law required ByteDance to sell TikTok due to national security concerns or face a ban. The app went dark after the Supreme Court rejected TikTok's appeal, which was based on a First Amendment challenge. The justices noted that while data collection is common, "TikTok’s scale and susceptibility to foreign adversary control, together with the vast swaths of sensitive data the platform collects, justify differential treatment to address the Government’s national security concerns."

Following assurances from Trump, TikTok was able to restore service without facing immediate penalties. The company expressed its commitment to the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship, stating, "We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States."

After taking office on January 20, Trump signed an executive order to delay the enforcement of the law by 75 days. He is currently engaged in discussions with multiple companies and individuals about a potential buyout of TikTok, including Elon Musk, the owner of X/Twitter.