Digital Age Brings New Fortunes: Here Are the Highest Paid YouTube Stars
Written by Salary SpecialistJanuary 23, 2026
The New Media Age has introduced many unique job opportunities to the market. People can now get paid for their design ideas on Pinterest, they can develop a steady income stream by promoting products on Instagram or personal blogs, and they can even cash in from buying and selling digital assets known as cryptocurrency. One Internet Age job that sounds particularly fun is getting paid to record yourself doing the things you love.
This dream job is a reality for many YouTube stars. YouTube sensations including Felix Kjellberg, Mark Fischbach, Evan Fong, and Daniel Middleton record their reactions while playing video games while simultaneously earning millions of dollars. A group of five friends record themselves performing sports tricks and rake in the dough via their YouTube channel "Dude Perfect." Additionally, an elementary school boy has a family-run channel called "Ryan ToysReview" featuring videos of him playing with different toys. This channel earned his family a whopping $11 million in dividends last year.
Here is a breakdown of the highest paid YouTube stars from 2017, according to Business Insider and Forbes:
1) Daniel Middleton
Income: $16.5 Million
YouTube Channel: DanTDM
2) Evan Fong
Income: $15.5 Million
YouTube Channel: VanossGaming
3) Dude Perfect
Income: $14 Million
YouTube Channel: Dude Perfect
4) Logan Paul (Tie)
Income: $12.5 Million
YouTube Channel: TheOfficialLoganPaul
5) Mark Fischbach (Tie)
Income: $12.5 Million
YouTube Channel: Markiplier
6) Felix Kjellberg
Income: $12 Million
YouTube Channel: PewDiePie
7) Jake Paul
Income: $11.5 Million
YouTube Channel: Jake Paul
8) Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox (Tie)
Income: $11 Million
YouTube Channel: Smosh
9) Ryan ToysReview (Tie)
Income: $11 Million
YouTube Channel: Ryan ToysReview
10) Lilly Singh
Income: $10.5 Million
YouTube Channel: IISuperwomanII
Not a famous YouTube star, but still curious what you're worth? Find out.
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