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

Jimmy Donaldson, widely recognized as the YouTuber MrBeast, is part of an investment group aiming to acquire TikTok with a bid exceeding $20 billion. According to Bloomberg, Donaldson has joined forces with Jesse Tinsley, the founder of Employer.com, Roblox co-founder and CEO David Baszucki, and Nathan McCauley, head of the crypto platform Anchorage Digital, in this ambitious endeavor. The group estimates that it would take approximately $25 billion to secure the purchase of the social media giant.

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 yet to receive a direct response from ByteDance. Representatives for Donaldson have indicated that he is in discussions with multiple parties and is open to aligning with the leading bidder, suggesting a potential shift in alliances depending on the outcome of the negotiations. On January 22, Donaldson tweeted, "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 and expressed his desire for a bidding war over the app. However, Microsoft has not confirmed these claims.

TikTok faced a significant disruption when it was taken offline for its 170 million U.S. users just before a law was set to take effect on January 19, which required ByteDance to sell TikTok on national security grounds or face a ban. The app went dark after the Supreme Court rejected an appeal following TikTok's First Amendment challenge. The justices noted that while data collection is common in the digital age, "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."

TikTok was able to resume service after assurances from Trump that the company would not face penalties for restoring service. TikTok responded by stating, "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 20, Trump signed an executive order to delay the enforcement of the law by 75 days. He is currently in discussions with various companies and individuals about a potential buyout of TikTok, and has expressed openness to Elon Musk, the owner of X/Twitter, taking control.

MrBeast is apparently serious in his bid to buy TikTok. Photo by Alexi Rosenfeld/[ttpp]Getty Images[ttpp].