Highlights

  • Influencers, creators, and internet personalities are dominating the social media scene and are now considered top-tier celebrities, with massive followings and significant influence in brand deals and advertising.
  • Forbes has released its list of the top 50 creators, who collectively have 2.6 billion followers and have earned $700 million in 2023, showing a 20% increase from the previous year.
  • Brands spent approximately $21 billion on creator marketing in 2023, recognizing the value of influencer trust and authenticity over traditional ads. Forbes ranked the top creators based on their earnings, engagement rates, and entrepreneurial activities. Let's take a look at the top 10 influencers on the list.

In the vast word of social media today, influencers, creators and various creative personalities run the entire scene; now they're making it onto Forbes' list of top creators on the internet in 2023.

Internet personalities are fast joining top tier celebrities, accumulating wealth with their massive followings (growing by the day in the thousands). These notable creatives are in their own way calling the shots in brand deals and advertising, while wielding massive influence over the internet's entertainment scene.

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In 2023 (for the second time in a row), Forbes has listed fifty of the top creators. These creators (as Forbes reported) have a combined 2.6 billion followers – and in the process, they generated about $700 million in earnings (a stunning 20 percent rise over the previous year, 2022).

This does not come as a surprise as reportedly, brands spent about $21 billion on creator marketing in 2023 – allegedly a smart marketing direction, as it is believed influencers are trusted more by their brands as compared to traditional advertising models. To rank these creators, Forbes crunched the data of their earnings in estimate, rates of engagement, and all the entrepreneurial activities in which these stars partake.

Now let's take a look at the top ten influencers on the list for 2023.

10 Brent Rivera

At tenth position on the Forbes' List is Brent Rivera, with total estimated earnings of $17.5 million, and a total of 96 million followers. Bret has mastered several social platforms dating back to Vine (RIP), before moving to YouTube and finally TikTok.

His content centers around funny comedic videos featuring his sister Lexi. Brent is only 25 years old and has already won a Streamy Award; evidence of his skill in creating content, and also in business management.

Rivera has partnered with multiple brands – like Starbucks, Xbox and Prada. He also is the founder of Amp Studios (created in 2017), with a focus on supporting creators and emerging brands.

9 Matt Rife

Matt Rife is a standup comedian who has been on the scene for almost a decade, but rose to greater fame in 2020: known for his funny shows involving interaction with the audience.

According to Forbes, Matt ranks ninth on the list with an estimated $25 million in earnings and an impressive 22 million followers. Most of Matt's shows sell out fast, and he has sold more than 750,000 tickets for his international tour.

Rife is from Ohio, and gained a whopping 17 million followers on TikTok after a video of him joking with a female fan went viral on the platform.

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8 Emma Chamberlain

Emma Chamberlain dropped out of high school and started shooting videos for YouTube in her mother's house – a decision that clearly paid off, as she has amassed 27.9 million followers on the platform. She is known for her dry humor, which she parlayed into a major platform for fashion and lifestyle content.

Per Forbes, she earned $20 million in 2023; being one of the first creators to secure a high fashion deal with Louis Vuitton, over the years she has inked partnerships with many more lucrative brands, and even owns a beverage company known as Chamberlain Coffee.

7 Elliot Tebele

Elliot Tebele is the original meme king, and developer of the board game What Do You Meme – which retailed nationwide at Target, Walmart, and Amazon. Tebele also landed a deal with the famous Tequila brand Juja.

On top of all of those ventures, he owns multiple accounts on various social platforms with almost 40 million followers in total. Forbes estimated his earning to be about $30 million, and ranks Tebele seventh on their top creators list for 2023.

6 Logan Paul

Logan and his brother Jake Paul first went viral on the now defunct platform Vine, and leveraged their momentum when the pair branched out to YouTube. His content was diversified to posting vlogs, giveaways, and stunts.

Logan gained further fame fighting celebrities like Kevin Hart, and famously faced more than a few ups and downs – getting demonetized on YouTube for repeated content related violations and insensitivity. He re-signed his contract with WWE to focus on promoting his hydration brand Prime, alongside YouTuber KSI.

Forbes puts him sixth on the list, with estimated earnings of $21 million, and about 74 million followers.

5 Charli D'Amelio

Charli D'Amelio continues her reign as the top female TikTok creator; she is native to Connecticut and now among the most famous TikTok creators. She became the face of Prada, and does collaborative advertisements for various brands such as Amazon, CeraVe and SKIMS.

Furthermore, she is an entrepreneur with a lot of sway in the bustling lifestyle industry. Charli ranks fifth on the list, with about $23 million in earnings and 213 million in total followers across platforms.

Having been best friends since grade school, the two (who are formerly engineers) started posting on YouTube in 2006 – and today, they have a California based entertainment company. The pair create various shows on YouTube (including comedy skits and talk shows), and employ more than 100 people in the process.

They rank fourth on the list with estimated earnings of around $35 million, and about 51 million followers on the platform.

3 Jake Paul

Coming in third is Jake Paul, another former Vine star and current YouTube star, known for major stunts and a lot of controversies. He partnered with the energy drink Celsius, founded the betting app Betr, and has since signed an MMA deal to fight as part of the pay per view division.

Forbes estimates his earnings at $34 million, and his audience at around 66 million followers.

2 Olajide Olatunji (KSI)

In second place, KSI started with YouTube in 2009, doing reaction videos to FIFA games, and has since attracted millions of followers, going from being a comedian to a boxer and a Forbes list contender. KSI has released two singles, and is currently growing his Prime hydration company alongside Logan Paul.

KSI was estimated to earn about $24 million, with about 112 million followers.

1 Jimmy Donaldson (Mr. Beast)

Mr. Beast (Jimmy Donaldson) is a well known YouTube powerhouse, with more than 300 million followers – a fan base close in size to the entire population of the United States.

He is known for his extreme production costs and large scale stunts, resulting in a rapt and loyal audience on YouTube. Per Forbes, Mr. Beast earned about $82 million, and Donaldson participates in various business ventures and philanthropic causes.

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