PewDiePie Net Worth 2024: The Original YouTube Gaming Star Worth $85.5 Million

PewDiePie is one of the wealthiest streamers and video game commentators in the world. The Swedish YouTuber was the highest earner worldwide on the platform at one point.

PewDiePie’s net worth in 2024 is estimated at $85.5 million.

PewDiePie’s fanbase, nicknamed the Bro Army, has grown astronomically since the launch of his YouTube channel. For the most part, his YouTube content is him playing video games and commentating in the process.

PewDiePie’s real name is Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg and in this article, you’ll learn all about his success, YouTube career, and sizeable net worth.

PewDiePie’s Net Worth Breakdown:

PewDiePie’s net worth has been publicly discussed for years, painting a pretty clear picture of what the streamer has been earning over the years. Based on our findings, he has earned over $190 million in YouTube ad revenue, book sales, through sponsorship deals, his business, and more.

However, it is important to note that this amount is subject to a tax, which differs depending on the country. If PewDiePie is taxed as a Swedish resident, the progressive income tax rates in the country can go up to 57% for high earners – which he is.

If he is taxed in the UK, for instance, the top income tax rate for earnings of this type is 45%.

If we take 45% as a base for our calculations, this would leave PewDiePie’s current net worth at an impressive $85.5 million:

6 Fun Facts About PewDiePie

1. First YouTube Channel: PewDiePie’s original YouTube channel was named “PewDie”, but he had to start “PewDiePie” after forgetting the password to his first account.
2. Bro Army: PewDiePie’s fanbase is famously known as the “Bro Army” with a signature “Brofist” outro.
3. Art and Gaming: He initially wanted to pursue a career in advertising or art before becoming a YouTuber, selling his artwork to afford a computer for gaming.
4. Languages: Though Swedish, PewDiePie often uses English in his videos to reach a broader audience.
5. YouTube Record: He was the first individual YouTuber to surpass 100 million subscribers.
6. Charity Efforts: He has raised millions of dollars for charity, including Save the Children, Charity: Water, and World Wildlife Fund.

Latest News & Controversies

• Fatherhood: In 2023, PewDiePie and his wife Marzia welcomed their first child, and he shared glimpses of his new role as a father with his audience. He took a brief hiatus from YouTube but returned in 2024 with new content, including lifestyle vlogs about family life in Japan.
• Move to Japan: PewDiePie’s move to Japan in 2022 was a major life change. In 2024, his content continues to focus on Japanese culture, food, and day-to-day life, giving fans an inside look at his experiences.
• Controversies: While PewDiePie has had his share of controversies over the years, including criticisms over his humor and the infamous T-Series rivalry, he has largely kept a low profile in recent years, focusing on positive content and philanthropy.
• Twitch Return: PewDiePie’s Twitch account, which streamed episodes of Trailer Park Boys as part of an experiment in early 2023, led to some speculation about future Twitch involvement. However, his main focus remains YouTube, where he continues to dominate with his extensive subscriber base.
• Business Ventures: PewDiePie is expanding his ventures with his brand Tsuki, co-founded with his wife Marzia. The brand has gained popularity and features a line of unisex clothing.

Early Life and Education

Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg, AKA PewDiePie, was born on October 24, 1989, in Gothenburg, Sweden. His parents are Ulf Christian Kjellberg, a corporate executive, and Lotta Kristine Johanna, a former chief information officer, and the 2010 CIO of the Year in Sweden. He is one of two children and has a sibling named Fanny.

Even as a kid, Felix was interested in video games as well as art. He was constantly drawing video game characters such as Sonic the Hedgehog and spent his free time playing video games on a Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

When he reached high school, he was so passionate about video games, that he even skipped classes to play with his friends at an internet cafe. In high school, he sold artwork through his grandmother’s gallery and used his savings to buy his first computer.

Even though he skipped school, Felix wasn’t a bad student. Following his high school graduation, he enrolled at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg to study industrial engineering and management. However, he left the university in 2011 due to a “lack of interest in his course of study”.

“To drop out of university to pursue YouTube, that’d just be f… stupid. I’m not that dumb,” he said.

Instead of what he was studying, young Felix wanted to work in ad design, led by his love for Photoshop. He nearly got an apprenticeship in one of the best agencies in Scandinavia, but eventually didn’t get the opportunity. However, he was able to sell his art – his photoshopped images in galleries.

Personal Life

Kjellberg met Marzia Bisognin in 2011 and, a year later, he set up her YouTube channel called CutiePieMarzia. With his help and talent, the channel grew to become one of the most popular beauty channels on YouTube. Bisognin retired from the platform in 2018. A year later, the couple married.

Today, Bisognin and Kjellberg have one son together, born in July 2023.

In 2018, after a trip to Japan, Kjellberg was inspired to move to the country, so in 2019, they bought a house together and relocated to Japan. In May 2022, the two moved to their home in Japan on a 5-year business visa after waiting for years due to Japan’s restrictive relocation regulations during the pandemic.

PewDiePie Net Worth: Kjellberg’s Impressive YouTube Career

In December 2006, Kjellberg officially registered his first YouTube channel under the name PewDie. When asked about its name, he said that “pew” refers to the sound of lasers, while “die” simply refers to dying in the games.

In 2010, he registered a second channel, reportedly after forgetting the password to his first channel. He named this one PewDiePie.

Early Videos as a YouTuber

When Kjellberg left university, his parents told him they would no longer support him financially. This meant he would have to self-fund his early YouTube videos, so he took on a series of odd jobs. He worked at a hot dog stand, sold more of his Photoshop art, and worked as a harbor captain.

“I knew people were big at other types of videos, but there was no one big in gaming, and I didn’t know you could make money out of it. It was never like a career that I could just quit college to pursue. It was just something I loved to do,” he later shared.

In his early days on the platform, he made video game commentaries on action and horror games. Some of the earliest videos he made were commentaries on Call of Duty and Minecraft, as well as Amnesia: The Dark Descent. The oldest of his videos you can find online today is Minecraft Multiplayer Fun, uploaded in 2010 with mainly Swedish commentary. Later on, he would start using the English language for a wider reach.

Growing His YouTube Channel

In September 2011, PewDiePie started posting weekly vlogs on his channel, using the name Fridays with PewDiePie. This series was a fresh change not only to his channel but a unique addition to the market at the time. By December of the same year, his channel had grown to 60,000 subscribers.

A few months later, in 2012, Kjellberg was invited to speak at the Nonick Conference after his channel earned 700,000 subscribers. In July of the same year, his subscribed channel grew to 1 million subscribers. By September, it reached 2 million subscribers – an incredible rise in a single year.

At that point, the YouTuber was working in partnership with Machinima, a network that drives the growth of channels on the platform.

However, he was unsatisfied with their work and the treatment if him, so he hired a lawyer to free him from his contract. In December 2012, he signed with Maker Studios, a multi-channel network and major Machinima rival.

Becoming the Most Subscribed YouTuber

In February 2013, PewDiePie’s channel counted 5 million subscribers. When it surpassed 6 million, The New York Times published a cover story, representing him as a popular YouTube streamer.

In May, Kjellberg won a Swedish Social Star award and the Most Popular Social Show award. By July, he overtook Jenna Marbles, one of the most subscribed users on the platform, and became the second most subscribed YouTube user.

A month later, Kjellberg signed with Polaris, Maker’s gaming sub-network, to relaunch The Game Station, their gaming network. His subscriber count passed that of Smosh, the leading channel of the time in August, and he officially got a Guinness World Records certificate for being “the most subscribed YouTuber”.

For a short time, in November 2013, Spotlight channel overtook his spot but on December 23, PewDiePie’s channel once again became the most subscribed channel on the platform.

His success led to the creation of an official PewDiePie iPhone app, which people could use to view his videos and share them with others. He also launched an official website and online store where he sells merchandise, all with the assistance of Maker.

In 2014, Kjellberg started streaming videos of BroKen, his co-hosted series (with Kenneth Morrison, another video game commentator), onto MLG.tv. That same year, his PewDiePie channel had amassed nearly 14 million subscribers and counted over 4 billion views, higher than any other user on YouTube.

By December 29, 2014, PewDiePie’s YouTube channel was the most viewed channel on the website with 7 billion views.

Collaborations and Further Success on YouTube

PewDiePie’s YouTube channel continued to be a major success in the years that followed – and so was its creator. Kjellberg was part of an original YouTube Red series called Scare PewDiePie starting in February 2016 and he also partnered with Maker Studios to produce a sub-network called Revelmode.

Some other projects he created for his YouTube community, which contributed to his growing video views included:

• A book club-styled series
• A satirical series “Pew News”
• “YouTube Rewind 2018 but it’s actually good” in response to the YouTube Rewind 2018: Everyone Controls Rewind, originally uploaded by Spotlight

• A diss track called T-series Diss Track, in response to the channel being projected to surpass his channel

When T-Series surpassed PewDiePie’s channel in number of subscribers, Kjellberg shared his second diss video Congratulations, once again making fun of his competitor. In April 2019, T-Series went to court to remove his diss tracks, and the court order ruled in favor of T-Series.

In April 2019, Kjellberg shared that he’d signed an exclusive streaming deal with DLive, a streaming service.

Despite the many controversies he’s created over the years, PewDiePie remains a major name in the gaming industry. He’s continued to achieve high viewership on the PewDie channel, often streaming entertaining commentary on various video games.

By August 25, 2019, he was the first YouTube individual to surpass 100 million subscribers and won a Red Diamond Play Button for it. That same year, he was acknowledged as the most-viewed creator of 2019 with over 4 billion views in a single year.

Short Hiatus and Return to YouTube

Even though his fame was growing on the platform (and so was PewDiePie’s net worth), Kjellberg announced his hiatus from YouTube in 2020. He also deleted his Twitter account, sharing an I Hate Twitter video.

However, this break wasn’t long at all. It lasted a little over a month and soon after, Kjellberg returned to the scene, making jokes about the pandemic. He then signed an exclusive deal to stream on YouTube, this time competing with platforms like Twitch and Mixer, as well as a growing number of streamers. His DLive channel was deactivated soon after.

In January 2021, the YouTuber signed a distribution deal with Jellysmack who would be optimizing and distributing his content for Facebook Watch. At this point, his content was mainly streamed on Facebook, but he continued to share on YouTube as well.

When he and his wife moved to Japan, a lot of his new content followed the move, sharing vlogs about life in Japan.

In November 2021, he was surpassed by MrBeast as the most subscribed individual creator on YouTube.

In June 2022, Kjellberg announced a new hiatus from YouTube, saying he was going to focus on his imminent fatherhood. However, he would return to make new videos only two months later, so this hiatus didn’t last, either.

PewDiePie on Twitch

In April 2017, when his channel was the fastest-growing channel on YouTube, PewDiePeie decided to diversify his content creation and started uploading on Twitch. He created Netglow, a crowdsourced channel on the live streaming service, and on it, he started streaming a weekly live-stream show called Best Club. The show premiered on April 9 and amassed 60,000 viewers.

Even though his beginnings were modest but good, Kjellberg was inactive on Twitch for many years. He signed an exclusive deal with YouTube to stream in May 2020.

However, in March 2023, his Twitch account started streaming episodes of the Canadian sitcom Trailer Park Boys, which was part of the test by CoPilot Media, which was just about to roll out PewDiePie Infinity. PewDiePie Infinity would be an endless loop of the streamer’s videos.

His Twitch account is still active and has 1.8 million followers as of September 2024.

In March 2014, Kjellberg made between $140,000 and $1.4 million, most of it from YouTube ad revenue, according to Social Blade. This was most likely in the higher range since in 2013, he reportedly earned $4 million on the platform and from other sources, according to The Wall Street Journal. The streamer actually confirmed this, saying that the figures are close to what he earned on Reddit.

In 2015, a Swedish newspaper reported that Kjellberg’s PewDie Productions AB, his production company, earned $7.45 million that year. That same year, only a few months later, Forbes added him to their 2015 list of richest YouTubers with $12 million earned.

In 2016, Forbes once again reported on Kjellberg’s estimated net worth, estimating it as 20% higher compared to 2015. He earned $15 million in a single year, largely because of his YouTube Red series Scare PewDiePie, as well as his book This Book Loves You.

For the most part, Pewdiepie’s wealth comes from YouTube, but the famous streamer relies on external income streams and doesn’t find the ad revenue model of the platform to be secure or efficient. During his YouTube journey, he’s consistently created content about the unfair YouTube revenue system.

In 2017, his income dropped to $12 million. He was still one of the richest YouTubers, though. More specifically, he was that year’s sixth highest-paid YouTube content creator.

Here are his earnings in more recent years:

• 2018 earnings: $15.5 million
• 2019 earnings: $13 million to $17 million
• 2020 earnings: $21 million
• 2021 earnings: $29 million
• 2022 earnings: $35 million
• 2023 earnings: $42 million

These numbers include his YouTube ad revenue plus his earnings from other channels, as well as brand deals. As a famous content creator, PewDiePie has been earning a fortune from brand deals, merchandise sales, and more.

PerDiePie reportedly charges $450,000 for a single sponsored video.

Philanthropy

As a famous person in the entertainment industry (and a very wealthy young man), Kjellberg has been using his wealth for good – and quite often.

In 2012, Kjellberg ran for an online contest King of the Web, becoming the Gaming King of the Web. During the voting period, he donated all of his cash winnings to the World Wildlife Fund.

In addition to this, Kjellberg has done the following – and more:

• Raised money for the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
• Started the Water Campaign charity in celebration of reaching 10 million subscribers (and contributed a dollar to charities for every 500 views on the video announcing this campaign)
• Organized a second Charity: Water drive, raising $152,239
• Announced a charity drive for Save the Children in 2014 and raised over $630,000
• Raised money for the charity RED during the Cringemas livestream in 2016
• Started a GoFundMe fundraiser for Child Rights and You in 2018 and donated his proceeds to CRY
• Donated $50,000 to the Anti-Defamation League in 2019
• Raised over $116,000 for the Sentencing Project and small businesses affected by the Black Lives Matter protests
• By 2021, he raised over $1 million for charities including the Blue Ocean Foundation, Winston’s Wish, Red Nose Day, and Papyrus.

What Else Does PewDiePie Earn Money from?

As we’ve covered, PewDiePie has earned millions every year, but that doesn’t just stem from his videos on YouTube and Twitch. Over the years, he’s signed some highly profitable deals for brand endorsements, authored a best-selling book, etc. Let’s take a look at what else PewDiePie’s been doing over the years.

Sponsorship Deals

Over the years, PewDiePie has worked with many brands. He’s signed some highly profitable brand deals to promote various companies, and this has added quite a lot to his net worth. However, the details of what he earned from each deal remain largely undisclosed.

Starting from April 2014, Kjellberg and his girlfriend Marzia started a marketing campaign for the film As Above, So Below. He streamed videos and miniseries that feature him participating in the so-called Catacombs Challenge, where he searched for three keys to open a container that holds “the Philosopher’s Stone”.

Their sponsored content had over 20 million video views.

In 2015, Kjellberg partnered with Mountain Dew and launched a fan fiction contest which were animated into video formats and uploaded to PewDiePie’s channel.

In 2019, the streamer announced his partnership with G Fuel, the energy drink brand.

Media Appearances

For the most part, fans can see PewDiePie play video games and comment on different topics by visiting his YouTube or Twitch accounts. However, aside from his own channel, he has made many appearances in videos with other creators over the years.

For instance, in 2013, he made a cameo in an episode of Epic Rap Battles of History. That same year, he starred with Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla as a guest judge on Internet Icon’s second season.

Between 2013 and 2016, PewDiePie appeared in the annual year-end Rewind series on YouTube. He had another appearance on the same show in 2019.

In 2014, Kjellberg was selected to host an episode on a Swedish radio show Sommar i P1, available on Sveriges Radio. That same year, he guest-starred in two episodes of South Park’s 18th season in the season finale.

In 2015, the streamer became a voice actor in the Vimeo fantasy series titled Oscar’s Hotel for Fantastical Creatures. He also appeared as a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and on Conan.

Most recently, in 2019, he was a guest on the podcast Cold Ones.

Video Games

In September 2015, Kjellberg released PewDiePie: Legend of the Brofist, a video game played on iOS and Android. He developed the game in collaboration with Outerminds.

A year later, in September 2015, this partnership resulted in a second game called PewDiePie’s Tuber Simulator. The second release reached number one in the App Store within a few days of its release.

Other games developed using his name include:

• Animal Super Squad, developed by Armin Ibrisagic
• PewDiePie’s Pixelings
• Poopdie (rejected by the App Store, available on Android)

Authorship

In October 2015, PewDiePie published his first book, a parody of self-help books called This Book Loves You. The book is a mixture of visuals and anti-proverbs, and it soon reached the first spot on The New York Times Bestseller List in the Young Adult Paperback category.

This book reportedly generated over $4 million in revenue.

In 2017, PewDiePie published a graphic novel.

Merchandise Sales

In partnership with his wife Marzia, Kjellberg launched a unisex clothing brand called Tsuki. The two announced this business in a video on YouTube, but the earnings from it remain undisclosed.

PewDiePie’s merchandise store offers a variety of clothing and accessories at affordable prices. His hoodies, for instance, cost between $39 and $49.

The estimated value of the brand is half a million dollars.

Assets

PewDiePie owns $20 million worth of assets, including yachts, cars, real estate, and watches. His car collection includes:

• Porsche 911 worth $101,000
• Mini Convertible worth $31,900
• Ferrari 488 GTB worth $340,000
• Nissan Micra worth $12,600
• Volvo XC90 worth $86,000

He reportedly owns houses in Brighton, London, and Sweden. His LA property costs $4.9 million alone.

What Can We Learn from PewDiePie’s Story?

PewDiePie started by pursuing his passion for content creation and gaming. His success stems from his consistency in producing videos, even when his audience was small.

This shows the importance of staying committed to one’s passion, regardless of initial success or failure.

Over time, PewDiePie adapted his content to boost his net worth as well as his success. He moved from purely playing games to a mix of reaction videos, commentary, and even lifestyle content. This ability to evolve with his audience’s preferences highlights the importance of diversification and flexibility in business.

The streamer’s unfiltered, candid personality resonates with his audience and he’s managed to build a loyal fanbase by being authentic. However, this has also led him to many controversies and media criticism throughout his career. Even so, he continued to create content and grow his platform, which teaches us the importance of perseverance when navigating challenges.

PewDiePie’s success was possible not only because of YouTube but also because of his diversified approach to making money and fame.

Over the years, he has expanded beyond the platform, engaging with his audience on social media as well as exploring different business ventures such as merch and clothing. This teaches us the value of leveraging multiple platforms to diversify influence and income streams.