With so many stars emerging from the YouTube scene these days, it's not really surprising that so many are making bank. What is surprising is that the highest-earning YouTuber for the past few years isn't someone who sings, dances, or does makeup.

Rather, the person whose YouTube encourages the most people to spend the most money and watch their videos for literally hours is just a little kid.

Ryan Kaji Of 'Ryan's World' Earns The Most YouTube Cash

YouTube celebs like Addison Rae and Jeffree Star have their own lucrative things going for them. Addison gets movie deals, Jeffree gets makeup deals, and countless other YouTubers have been "discovered," built businesses, and more from their streaming success.

The thing about Ryan's World is that the then-preschooler started by reviewing toys and now has an impressive multi-million-dollar net worth. Not only that, but because of his parents' apparently effective management of their near-tween son's brand, they've inked countless other deals that extend the earnings beyond YouTube ads.

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Ryan Kaji wound up with not only a lucrative YouTube channel, but also a TV series, a toy company, an app, and there's apparently a Roblox game out there with Ryan's likeness in it, too.

So what does it all add up to?

Ryan's World Remains The Highest-Earning YouTube Channel This Year

Ryan Kaji first earned the title of "highest-earning YouTube channel" in 2018. That was after millions of dollars in earnings in previous years, too. In 2019, the Kaji family (because Ryan does the reviews, but his parents are managing the unseen aspects of the channel) maintained their title.

In 2020, the family's third year on top of YouTube's chart wasn't really a surprise. And they're on track for 2021, too.

For the year 2020, Forbes reported that the YouTube channel Ryan's World earned $30 million. At the same time, Ryan himself is reportedly worth somewhere around $32 million. That's not the whole story, though.

The family has created its own media empire, says IB Times, and the worth of the whole shebang is somewhere around $500 million. The funny part is that all of those figures don't really factor into Ryan's reported earnings from YouTube; those are different ventures and the millions they earn are counted separately.

Of course, like other YouTubers who have attracted controversy, some critics say that Ryan's parents aren't exactly the best role models for their millionaire son. Many point to Ryan's mom's past run-ins with the law, plus the fact that the family is literally living off of their child.

Naysayers aside, the family's success, grown from YouTube only a few years ago, is impressive.

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