Recently, the American business magazine Forbes revealed its annual list of the 50 top content creators in 2024. Atop the coveted list was YouTube megastar MrBeast, with other prominent names like Khaby Lame, Ryan Kaji, Addison Rae, and Zach King joining him.
However, it was the presence of quite a few beloved live streamers from services like Twitch and Kick that attracted lots of attention in the community. The likes of Typical Gamer, Markiplier, Jacksepticeye, Kai Cenat, Nickmercs, and xQc all found spots in this top 50 leaderboard.
Star Canadian YouTuber Typical Gamer was the highest-ranked name at number 15, with Forbes reporting his earnings this year to be a cool $17.9M. He is also the Founder and CEO of JOGO Studios, a development team that aims to create high-quality Fortnite experiences and had an initial investment of $2 million to work with.
There's also the 24th-ranked Kai Cenat, the uber-popular Twitch sensation leading the platform's future into unchartered territory. Having exploded in 2023 thanks to a successful subathon across February and March, the American has become unstoppable.
Kai Cenat's popularity today is such that his broadcasts can change the viewership dynamics of games and other events. He is also now one of the most watched and popular streamers across platforms globally, helping him attract start to the caliber of Kevin Hart and Nicki Minaj to his live streams.
There's another Canadian, xQc, in the 28th spot, with his fandom only increasing after his decision to move to Kick (and later multistream) with Twitch. The former Overwatch pro remains one of the most watched faces in the content creation industry, with this fame especially helping the Stake-backed platform continue its steady rise.
Call of Duty content creation star NICKMERCS is one of the oldest influencers in the North American live broadcasting scene. Ranked at number 24, he is another to have gone the multistreaming route, with his Kick deal being one of the biggest in the fledgling company's early run.
Markiplier and Jacksepticeye, renowned for their friendship on and off the air, took the 16th and 23rd positions on the Forbes leaderboard. The duo owns a clothing brand, Cloak, with their combined might on live-streaming platforms giving them around 70 million followers/subscribers.
Readers must note that Forbes used a certain methodology to come up with a quantitative top 50 creators list for 2024. This included gross earnings between June 2023 and June 2024, follower counts across social platforms, engagement rates (likes, comments, and shares divided by total followers), and means of making money (whether it is traditional advertising or folks building their own companies, brands, and services).
