YouTube rewards MrBeast with a custom award for hitting 500 million subscribers

In a new chapter of MrBeast breaking records, Jimmy Donaldson has become the first YouTuber to reach 500 million subscribers on the platform led by Neil Mohan. And to celebrate, YouTube’s CEO himself presented him with a personalized play button.

What it means to have 500 million subscribers on YouTube

Since almost the very beginning of YouTube’s history, the platform has rewarded the most-followed YouTubers with Youtube Play buttons designed to hang on their walls. In fact, the first time one of these was awarded—and the moment that officially kicked off the creator awards program—was in 2012, when it was presented to Shay Carl. The creator behind the YouTube channel Shaytards was the first to reach the milestone of 100,000 subscribers, which is the first record you need to break in order to receive YouTube’s Silver Play Button.

Currently, YouTube has 4 official awards (although now it seems there are 5) that come with a physical prize:

• Silver: Awarded upon reaching 100,000 subscribers. It is made from a nickel and cupronickel alloy.
• Gold: Presented at 1 million subscribers. It consists of a metal plaque with gold plating.
• Diamond: Awarded at 10 million subscribers. It features the design of a large play button faceted like a diamond crystal.
• Red Diamond: Reserved for channels that surpass 100 million subscribers. It has a dark finish with a red crystal at the center. The first individual creator to receive this award was PewDiePie in 2019.

The difference with the award MrBeast received is that it is completely customized. It still follows the style of YouTube’s other plaques, using its logo, but in this case it is surrounded by a Bengal tiger, a reference to the icon associated with the American YouTuber. In addition, the “play” icon is blue and the animal’s eyes are purple, matching MrBeast’s brand color palette.

MrBeast has received a personalized play button from YouTube CEO Neal Mohan after becoming the first creator to reach 500 million subscribers. pic.twitter.com/22CIx9Rsm7

— Terreno Viral (@terrenoviral) June 13, 2026

In any case, this is not the first time MrBeast has received a special distinction for his work on the platform. As we can see in this image he posted on his social media, he has also received personalized awards for 200, 300, and 400 million subscribers.

It is worth remembering that just one year ago, MrBeast had 400 million subscribers. If this means YouTube will have to keep coming up with something increasingly special to give him each year as his subscriber count keeps growing, then all we can do is hope they do not end up giving him a tiger or something like that. Something worthy of the Capitol citizens in The Hunger Games.

What MrBeast’s trajectory has looked like in recent years

As absurd as it may seem, this content creator has spent years setting the pace for what works on the platform and what does not.

Call it luck, call it “being YouTube’s golden boy,” or call it strategy. The reality is that if every YouTube thumbnail from every influencer you know has spent the last couple of years imitating his style, there is a reason for that. And if, when he revealed the keys that helped him achieve success, everyone started copying them, there is a reason for that too. That happened in 2024, and it seems only now that “the penny has dropped” and people are learning to pay attention to retention and average view percentage.

MrBeast has already managed to bring together the world’s biggest content creators, he has his own show on Prime, he served as the creative director for a Salesforce Super Bowl ad, and he has built his own production studios in the city where he was born—and where he still lives.

However, he has also made mistakes. The most recent came during his latest competition with YouTubers, which included 4 Spanish participants and whose live-streamed final had plenty of shortcomings. Even MrBeast livestreams can be a disaster if they are not entertaining enough. And sadly, that is the reality. We are so used to consuming content constantly that if it does not hook you, you do not stick around to watch it.

We will have to see how his persona evolves over the next few years, but it will be very difficult for him to stop being the most-subscribed YouTuber in the world. At least for a while.