MrBeast is definitely going the extra mile in his attempt to buy TikTok.
There's an ongoing rush among billionaires to buy TikTok, and suddenly, MrBeast has emerged as a serious candidate.
There's a lot going on with TikTok these past weeks, and now that Donald Trump officially became the president of the U.S., he has given TikTok 75 days to comply with a law that requires a sale or ban of the platform in the states.
Here's how MrBeast has become one of the favorites to buy TikTok, the problems that TikTok is facing in the U.S., a chronological timeline of what's going on with TikTok, and more.
Is MrBeast buying TikTok?
When TikTok was facing the threat of being banned in the U.S. before Donald Trump took over, MrBeast said on Jan. 13 on X that he'd buy TikTok to prevent its ban.
What may have started as a simple joke became serious pretty fast as MrBeast later acknowledged that "many billionaires" reached out to him, possibly to help out with the purchase of TikTok.
Days passed, and the latest update on this situation is that MrBeast took a private jet on Jan. 20 to make a bid for TikTok.
"TikTok, I’m on a private jet right now about to put in my official offer for this platform," he said in a TikTok video. I might become you guys’ new CEO. I’m super excited. I wish I could say more about the offer I’m putting in, but I can’t for now. Just know that it’s gonna be crazy."
As we said, MrBeast isn't the only one after TikTok. The YouTuber is facing the competition of Shark Tank regular Kevin O' Leary among other billionaires.
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Why does TikTok have to be sold to remain operating in the U.S.?
TikTok went dark for hours in the U.S. on Jan.19. The U.S. government banned TikTok over concerns about its links to China's government as TikTok is owned by ByteDance. ByteDance is the app's China-based parent company.
The Joe Biden administration went as far as to argue that China could use TikTok as a tool to spy on American citizens and influence politics.
However, TikTok went live again as Donald Trump signed an executive order that granted a 75-day extension for TikTok to find a buyer or shut down.
Trump wasn't too fond of TikTok during his first presidency between 2017 and 2021 and even backed its ban, but he changed his mind after using the app himself. On top of that, Trump said that "every rich person" called him about TikTok.
The chronology of the TikTok controversy in the U.S.
Just in case you missed something over the past weeks, here's the chronological timeline of what's going on with TikTok in the U.S.:
- April 2024: U.S. lawmakers vote to ban TikTok. ByteDance had to sell TikTok before Jan. 19 to avoid the ban.
- January 2025: Thousands of U.S. citizens make a huge exodus to Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote, as the TikTok ban nears. Red Note is immensely popular in China.
- January 9, 2025: Kevin O' Leary and former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt make an official offer to buy TikTok.
- January 13, 2025: MrBeast says he will buy TikTok.
- January 14, 2025: MrBeast alludes many billionaires are supporting him.
- January 17, 2025: The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the law that would ban TikTok, rejecting ByteDance's argument that the law violated the First Amendment right of TikTok and its users.
- January 19, 2025: TikTok goes offline in the U.S. in the final hours of Joe Biden's administration, taking down several games such as Marvel Snap and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, which is also owned by ByteDance.
- January 19, 2025: Donald Trump signs the executive order that granted TikTok a 75-day extension to find a buyer, thus unbanning the platform for now.
- January 20, 2025: MrBeast takes a private jet to make an offer to buy TikTok.
This matter is far from being over as there's an ongoing battle among millionaires to purchase TikTok. Therefore, stay tuned to esports.gg for more new and updates.
