MrBeast, the popular YouTuber, is reportedly part of a consortium attempting to acquire TikTok for over $20 billion. Bloomberg reported that this group, including MrBeast, Jesse Tinsley (founder of Employer.com), Roblox co-founder and CEO David Baszucki, and Nathan McCauley (head of Anchorage Digital), believes a $25 billion bid is necessary.
While TikTok's owner, ByteDance, has declared its U.S. operations are not for sale, and the Tinsley-led group hasn't received a direct response, MrBeast has indicated his involvement. He tweeted on January 22nd, expressing excitement about the possibility and suggesting he might align with the leading bidder.
President Trump previously mentioned Microsoft's involvement in potential TikTok acquisition talks, anticipating a bidding war. However, Microsoft hasn't confirmed this.
TikTok faced a temporary shutdown on January 19th, impacting its 170 million U.S. users. This followed a Supreme Court rejection of TikTok's First Amendment challenge to a law mandating either a sale or a ban due to national security concerns. The Supreme Court cited TikTok's scale, susceptibility to foreign control, and the vast amount of sensitive data collected as justification. Service was restored after assurances from President Trump.
TikTok stated its temporary shutdown represented a strong stand for the First Amendment, and it committed to working with President Trump on a long-term solution. Following his inauguration, President Trump issued an executive order delaying enforcement of the law by 75 days and has expressed openness to various potential buyers, including Elon Musk.
