PewDiePie 2021: Net worth, career, and PewDiePie vs T-Series

Felix "PewDiePie" Kjellberg is one of the most well-known YouTube personalities globally, with over 100 million subscribers on the online video-sharing platform.

In his early years as a YouTube creator, the Swede got his start doing playthrough videos called Let's Play, most notably of horror games such as Amnesia: The Dark Descent and its subsequent mods. He also featured gameplay commentaries of mainstream titles like Call of Duty and Minecraft.

Since then, the YouTube sensation has expanded to more satirical commentary, hosting formatted shows like 'Meme Review' and 'Pew News'. His style of content has diversified over the years to include vlogs, comedy shorts, and music videos.

PewDiePie on YouTube

Born on October 24, 1989, Felix Kjellberg quickly developed a passion for games as a child. He pursued a degree in industrial economics and technology management but dropped out in 2011 because he lacked interest in his major.

While at school, Kjellberg created a YouTube channel in 2010 and named it PewDiePie. After dropping out, he focused on pursuing a career in YouTube content creation. Apart from his trademark Let's Play gameplay walkthrough videos, he expanded into content beyond video games, including his weekly vlog series called 'Fridays with PewDiePie'.

PewDiePie reached his first million subscribers in July 2012 and became the most subscribed YouTuber in August 2013, edging out Smosh Brothers for the title. He went on to acquire 19 million YouTube subscribers by the end of that year.

Growth of PewDiePie

The incredible growth of Kjellberg's channel continued in the coming years, with it amassing over 7 billion views by the end of December 2014 to become the most-viewed channel on Google's platform. The following year in September, his YouTube account became the first to surpass 10 billion views.

It was around 2015 when PewDiePie's video content experienced a change in style. While he continued playing video games, he started experimenting by doing viral challenges, making fun of other YouTubers, and reviewing meme submissions from his fans.

In December 2016, the Swede hit another milestone by becoming the first YouTuber to reach 50 million subscribers and received a Custom Play Button from YouTube as a reward. The following year he ended up amidst controversy surrounding some of his content. The media criticized some of his videos for containing "anti-Semitic jokes, and Kjellberg was also seen dropping the "n-word" while live-streaming PUBG.

Around 2018, PewDiePie began posting YouTube videos featuring one of three series formats every week. The three video series included You Laugh You Lose, which featured the Swede watching hilarious clips and trying not to laugh; Last Week I Asked You (LWIAY), where he challenges his audience to create content and reviews the outcome; and Meme Review, in which he analyzed popular internet memes.

PewDiePie vs T-Series

The Swedish YouTuber was undeniably the king of YouTube for years as he maintained his substantial lead with the most subscribers on YouTube. However, an Indian record label called T-Series began threatening that commanding lead. As a result, a rivalry was quickly born between the two.

In October 2018, PewDiePie uploaded a diss track against the Indian record label, responding to their YouTube channel being projected to overtake him in terms of subscribers. However, the Swede could avert the corporate company's gaining ground, thanks to social media campaigns called "Subscribe to PewDiePie" by his loyal fans.

T-Series eventually overtook PewDiePie's lead in March 2019, and Kjellberg uploaded another diss track, ironically congratulating the company for becoming the most-subscribed channel on YouTube. Finally, in May, the Indian record label's channel became the first to hit the 100 million subscribers mark on the platform.

PewDiePie's Minecraft series and Exclusive Deal with YouTube

In April 2019, Kjellberg announced that he would live-stream exclusively on the live-streaming service DLive as part of a deal with the company. In June, he launched a YouTube series Minecraft Epic, also known as Minecraft The Series or Gaming Week. During this, he would center his content around uploading Let's Play videos about Minecraft every day, for the first time in many years.

In the following months, PewDiePie largely focused his videos around Minecraft, and the content featured in Meme Review and LWIAY also becoming centered on the sandbox video game. He intended to enjoy playing the game, which he had rarely played in years. His channel subsequently received a large increase in views.

Finally, in August 2019, PewDiePie became the first individual YouTube content creator to achieve the 100 million subscriber milestone. He received a Red Diamond Play Button as an award. It was during this same month when PewDiePie married Marzia, his girlfriend of nearly eight years.

In May 2020, PewDiePie signed an exclusive deal to stream on YouTube, as Google's platform was enrolling high-profile streamers competing against Amazon's Twitch and Microsoft's Mixer. In the following months, fans saw him playing games like The Last of Us Part 2, Ghost of Tsushima, etc. He also collaborated with Dr Disrespect, going head-to-head against him in Fall Guys. He has also been playing the recent phenomenon Among Us with his YouTuber friends.

PewDiePie's net worth in 2021

According to InfluencerMarketingHub, PewDiePie's estimated net worth as of 2020 is between $30-$50 million. By 2014, he had made an estimated $7.4 million, $3 million more than his 2013 earnings as estimated by Wall Street Journal.

The Swede's income rose each year from 2010 until 2016. By this time, Forbes estimated he was the highest-earning YouTuber, taking in $15 million that year. Meanwhile, in 2018, his earnings were $15.5 million, according to Forbes' estimations. While PewDiePie is the only one who actually knows his exact net worth, he is undoubtedly one of YouTube's wealthiest content creators.

How to contact PewDiePie in 2021

PewDiePie is available to contact through the following platforms:

Business queries: kat@re6l.com

Fan submissions on his sub-Reddit: r/PewDiePie Submissions

Twitter: @pewdiepie

Instagram: @pewdiepie

PewDiePie details