MrBeast drops one-word response to claims that Beast Games winner would get half the money following tax deductions

YouTube star Jimmy "MrBeast" had a rather bemused response to reports of the Beast Games winner getting only half of the prize money. For context, the Beast Games wrapped up on February 13, with Jeffrey Randall Allen (Player 831) winning the show and a total of $10 million (the prize money was doubled from $5 million to $10 million in the final episode).

However, a report by watcher.guru states that the IRS and California’s Franchise Tax Board might wipe half of it. After tax, Allen is expected to pocket around $5 million. Here's a breakdown of the deductions (via watcher.guru):

Gross Prize Winnings: $10,000,000
Federal Income Tax (37% top rate): ≈ $3,700,000 owed
California State Tax (13.3% top rate): ≈ $1,330,000 owed
Total Tax Obligation: ≈ $4,970,000 (50.3% of the prize)
Net "Take-Home" after Taxes: ≈ $5,030,000

The report also added that the prize-winning from the show will be treated similarly to salaried income:

"Winning $10 million in a game show is treated just like earning $10 million in salary or business income in the eyes of U.S. tax law."

MrBeast however found it amusing that some posts are stating that Allen will "only" receive $5 million, seemingly overlooking the massive amount (despite the taxation). Jimmy reacted:

"Only."

MrBeast reacts to post about tax deduction of Beast Games winning prize (Image via X/@MrBeast)

Who are the top earners from MrBeast's Beast Games Season 1?

MrBeast's Beast Games has been a huge success among fans. It was promoted as the first game show featuring a $10 million prize pool. In fact, throughout the show, Jimmy gave away even more than that amount, including Lamborghinis, Teslas, and additional cash rewards.

The winner, Jeffrey Randall Allen (Player 831), naturally took home the highest amount. Here is a list of the top five highest earners from the show:

Player 831, Jeff Allen - $ 10,004,242
Player 952, Mia Speight - $1.8 million (in the form of a private island)
Player 974, Gage Gallagher - $1 million
Player 566, JC Gallego Iori - $650,000
Player 457, Esteban Zepeda - $450,000

Jimmy also shared a breakdown of the massive amounts he handed out throughout the show. While the final winner took home $10 million, Jimmy ultimately gave away over $25 million in cash prizes:

Jeffrey Randall Allen has yet to respond to his victory. However, earlier, he mentioned that if he won, he would use the money to raise awareness for his son's Creatine Transporter Deficiency (CTD).

About the author

Shreyan is an esports and gaming journalist at Sportskeeda, focusing on streamer content. He holds a Master's degree in English Literature, and journalism was the most logical next step for him. Although titles like FIFA 08 and GTA San Andreas acted as the catalyst for his love of video games, the exponential growth of the streaming community also propelled his interest in the genre. He also has a prior work experience of 2 years.

Shreyan considers factual and accurate content to be the most important as a creator and a reader. He ensures this by double checking every piece of information in his articles and sourcing it from streamers directly rather than depend on third parties. His works have caught the attention of the heavyweights, with the PR team of Sidemen (a YouTube group he’s been following since his teenage days) and Chess.com reaching out to him for sending exclusive press releases.

Shreyan would love to drop into the virtual world of FIFA/EA FC and explore it further but, he would recommend playing Red Dead Redemption 2 to gaming skeptics for its top-tier gameplay, story and characters. During his downtime, he enjoys balancing his interests in reading, watching films and sports, and of course, playing video games.

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Edited by Ripunjay Gaba