On January 21, 2025, TikTok CEO Shou Chew faced U.S. pressure over national security concerns, with a 75-day ban suspension while Mr. Beast considers buying the platform to prevent its ban.
After signing the executive order to halt the TikTok ban on Monday, Trump told reporters that he believes the United States is entitled to 50% of TikTok and warned China that if they attempt to stop any transaction he makes, he would consider it an act of “hostility” and “put tariffs of 25%, 30%, 50%, even 100%.”
On January 20 2025, Trump signed an executive order suspending the TikTok ban for 75 days “to permit my Administration an opportunity to determine the appropriate course of action with respect to TikTok”—after previously suggesting ByteDance shift the platform to a joint venture at least 50% controlled by US interests.
Furthermore, Jimmy Donaldson, popularly known as Mr. Beast, announced that he will soon make a formal offer for TikTok after joining an American investment group led by tech entrepreneur Jesse Tinsley, who is leading an all-cash bid to purchase the popular app from ByteDance.
One burning question among fans is, is Mr. Beast the new CEO of TikTok? Considering the recent events surrounding the platform, it is still unlikely that Mr. Beast will become the new CEO of TikTok despite expressing interest in acquiring it.
Following the controversy of banning the platform, Mr. Beast took to X and tweeted “Okay fine, I’ll buy Tik Tok so it doesn’t get banned,” on January 14, 2025.
Okay fine, I’ll buy Tik Tok so it doesn’t get banned
— MrBeast (@MrBeast) January 14, 2025
The tweet currently has over 38.5 million views. In addition, he commented “Unironically I’ve had so many billionaires reach out to me since I tweeted this, let’s see if we can pull this off.”
Many fans have since then showed support for Mr. Beast’s bid for TikTok.
On his TikTok account, MrBeast said, “I just got out of a meeting with a bunch of billionaires. – TikTok we mean business, this is my lawyer right here, we have an offer ready for you, we want to buy the platform.”
@mrbeast TikTok check your inbox 👀 @TikTok ♬ original sound – MrBeast
Is Mr. Beast the CEO of TikTok? No, he is not; he is part of a consortium aiming to purchase the platform to ensure it remains operational in the U.S., which raises another question: Who is the new CEO of TikTok?
While Trump says he is open to Musk buying TikTok if the Tesla CEO wants to do so, that title still belongs to Shou Chew, under the ownership of Chinese company, ByteDance.
The app’s future hangs in the balance as it faces a potential ban unless it divests from its Chinese ownership.
Amid these developments, many are also curious about how much TikTok is worth. According to Forbes, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives estimated ByteDance would likely expect $40 billion to $50 billion for the platform’s U.S. operations.
However, Trump claims TikTok could be worth as much as a trillion dollars if “we would have a joint venture with the people from TikTok.”
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