Donaldson’s elaborate stunts and big money giveaways have generated more than 10 billion views on the video-sharing platform, earning him some $54 million (€47.2m).

He has overtaken 10-year-old game and toy reviewer Ryan Kaji, who has topped the annual list for the last two years with his ‘Ryan’s World’ brand.

Together, the 10 best-paid YouTubers made a combined $300 million accorin to Forbes estimate.

Jake Paul, professional boxer and social media star is in second place, his first appearance in the top 10 since 2018, whilst his brother Logan also cracked the top 10 for the first time since 2017.

Minecraft player Nathan Graham, better known as Unspeakable, made the list for the first time in fifth place.

YouTube has enjoyed a boom period during the pandemic as more people have stayed at home across the globe, and the productions of TV series and movies have been hit with delays. YouTube says that, currently, one billion hours of video content is consumed on the platform every day.

The Top 10 YouTube earners of 2021 in reverse order: