Jimmy Donaldson – aka Mrbeast – was cheerful as he told his tens of millions of Tiktok followers about his offer to buy the platform.
“I could be your new CEO! I'm super excited!” Donaldson said from a private jet. He then proceeded to promise $10,000 to five random new followers.
The internet creator's post has been viewed more than 73 million times since Monday. Donaldson said he couldn't share details about his bid, but promised, “Just know it's going to be crazy.”
Donaldson is one of a number of suitors who have expressed interest in buying Tiktok, the wildly popular social media platform that has become the subject of fast-moving political drama in the United States.
Last year, then-President Joe Biden signed a law that gave the China-based parent company until Jan. 19 to sell the platform or face a ban in the United States.
The legislation addressed concerns about TikTok's ties to the Chinese government and worries that the app is a national security risk.
President Donald Trump paid for the possibility of a joint venture.
“I would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position,” he said in a social truth post on Sunday. “By doing this, we are saving Tiktok, keeping it in good hands and letting it (stand).”
Trump has since signed an executive order allowing the app to continue operating for another 75 days.
Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that China is considering selling Tiktok Elon Muskthe world's richest man and a close ally of President Trump, who now owns the social media platform X.
Musk himself wrote To X this week that while he has long been against banning Tiktok, “the current situation where Tiktok is allowed to operate in America but X is not allowed to operate in China is unbalanced. Something has to change.”
At a news conference on Tuesday, Trump was asked by a reporter if he would be open to Musk buying the platform.
“I would be if he wanted to buy it, yes,” the president replied.
“I'd like Larry to buy it, too,” Trump added, referring to the Oracle chairman Larry Ellisona longtime Trump supporter who was on stage with him for a separate announcement.
Oracle is one of the main server providers of Tiktok, Management Many of the data centers where billions of videos are stored on the platform.
Last year, Oracle warned that banning Tiktok could hurt its business. The cloud computing giant was also a leading contender to buy the social media platform in 2020 when Trump was trying to ban it.
Billionaire investor Frank McCourt has also expressed interest in Tiktok and has been doing media interviews about the prospect for several months.
McCourt said he wants Tiktok to work with technology overseen by the Project Liberty Institute, which he founded. He is critical of the data collection practices of social media companies.
Project Liberty bids for Tiktok without its proprietary algorithm. McCourt said CNBC this week that Project Liberty “doesn't care about the algorithm or the Chinese technology,” even as he acknowledged that the platform is “worth less” without it.
Ultimately, President Trump will likely have a major role in choosing a US buyer for Tiktok.
“It will be a winner who is likely to be politically sympathetic to President Donald Trump,” said Anupam Chander, a law professor at Georgetown University.
Prof. Chander said the 50-50 joint ownership model does not comply with the law's requirements, which could prompt Trump to push Congress to revise the law.
For now, the future of the platform remains in Limbo.
Prof. Chander said the Biden administration made an “unintended mistake” by allowing the law to give the president out of control over who owns Tiktok.
“It was a terrible idea to put the future of a massive information platform into this political maelstrom,” said Prof. Chander.