Social Media Millionaires

Tom Banner
Tom Banner
28 Sept 20214 min read
Updated 14 May 2026
Social Media Millionaires

Apps such as TikTok, Youtube, OnlyFans and Cameo have created a platform for users to earn obscene amounts of cash.

Each platform overlaps onto another. TikTok onto Cameo, OnlyFans onto Youtube, with Youtube vids titled ‘I made an OnlyFans account For a Week and Made $___’ reaching up to one million views. Apps and socials are a genius modern day money-making platform. Curious as to how people are making a living off of all this? Us too, so we did some research…

Youtube Camera Man

Youtube

And on the eighth day, God made Youtube. The OG of all social media platforms. It was founded in 2005 and bought a year later by Google itself for 1.65 billion in Google stock (but Google got that money back within ONE YEAR from ad revenue.) After Google, Youtube is the second most visited website on the internet. Safe to say, they’re doing pretty good for themselves.

Now you have a better idea of how Youtube came to be, you’ll understand why it’s a goldmine for content creators (if used right). Felix Kjellberg, otherwise known as Pewdiepie, is a great example of this. In 2016, Time magazine labelled him as one of the world’s 100 most influential people. He began YouTube in 2010, posting videos of him playing horror games. People watched primarily for his reaction to jump scares, his screams and his humour. As it stands, Pewdiepie has 110 million Youtube subscribers. He makes his money from his ridiculous amount of views, advertising and creator merch. According to the internet, he makes $12million a year. Although, he’s made many videos laughing at this, but suggesting it’s not too far off from what he earns.

To get paid on Youtube you need to reach a balance of $100 or more from views, meaning you need 20,000 views if you receive $5 per 1,000 views. Google support even have a ‘how to make money on YouTube’ section to encourage creators to get in the game.

OnlyFans

You think Pewdiepie’s $12million a year is impressive? Try Blac Chyna’s $15million a MONTH. Yes, you heard us right – PER. MONTH. We think we’re in the wrong business…

OnlyFans take 20% of all payments made, be it monthly or per individual video / picture. Some users don’t use OnlyFans for sex work, though. Some people just get paid for taking selfies. Although, it is the lesser-clothed people on OnlyFans that are really raking in the money.

Since the pandemic, OnlyFans has been booming. Users spent £1.7 billion in 2020 alone. OnlyFans had some rocky business a few months ago, first demanding that they were banning pornography on their platform. After realising how much money they’d lose from this, they decided to move on as though the suggestion never happened.

Cameo

This is sort of an OnlyFans for celebrities, but without the nudity. It’s primarily used by under-the-radar famous faces who have been raking in the cash. Such people include US The Office star Brian Baumgartner, who, being the number one earner on the site, has made more than $400,000 in total from Cameos. (We know right – what?)

What does he need to do to earn such big bucks, you ask? Personalise some shoutouts. Create a short video tailored to whatever fans ask and pay for. Other big names such as Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) makes Cameos. But his stuff is pretty expensive, if you ask us. At $599 for a shoutout, his stuff ain’t cheap. He’ll make other videos of him singing or playing guitar. In total, he’s cashed in $200,000 from Cameo, coming in at the 5th most successful person on the platform.

TikTok

TikTok. Our friend we know and love (if you’re a millennial). TikTok has 689 million active users across the globe. Safe to say, it’s a pretty popular app.

As most other sites, TikTok users can only earn money if they are 18 years or older. They need to meet a minimum of 10,000 followers and 100,000 video views in the last 30 days and once they meet this checklist, they can apply for TikTok’s Creator Fund through the app. TikTok influencers can earn anywhere from $500 to $20,000 per video from brand advertisement and follower engagement.

If you type in something akin to ‘TikTok + Money’ into Google, one of the first sites you’ll see is a ‘TikTok Money Calculator (influencer engagement & earning estimator)’ site. They say they are not ‘official TikTok tools’, but it’s still pretty crazy to think that a site like this has to exist in modern day. The potential of building a career on TikTok is so easily achievable.

There is such a high demand for content across big-name apps, and that’s why it’s such a great way to make money.

To keep up to date with all the goings-on at Limely, make sure to follow our Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.

Tom Banner
Written by

Tom Banner

Tom crafts pixel-perfect designs that users love. He brings a calm, considered approach to every project he touches.

View all posts

What our customers are saying

We're absolutely thrilled with the work Limely have done for us. Taking our website to the next level with Magento 2 was the best thing we ever did, we'll be continuing to work together for the foreseeable!

We are really pleased with our new website and the support and great service Limely have provided during the whole process. Not only are Limely excellent at what they do, but are a friendly, approachable team who put their clients' best interest at the forefront of their work.

The site itself looks great but the way that the whole team were prepared to go the extra mile, including helping me with the brilliantly-written content shows how much they care about their work. Thank-you to the whole team and I look forward to working with you again soon!

I was very pleased with the quality of the websites which Limely built for us. They took a complicated brief and created a bespoke solution which kept everything as simple as possible. The team are a pleasure to work with and I wouldn't hesitate in working with them again for future projects. An excellent web agency.

Our brief was a custom website, with lots of complicated functions along the way, and Limely have smashed it and built us an amazing website. Would 100% recommend to anyone looking to have a new website created, their knowledge, experience and professionalism is the best.

What can I say... the guys at Limely are a dream to work with! Not only have they made our website something to be incredibly proud of but we have made some fab friends in them! Thank you so much for everything!

Paul Hambidge

Paul Hambidge

Factory Direct Flooring

Ready to start your success journey?

Niko Moustoukas

Get in touch today to book a meeting

Get started