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Ryan Kaji was eight when Forbes named him YouTube’s highest-earning personality in 2019. The figure behind that headline was an estimated $26 million earned over the year ending June 1, 2019—not a current salary, an audited total, or proof that he is still YouTube’s top earner. His story is also about how a children’s video channel grew into a business spanning toys, licensing and entertainment.
What the 2019 “top earner” headline meant
Forbes’ 2019 ranking put Ryan Kaji, then known to viewers through Ryan ToysReview, at the top of its list of high-earning YouTube personalities. He was eight. The Guardian reported the $26 million figure, and ITV specified that Forbes estimated earnings from June 1, 2018, to June 1, 2019. Forbes’ estimate was pre-tax and before agent, manager and lawyer fees; it was not an audited statement of Ryan’s personal take-home income. The Guardian’s 2019 report and ITV’s account describe the ranking and estimate.
That date and category matter. Calling an eight-year-old the top YouTube earner is accurate as a description of the 2019 list, not as a present-day ranking. Forbes Australia’s 2025 Top Creators list placed Kaji at No. 21 overall and estimated $35 million, alongside 39.4 million total followers. That ranking covers creators broadly, not YouTube earners alone, so it cannot be used as a direct update to the 2019 YouTube-specific claim. Forbes Australia’s 2025 list gives the newer figure and its broader scope.
How a toy-video channel became a business
From play videos to a recognizable brand
According to TIME’s 2021 profile, Ryan began making videos in 2015, at about three and a half, after asking his mother if he could be on YouTube like other children. Early videos featured toy unboxing and play, including a video with Disney Cars toys in a giant egg. The channel was called Ryan ToysReview before becoming Ryan’s World. As production expanded, the family developed characters and pursued licensing. TIME’s profile traces that early format and expansion.
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Revenue beyond video views
Advertising on videos helped make the channel visible, but the business grew beyond ad revenue. TIME described licensed products and a broader entertainment operation; Forbes’ 2025 profile continued to identify toys and merchandise as sources of income and noted the brand’s expansion into a feature-length movie. The official Ryan’s World site now presents a wider play and entertainment brand, and describes Ryan as a teenager and creative director—not as the eight-year-old of the headline.
The distinction between sales and earnings is important when evaluating the scale of a creator business. TIME reported that Ryan-themed products generated about $250 million in retail sales in 2020, attributing that figure to Pocketwatch. Retail sales are what products sold for across the market; they are not the same as Ryan’s personal income, the family’s profit, or the amount paid to the brand. The $26 million Forbes estimate and the retail-sales figure measure different things.
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Why child-directed toy content raises advertising questions
A toy video can look like ordinary play to a young viewer even when commercial relationships are involved. TIME reported that Truth in Advertising filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission alleging that sponsored content on Ryan’s ToysReview was not sufficiently distinguished from other material. Bonnie Patten, the organization’s executive director, told TIME: “Sometimes, they weren’t adequately disclosing such that an adult would know, and other times, it’s just the fact that this vulnerable population of toddlers cannot differentiate between organic content and ads,” The quotation records the organization’s concern; it is not a regulator’s finding that the family violated the law.
That complaint should not be conflated with a separate 2019 case involving YouTube and Google. TIME reported that the companies paid $170 million to settle FTC and New York State allegations about collecting minors’ data and violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The settlement concerned YouTube and Google; it does not establish the allegations in the complaint about Ryan’s channel.
The audience scale helps explain why disclosure matters. TIME reported results from a University of Colorado, Boulder survey in which 78% of parents surveyed said their children regularly watched unboxing videos, while nearly 17% estimated their children watched between three and nine hours per week. The figures describe surveyed parents and children generally, not Ryan’s specific audience. TIME also quoted researcher Harsha Gangadharbatla on an association between time spent watching unboxing videos and children asking for products or throwing tantrums when parents did not buy them. An association does not show that watching these videos caused those behaviors.
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What changed—and what the ranking does not show
The striking contrast in the headline is between Ryan’s age and the scale of the business around his videos. His early popularity helped create a brand with merchandise and entertainment beyond the channel itself; that broader operation is why video ad revenue alone does not explain the business model. Shion Kaji, Ryan’s father, told TIME that “the No. 1 thing for our channel is that they still want Ryan playing with toys,” describing the family’s stated emphasis on keeping play central.
The available rankings establish a historical milestone and a later creator-economy estimate, not Ryan’s position among YouTube earners today. Forbes’ 2025 figure belongs to a list of creators across platforms, while the official brand site’s present-day description identifies Ryan as a teenager and creative director. Neither supports describing him now as an eight-year-old or as YouTube’s current top earner.
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