‘Tis the season of giving—the time to focus on those we love and those less fortunate than us. A time to do things “not for ourselves, but for others,” as Sir Thomas Carlyle once wrote.

Which brings me to Wit & Wisdom’s 2023 Altruist of the Year: Jimmy Donaldson.

Jimmy is a big deal. But, you’ve never heard of him, right? I didn’t think so.

See, Jimmy goes by the pseudonym of MrBeast, and he can cure blindness. Wait, what? Okay, hold that question for 90 seconds, and I’ll try to explain.

MrBeast is what’s known on the interwebs as a stunt philanthropist. Stunt philanthropy happens when people do crazy stunts to raise awareness or money for an important cause.

Why should you know about Jimmy? Because around 1% of the world’s population watches every stunt he performs on YouTube. If you’re not a math person, around 70 million people—or the entire population of Great Britain—watch every stunt.

In 2017, 18-year-old MrBeast performed his first stunt. He took to YouTube in an effort to count to 100,000 on video, without stopping. All under the guise of getting likes and followers. Crazy, huh?

It took him 40 hours to count to 100,000. It’s excruciating to watch. The video has been seen 29M times. Fast forward to today, and MrBeast is the most famous YouTuber alive with over 100M followers.

No way in hell I’m getting in that bathtub

So, what other crazy stunts has MrBeast pulled? Well, they include being buried in a bathtub full of snakes, spending 50 hours in solitary confinement, eating a $70,000 pizza, and getting buried alive. He’s the modern-day version of Evel Knievel.

If all this seems super silly to you, hold on to your hat. These videos and stunts have raised over $30M for various charities.

But, it wasn’t all for altruism. In 2021 Beast made $54M from his silly YouTube videos. Today, the 25-year-old Beast has a net worth of over $100M. Doesn’t seem so silly now, does it?

But, MrBeast’s most famous philanthropic stunt to date involves curing blindness for over 1,000 people worldwide. That’s right…curing blindness.

See, around 200 million blind people could be cured by a ten-minute, outpatient surgery.

In early 2023, MrBeast partnered with Dr. Ira Levenson to identify 1,000 people who were blind but could not afford the life-changing surgery. The team started by contacting medical clinics and homeless shelters. On the first day, Levenson performed 40 surgeries in an eleven-hour marathon. All expenses were paid by MrBeast.

According to an interview for CNN, the patients were in “disbelief that somebody would actually seek them out to rescue them from blindness, and then have the kindness and generosity of spirit to offer the surgery.” But, that was just the beginning. Through a partnership with SEE International, the duo of Beast and Levenson, MD went on to perform another 960 procedures around the world in places like Jamaica, Honduras, Namibia, Mexico, Indonesia, Brazil, Vietnam, and Kenya. All of the procedures were completely free to the patients. On top of that, MrBeast surprised several of the patients by giving them a briefcase with $10,000 inside, just for fun.

MrBeast presenting a briefcase with $10,000 cash

The video compilation of people seeing clearly for the first time in years might be the best thing you’ll ever watch on the internet.

An unknown woman cries after seeing her son for the first time in years.

Now that’s a neat, feel-good story but it’s not the point. So, stick with me. This story is about to get really, really weird.

Once the YouTube video was released, the internet went wild. But, not in the way you’re thinking. Instead of people praising MrBeast, the interwebs blew up with anger and outrage. Huh?

Many criticized Beast for taking advantage of other people’s misfortune for his own personal gain. Others opined that Beast had a God-complex.

Steven Aquino, an idiot who wrote an article published by TechCrunch, stated, “The truth is straightforward: The video was more ableist than altruistic.” So, what is Ableism, you ask? Let me explain.

Ableism is a form of prejudice or discrimination against a group of people who are alternatively abled or have a disability. In other words, by helping blind people recover their vision, Beast was somehow discriminating against blind people. Huh?

It makes you wanna ask the question, what the hell is wrong with some people?

But, it’s not limited to the blind. For example, the Ableism crowd is vehemently opposed to Cochlear implants. These life-changing devices allow deaf people to hear again, yet, the Ableism crowd thinks that is disrespectful to the hearing-impaired community.

“Deaf people like me deserve better than MrBeast’s latest piece of ‘inspiration porn’”
Liam O’dell

Even the National Institute for Health is getting in on the action. The NIH recently changed its mission statement to remove the words, to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness and disability.” Apparently, the mission of reducing illness and disability is somehow discriminating against people with disabilities.

So, here’s an alternative point of view. First, for the good of all mankind, just shut the hell up. Second, how about we all agree to celebrate people who are out in the world doing good things for other people—and celebrate people with disabilities? We can do both. Especially when those people doing good are using their own money to change people’s lives. We should be collectively encouraging altruism, encouraging people to do things “not for ourselves, but for others.” Especially at a time when everyone seems so self-absorbed.

A few weeks ago, MrBeast managed to dig 100 wells in Africa, providing clean water for 500,000 people. Should we anticipate a backlash against MrBeast for not celebrating people who are thirsty?

Lastly, if at some point I lose my sight or my access to clean drinking water, I’ll be praying that somebody out there cares enough to help me.

As we go into the new year, let’s celebrate the altruists among us, not criticize them. And, may we all seek to be more like MrBeast in finding ways to do things “not for ourselves, but for others.”

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© Tom Greene 2023. All Rights Reserved.