When most people think back on the child celebrities of their time, they may think of child movie actors, the well-trained stars of showbiz. For some, these were stars such as Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, or Macaulay Culkin of “Home Alone” fame. For others, they were Judy Garland or Shirley Temple.

For kids these days, however, some of the biggest stars are not actors at all but YouTube stars. Ryan, the 6-year-old “host” of Ryan ToysReview, a popular toy-review channel on YouTube, is also reportedly a multimillionaire. A family-run YouTube channel, Ryan ToysReview generated about $11 million in pretax income in 2017, according to Forbes’ annual list of the highest-earning YouTube celebrities.

The raw estimate of $11 million tied Ryan ToysReview with the YouTube comedy stalwart Smosh for eighth place on the Forbes list. Last year, The Verge profiled the channel and Ryan’s parents, who have shot and produced the account’s frequently (nearly daily) released videos since Ryan ToysReview started in March 2015.

The account began when Ryan, then simply a 4-year-old fan of toy-review videos, asked his parents why he couldn’t also review toys on YouTube. Ryan ToysReview started out slowly until a July 2015 video went viral. The video featured Ryan opening and reviewing a box containing more than 100 toys from Pixar’s “Cars” series. It has close to 800 million views.

The channel now tends to review new toys or kids’ food products, and the videos usually feature earnest and enthusiastic commentary from Ryan with off-camera guidance from his parents.

According to The Verge, the channel’s viewership, which boasts a current audience of 10 million subscribers, translates to about $1 million a month in advertising revenue alone.

Source: Washington Post