Content creator MoistCr1TiKaL, also known as penguinz0, has revealed how much money he’s made during his years on YouTube and Twitch. Many people know that making video or livestream content can be a very lucrative job for a small percentage of creators, but the numbers are usually speculative. And while some personalities have hinted at the size of their bank accounts, such as Twitch and Kick streamer Amouranth, few have ever been fully transparent.
MoistCr1TiKaL, born Charles Christopher White Jr., is one of the most popular and long-running figures on YouTube and Twitch. On October 9, he announced that he had turned off nearly all monetization for his channels on both platforms, including super chats and donations. Though he couldn’t stop people from giving bits on Twitch, he set the minimum amount so high that it should deter most would-be donators. This decision was generally met with acceptance or praise, but a small minority, including other high-earning content creators, criticized the move.
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Penguinz0 Shares His Twitch and YouTube Income
Known for being blunt and honest, MoistCr1TiKaL decided to defend his demonetization decision by revealing just how much money he’s earned being a content creator over the last two decades. In a YouTube video, he shared that, since 2017, when he first began seriously livestreaming on Twitch, he has made over $5.5 million from ads and subscriptions. On YouTube, the number is considerably higher. As penguinz0, he began his channel in 2007 and currently has over 17 million subscribers. In just under 20 years, he has earned nearly $36 million. MoistCr1TiKaL points out that these numbers do not include sponsorship deals or other money-making avenues related to content creation, though he also donated his first four or five years of YouTube earnings to charity.
Due to these numbers, which MoistCr1TiKaL calls “an unfathomable amount of money,” he no longer feels comfortable accepting donations from people. His job, he says, is incredibly easy, and people should instead use their hard-earned money on themselves or donating to charity. The overwhelming majority of a content creator’s income comes from ads on Twitch and YouTube anyway, the streamer explains, and turning off monetization will cost him roughly $1 million per year, gauging by his earnings from memberships, super chats, and gifts in the past year on YouTube.
As for other creators who may feel threatened or pressured by the decision, MoistCr1TiKaL emphasizes that he is not trying to make a statement or start a movement by turning off monetization for his Twitch and YouTube channels. He simply doesn’t feel right personally taking cash from hard-working people who probably earn considerably less money than him, and he is not trying to influence anybody else to follow in his footsteps.