An eight-year-old boy from Texas has topped a Forbes rich list of the highest paid YouTube stars, earning an estimated $26m (£19.8m).

The American business magazine looked at how much money the so-called influencers made from the video sharing platform in the year to June 2019.

Image: The boy started on YouTube when he was just three. Pic: YouTube/Ryan's World

Ryan Kaji, who has almost 22 million subscribers, came first in the list for the second year in a row, with his earnings reportedly rising from $22m (£16.8m) in the last 12 months.

He started out on the channel when he was just three-years-old by reviewing toys and now does science experiments for his legion of fans.

Forbes says the youngster has also branched out beyond YouTube with a line of more than 100 toys and clothing items - and he also has a show on Nickelodeon and a deal with US television network Hulu.


Also making the coveted top 10 is Dude Perfect - a group of five friends in their 30s who play sports, perform stunts and break Guinness world records. They came second in the list, earning $20m (£15.2m).

Russian-born five-year-old Nastya, real name Anastasia Radzinskaya, was third with $18m (£13.7m), thanks to videos in seven languages that show her playing with her father.

Image: PewDiePie came joint seventh in the list

Other YouTubers who also made the list include PewDiePie, real name Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg, who recently announced he is taking a break from the platform because he is "tired". He was joint seventh in the list after apparently making $13m (£9.9m).

Image: Briton Dan Middleton dropped from number four to number nine in the list. Pic: YouTube/DanTDM

British YouTuber Dan Middleton dropped from number four in the list last year to ninth in 2019 - with his earnings falling $6.5m year-on-year - to $12m (£9.1m).

Collectively, the top 10 earned a total of $162m (£123.8m).

Forbes top 10

1 Ryan Kaji $26m

2 Dude Perfect $20m

3 Nastya $18m

4 Rhett and Link $17.5m

5 Jeffree Star $17m

6 Preston Arsement $14m

7 PewDiePie $13m

7 Markiplier $13m

9 Daniel Middleton $12m

10 Evan Fong $11.5m