Jimmy Donaldson, better known as YouTube superstar Mr. Beast, says that he was invited on the Titan's doomed expedition to the Titanic wreckage.
The US Coast Guard confirmed last week that a debris field found during the search for the tourist submersible “is consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel.” All five passengers are believed to be dead.
Donaldson, 25, has 163 million followers on his main YouTube channel, 26.6 million on his secondary channel, 14.3 million on his philanthropy channel, and 34.9 million on his gaming channel.
On Sunday, Donaldson tweeted that he had been invited on the trip but declined.
“I was invited earlier this month to ride the Titanic submarine, I said no,” Donaldson tweeted. “Kind of scary that I could have been on it.” I was invited earlier this month to ride the titanic submarine, I said no. Kind of scary that I could have been on it pic.twitter.com/bQUnaRiczA
— MrBeast (@MrBeast) June 25, 2023
Donaldson also shared a screenshot of a text message that appeared to be an invitation to join the trip. He did not indicate who it was from.
“Also, I’m going to the Titanic in a submarine late this month. The team would be stoked to have you along,” the text said. My friend sent me the screenshot of when he invited me. Didn’t think to scroll up and screenshot our old texts myself.
— MrBeast (@MrBeast) June 25, 2023
When asked about the formatting of the screenshot, Donaldson said, "My friend sent me the screenshot of when he invited me. Didn’t think to scroll up and screenshot our old texts myself."
Adventurers on board the submarine were French Navy commander and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, billionaire British explorer Hamish Harding, billionaire Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son, Sulaiman. OceanGate Expeditions’ CEO and founder Stockton Rush was also on the vessel.
Donaldson's net worth is estimated to be approximately $500 million.
The submarine took off into the Atlantic early on June 18. Communications with the submersible were lost just an hour and 45 minutes later. While the search was underway, the media ran a grim countdown to the moment that the emergency oxygen supply would run out and all passengers would be dead. Fortunately, it appears that their deaths were likely near-instant.
