Shark Tank‘s Kevin O’Leary—a.k.a. “Mr. Wonderful”—said he’s nearing a deal to buy TikTok from its Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance to avoid the U.S. ban on the social media app.

Kevin O’Leary is ready to make a deal to stop the U.S. TikTok ban.

The Shark Tank star has teamed up with other entrepreneurs—including former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt—to lead a bid in purchasing the social media platform from its Beijing-based parent company ByteDance, which has been required by U.S. officials to sell its assets to an American buyer or face a nationwide ban.

However, O’Leary believes he needs help from President-elect Donald Trump to finish the job.

“Trump will be who we have to work with to close the deal in the months ahead,” he said during a Jan. 6 appearance on Fox News’ The Story with Martha MacCallum, per The Wrap. “So, I wanted to let him know—as well as others in his cabinet—that we’re doing this, and we’re going to need their help.”

As to why O’Leary wants to purchase TikTok? 

“This isn’t just about buying TikTok’s U.S. assets,” he wrote in a Jan. 6 message on X, formerly Twitter. “It’s about something much bigger: protecting the privacy of 170 million American users.”

“What I’m proposing is purchasing these assets into a new American company,” he told Fox & Friends in March 2024. “I’ll guarantee it becomes safe for the users, the parents, small business and large business.”

Indeed, there’s a lot of money to be made on TikTok. Keep reading to find out how much money influencers on the app—as well as other social media platforms—earn. 

“What I’m proposing is purchasing these assets into a new American company,” he told Fox & Friends in March 2024. “I’ll guarantee it becomes safe for the users, the parents, small business and large business.”

Indeed, there’s a lot of money to be made on TikTok. Keep reading to find out how much money influencers on the app—as well as other social media platforms—earn. 

Sophie Rain

JoJo Siwa 

The Dance Moms alum revealed that she made “six digits a month, easy” on YouTube videos as a 13-year-old. She added in the 2024 documentary Child Star that she now posts up to 300 times a day on Snapchat as part of her influencing career.

Chris Olsen

The TikToker revealed he has a net worth of over seven figures.

“You guys can keep calling me annoying,” he quipped in a July 2024 video. “Being annoying has made me a millionaire.”

Jeffree Star

The makeup artist revealed he earns $50,000 when he hosts a TikTok live—which he does four or five times a week—through selling cosmetics and gifting from fans.

“I’ll make bacon in the morning and make $50,000,” Jeffree told the Cancelled podcast in November 2024. “There’s some times where I don’t sell at all, and I’ll just make bacon in my kitchen, in my bathrobe, in my little slippers, we’ll just hang out and I’ll just chat and I’ll do a Q&A.”

Other times, he’s making bank by offering discounts on his own branded makeup products.

“It’s a niche market but it’s massive,” he added. “We’re the No. 1 or 2 beauty store.”

Markell Washington

Markell—known for his dance videos—told Salary Transparency Street in 2023 that he earns between $500,000 and $700,000 a year, mostly from brand deals and Snapchat’s mid-roll program.

Deepti Vempati and Natalie Lee

After appearing on Netflix’s dating show Love Is Blind in 2022, the pair pivoted to social media stardom and said they each made $500,000 in less than two years as influencers.

Julia

The ASMR influencer—known as @itsblitzzz on YouTube —admitted in January 2024 that she scores about $56,400 a year on ad revenue from old videos, without creating new content.

King Caitlin ASMR

Makayla Samountry

The Minnesota YouTuber made over $193,000 on the adult platform OnlyFans from January 2020 to December 2022, she shared in a Medium article.

Morgan Presley

As explained on The Really Good Podcast in 2023, the content creator has scored $50,000 on a single sponsored video.

Gigi Robinson

The chronic illness advocate told Salary Transparency Street in 2023 that she earns about $150,000 a year with less than 40,000 Instagram followers.

Ben Brainard

Kamillah Rae

The YouTuber shared that she made $4,746.94 from monetization on the platform from August 2023 to January 2024 (from a total of 923,700 video views), with under 30,000 subscribers.

Source: www.eonline.com