🍫 MrBeast Is Actually Happy About Tariffs

Letter From The Editor

One of my subscribers reached out to me the other day asking me when I was going to make the switch to only publishing twice a week. That’s a good question. The short answer is probably around the end of May.

The reason is I’m embarking on launching (2) new YouTube channels this Summer, and I need the extra time to get them off the ground and film a few months worth of content over the Summer.

To help me with that I’m happy to announce that I’ve been able to hire an intern for the Summer through a program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (shoutout to my grad school alma mater) in Troy, NY that pays the intern’s salary while working for my startup.

My plan as of right now is to write and publish this newsletter on Mondays and Fridays, and use Tuesday-Thursday to film. I can’t wait to share more about these new projects, so stay tuned for updates. Now onto today’s issue.

In today’s newsletter we discuss how MrBeast is actually happy about tariffs, Zipline is delivering groceries by drone for Walmart, screaming “Chicken Jockey!” during “A Minecraft Movie” can get you arrested, Ripple acquires prime brokerage Hidden Road for a staggering $1.25 billion dollars, the Department of Justice is disbanding its National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) to focus on terrorism and fraud, and Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney might be eyeing the purchase of a MLS soccer team.

Scroll on!

WHAT WE’RE READING

🍫 MrBeast Is Actually Happy About Tariffs

MrBeast, also known as Jimmy Donaldson, stated on X (formerly and forever referred to as Twitter by me) that due to new tariffs imposing a 20%+ levy on his cost of goods sold (COGS), it has become “way cheaper" to manufacture his Feastables chocolate bars and sell them globally outside the U.S.. He went on to say "Ironically because of all the new tariffs it is now way cheaper to make our chocolate bars we sell globally NOT in America because other countries don’t have a 20%+ tariff on our cogs 😅"

While Feastables reportedly generated $250 million in sales and over $20 million in profit in 2024, the tariffs create a financial disincentive to produce in the U.S. So, to summarize, American tariffs are making it more economical to make a quintessentially American treat everywhere but America – you could say that's a pretty sweet deal for everyone else.

Feastables distributes its chocolate bars through a variety of channels to reach a global customer base. Domestically in the U.S. Feastables chocolates are available in major retailers such as Walmart, Target, 7-Eleven, Kroger, and Sam's Club, as well as online through their own website and platforms like Amazon.

Internationally, Feastables has established distribution networks to reach consumers in multiple countries. While the specifics of these international partnerships can vary, the company aims for broad availability to capitalize on MrBeast's worldwide popularity. MrBeast’s statement about tariffs highlights a strategic consideration in Feastables’ global supply chain, and suggests that manufacturing locations are now being optimized based on international trade policies rather than solely on domestic incentives. That is a wild shift in strategy, especially for a company as young as MrBeast’s Feastables.

It seems the recipe for global chocolate domination now includes a dash of tariff avoidance, which is certainly one way to sweeten the deal for international consumers. (come on, these puns practically write themselves!)

💰 Business

Crypto firm Ripple, parent of the XRP token, has announced its acquisition of prime brokerage Hidden Road for a staggering $1.25 billion dollars. The deal positions Ripple as the first cryptocurrency company to own and operate a global, multi-asset prime broker, granting them access to Hidden Road's institutional client base. In 2024 alone Hidden Road cleared $3 trillion dollars across various markets.

Ripple anticipates that this acquisition will not only enhance its offerings into trading, custody, and lending but also leverage its XRP Ledger and recently launched stablecoin, RLUSD, within institutional trading infrastructure. This is a bold step by Ripple towards bridging traditional finance and the digital asset space.

Apparently when you spend over a billion dollars to vertically integrate your cryptocurrency into the world of finance people on Wall Street take notice.

⛏ Entertainment

Apparently going to “A Minecraft Movie” can get you arrested. There have been reports of law enforcement showing up at movie theaters to handle rowdy crowds of bros going ape over a specific line in the movie. This scene in question features Jack Black's character reacting to a zombie riding a chicken, and it’s become a viral sensation. When the zombie drops down onto the chicken and begins riding it around Jack Black’s character yells out “Chicken Jockey!”, and that’s when audiences have been going wild yelling out the line, screaming at the top of their lungs, throwing popcorn, and people standing up and dancing in the theater. That line alone has since become a meme of its own.

A Minecraft Movie" premiered on April 4th and has already grossed over $313 million dollars worldwide against a $150 million dollar budget, and I’m guessing another $150 millon dollars in marketing spend.

Considering the Minecraft franchise has raked in billions since its inception, it's clear fans are passionate, but apparently they’re a little too passionate for the comfort of other moviegoers and local law enforcement.

It remains to be seen if audiences viewing the movie at home when it begins streaming will react as enthusiastically.

🛫 Tech

Zipline, the drone delivery startup that has flown "more than 100 million autonomous miles of flight to-date, a number equivalent to flying more than 4,000 loops around the planet, or 200 lunar round trips," has announced their expansion into Texas through a partnership with retail giant Walmart. This move aims to rapidly deliver products from Walmart to consumers throughout Texas.

According to Zipline co-founder and CEO Rinaudo Cliffton "Since it began operations in 2016, Zipline has completed around 1.5 million deliveries, far more than competitors in the West.

While specific financial details of the Walmart partnership haven’t been disclosed, this expansion represents a substantial investment in Zipline's infrastructure and operational capacity.

Considering how big Texas is, can you imagine all those frequent flyer points that Zipline is going rack up?!?!

🪙 Crypto

The Department of Justice is disbanding its National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET), shifting its focus from complex crypto-related cases involving securities and banking laws to prioritize terrorism and fraud, according to a memo reviewed by the Associated Press. This move follows a directive emphasizing the prosecution of individuals who victimize digital asset investors or use crypto for criminal activities like terrorism financing and drug trafficking. The NCET was formed in February 2022, and has played a role in investigating cases like that of Binance and its founder involving anti-money laundering violations, the new approach under the Trump administration aims to reduce what it views as regulatory overreach in the crypto space, despite the fact that billions of dollars have been lost by investors to crypto scams and illicit activities.

But hey, if the President of the United States can create and sell his own memecoin then I guess everything must be on the up-and-in in the crypto industry.

⚽ Sports

Amidst the ongoing success story that is Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s Wrexham A.F.C., there’s speculation that the duo could be eyeing a potential $375 million dollar takeover of the Vancouver Whitecaps Major League Soccer (MLS) team. 

Ryan Reynolds is obviously one of the most famous products of Canada, and there’s no one better at using their celebrity than him when it comes to acquiring and monetizing soccer teams around the world. At current count Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney own stakes in three soccer teams, including the Welsh soccer team Wrexham A.F.C., the Mexican soccer Club Necaxa, and Club Deportivo La Equidad that is based in the Colombian capital of Bogota.

It seems the allure of Hollywood magic might just be enough to score another deal, because apparently owning one football club and starring in countless movies just isn't keeping him busy enough.

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irl Media NEWSLETTER is written, edited, and published by Chris Thompson.