RALEIGH, N.C. — Hunched over logs on a Caribbean beach, Mallory Devine feverishly struck a stone against a flint rock. Starting a prehistoric fire wasn’t a skill she had honed growing up in suburban New Jersey, but the 22-year-old restaurant server and recent East Carolina University graduate wouldn’t entertain the thought of appearing in a MrBeast video and losing.

The day before, she had been flown from Raleigh to the Bahamas for a mystery event, a set of challenges dreamed up by the world’s most successful YouTuber. Devine was one of 100 contestants, each given a pink T-shirt for the day of filming. Minutes before the competition began, they were told the stakes: A private island was visible across a small stretch of teal water. One of them would soon own it.

Igniting a torch was the first of four tasks. Next came a game of red light-green light, inspired by the hit Netflix show “Squid Game,” a survivalist commentary on modern economic inequality. Devine survived that round, too.

Then a twist, because untold hours spent analyzing online audience habits had showed MrBeast the value of a well-timed surprise: A contestant was told to randomly disqualify half of the competitors. Again, Devine advanced. She made it to the last 10. Then final five.

Standing on the Bahamian island she sensed would be hers, Devine and the four remaining contestants were instructed to find a hidden case. After about 45 minutes of searching, Devine came upon a palm branch that appeared to have fallen inorganically. She dug, spotted the case labeled “Contract of Sale,” and clutched it until it felt real.

“I was hugging onto it for dear life,” she said.

At the time, Devine had $20 in her bank account and six figures in student debt. She suddenly possessed a deed to Caribbean real estate, a 12-acre island called Ben’s Cay about 70 miles from Cuba.

“I can appreciate that I think I’ve already had the best moment of my entire life,” she says today.

Released in the summer of 2022, the video titled “I Gave My 100,000,000th Subscriber an Island” currently has more than 202 million views on YouTube, an unimaginable tally for all but a few online creators. It ranks as MrBeast’s 46th most-watched video.

MrBeast is the alias of Jimmy Donaldson, an apple-cheeked 25-year-old in Greenville, North Carolina, who is also the most popular YouTuber ever. His channel now has 244 million subscribers, second in the world behind an Indian music label, and the gap is narrowing.

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