Chinese-Korean Star Earns $15.5 Million in 2017 Playing Video Games on YouTube

December 11, 2017

YouTube star Evan Fong, the mastermind behind the gaming channel VanossGaming, is the second highest-earning YouTuber of 2017, based on Forbes annual list.

Making hilarious commentaries while playing video games has earned the 25-year-old Canadian-born Chinese-Korean a whopping $15.5 million this year, second only to English YouTuber Dan Middleton, a.k.a. DanTDM, who raked in a cool $16.5 million.

Fong, who produces video content playing popular video games with other YouTube collaborators, generated over 8.4 billion views for his channel so far. He is best known for his commentary on popular games such as “Grand Theft Auto,” “Call of Duty,” “Titanfall,” and “Dead Rising.”

VanossGaming is currently the 24th most subscribed channel on YouTube with almost 22 million subscribers to date, according to Statsheep.

While Fong created the VanossGaming channel in 2011, he only gained media attention in 2015 after reaching 11 million subscribers. Many consider him as a central figure in the then-emerging video game commentary subculture.

Aside from video games, Fong also played sports such as hockey during his youth, and also played the electric and acoustic guitar. He started out on YouTube at age 19 when his parents reportedly reminded him to keep prioritizing schoolwork.

Fong did eventually drop out in his second year studying economics in college to focus on his YouTube channel. But he admitted in an interview with CBC in 2015 that, “Even though there’s a lot of potential for somebody starting a YouTube channel it’s obviously not a guaranteed path.”

Forbes’ list of the world’s highest-paid YouTube stars also includes 7-year-old toy reviewer Ryan at the No. 8 spot.

Feature Image via Youtube / VanossGaming

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