The vast majority of YouTube’s top creators contribute vlogs, humorous content, or general commentary to the massive video-sharing platform. Educational channels are far more rare, and when they do appear, they tend to be geared toward children. The few adult-oriented YouTube channels aimed at teaching viewers a thing or two thus tend to be hit-or-miss, based on the talents of the people in front of, and behind, the camera.
A few stellar channels manage to shine above the rest, either due to their unyieldingly charming approach — we will never get over “Dad, how do I?” — or due to their genuinely impressive knowledge base. Such is the case with Linus Tech Tips, an informative technology channel run by Linus Gabriel Sebastian. The channel, which was originally created in 2008, has blossomed into a catch-all for just about everything tech-related. The channel uploads videos on those mystery cords you’ve never used but come with every fresh computer, the inner workings of hard drives, and dozens of other topics my non-techy brain can never hope to understand.
Linus Sebastian’s age
The Linus Tech Tips YouTube page launched on Nov. 4, 2008 — nearly 15 years ago, when Sebastian was in his early 20s. These days, he’s comfortably in his mid-30s, and his page has grown exponentially since those early days. He’s 36 in 2023, and — despite all the recent controversy — seems to be thriving overall.
Linus Sebastian’s net worth
At least, not without the help of a channel like Linus Tech Tips. Since its start just under 13 years ago, the page has accumulated nearly 14 million subscribers. Those subscribers have, during that time, viewed uploads to the page more than 5 billion times. The majority of the page’s recent uploads, whether they be about motherboards or PC builds, gain at least a million views, with some managing to pull in more than 5 million. This staggering view count pays off in YouTube ad revenue, which yields between $3 and $7 per 1,000 views. With Linus Tech Tips gaining around 1.46 million daily views, that ad revenue adds (hah) up pretty fast.
And that’s only accounting for Sebastian’s main YouTube page. He also runs several sister pages — TechQuickie, ShortCircuit, and TechLinked — which, between them, boast more than 5 million additional subscribers.
Linus Tech Tips alone makes around $357,000 monthly, which adds up to an impressive $2.64 million annually, based on estimations from Net Worth Spot. On the higher end, Sebastian may make more than $5 million a year, which seems more likely, given his other popular channels.
This gives the popular science and tech YouTuber a net worth of more than $21 million, on the low end. Once you add in the revenue Sebastian gains from his other YouTube channels, along with his online store, his actual net worth is likely much higher. Higher, even, than Net Worth Spot’s inflated estimation of $30 million, and veering ever closer to more recent guesstimates, which credit him with as much as $85 million in the bank.
The Linus Tech Tips controversy
Recent controversy around Sebastian’s business practices is casting doubt over years of popular content, as his longstanding fans discover that inaccurate data and questionable business decisions are reportedly common. Quite a few of his viewers once took Sebastian at his word, and they’re now reexamining everything they’ve learned from the YouTuber over the years. More than a decade of misrepresenting products, leaning on “irresponsible” tests, and most importantly, bad data, is fast souring fans on the once-popular YouTuber.