The winner of Mr. Beast’s ‘Beast Games’ describes what happens when you get $10 million

Jeffrey Allen won the first season of “Beast Games,” which aired in December 2024.

Jeffrey Allen auditioned for MrBeast’s “Beast Games” as a recently laid-off father of a child with a rare disease. He walked away $10 million richer. In an interview with the “The Iced Coffee Hour” podcast, the winner said it felt “awesome” to receive $10 million, but it was a mix of emotions.

The five-week-long competition show, hosted by YouTube star MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, featured over 2,000 contestants competing in the first round. Allen beat all of them to take home the cash prize in the end.

His immediate next steps included making a few business calls, doing a psych evaluation, and crunching the numbers on how much he’d have to pay in taxes. His first phone calls were to MrBeast’s crew to request “some people” sign non-disclosure agreements, while his next call was to an estate planner. He didn’t have to call his wife because she was there to witness him win.

“Did it bring me happiness? I’d say, at the time, it kind of brought me stress,” Allen said.

The “Beast Games,” which include a mix of physically and mentally challenging rounds, had a psychologist on set around the clock, he said. Eliminated contestants were required to have psych evaluations before leaving, and Allen said he also had to talk to a psychologist after winning.

“It was a great conversation,” Allen said. However, they warned him of the potential roller coaster of emotions he might feel between the end of filming and the debut of “Beast Games” on Amazon’s Prime Video. Allen said they were “spot on” about the excitement, depression, and confusing feelings that came with winning $10 million.

To avoid blowing through the money too quickly, Allen said he talked to investment advisors and some tax experts. MrBeast wired Allen the full prize amount, but how much will be collected by the government depends on how he spends the $10 million in 2025, Allen told the hosts.

It could be as much as over half the California resident’s winnings. He’s still figuring it out, but said he’s eyeing charity donations, investments, and more to get ahead of next year’s tax season.

Allen said the “ultimate gift” from winning the show was the peace of mind when he woke up to a wire transfer of $10 million, the largest cash prize in entertainment history, on February 13.

For MrBeast, the show was a big financial loss. In February, the host appeared on the “Diary of a CEO” podcast and said making the show was “not a good financial decision.” He said he lost “tens of millions of dollars” in his efforts to make its debut season as good as possible.