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These are the 19 most popular YouTube stars in the world — and some are making millions

From comedians to gamers to vloggers of all kinds, these YouTubers have generally built their followings outside of the control of media giants.

YouTube is the new TV.

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Since 2005, YouTube has become the de facto launchpad for the next generation of celebrities.

Stars like PewDiePie, Jenna Marbles, and Yuya have racked up millions of subscribers over the years through a direct relationship with their fans.

From comedians to gamers to vloggers of all kinds, YouTubers have generally built their followings outside of the control of media giants, even if they are now signing big deals with those companies. And there is power and independence in having that huge fan base.

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To get a closer look into which stars rule YouTube, we looked at the SocialBlade rankings to see who had the most subscribers. We focused on independent YouTube stars, disregarding YouTube channels like mainstream music artists.

Here's how the new generation of YouTube stars stacks up in 2018:

Nina Godlewski, Harrison Jacobs, Maya Kosoff, and Nathan McAlone contributed to earlier versions of this post.

No. 19: Fine Brothers Entertainment (FBE) — 16.7 million subscribers

Subscribers: 16.7 million

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Brooklyn natives Benny and Rafi Fine are the two online producers/writers/directors who created the successful React video series. In React's various iterations — Kids React, Teens React, Elders React, and YouTubers React — the brothers show viral videos to people and film their reactions. In 2016, they were involved in a controversy over trying to copyright the React video form that drew widespread backlash and led to a campaign to unsubscribe from the duo's channel.

No. 18: KSI — 17.5 million subscribers

Subscribers: 17.5 million

As a teenager, Olajide Olatunji would play EA Sports' line of FIFA video games for hours on end in his parents' home. In 2009, he began uploading footage of himself playing and commentating to YouTube, under the username KSIOlajidebt: a combination of a "Halo" franchise clan, his first name, and British Telecom. His boisterous, goofy nature captured fans around the world.

No. 17: DanTDM — 17.7 million subscribers

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Subscribers: 17.7 million

2017 estimated salary: $16.5 million

No. 16: JennaMarbles — 17.83 million subscribers

Subscribers: 17.83 million

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JennaMarbles (real name Jenna Mourey) has long been one of the most recognizable stars on YouTube. Though she started her career with BarStool Sports, Mourey soon moved into video after posting "How to Trick People into Thinking You're Good Looking," which quickly blew up. Her channel features comedic videos about being a young millennial woman.

No. 15: Jacksepticeye — 17.89 million subscribers

Subscribers: 17.8 million

Seán William McLoughlin is a 27-year-old Irish game-based YouTube star who initially came to fame when PewDiePie mentioned him in a video in 2013. McLoughlin calls himself the "most consistently energetic videogame commentator on YouTube" and has bright green hair.

No. 14: Felipe Neto — 18.7 million subscribers

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Subscribers: 18.7 million

Felipe Neto is a 30-year-old Brazilian vlogger and comedian. In 2012, his YouTube channel became the first Brazilian channel to hit 1 million subscribers. He released a Netflix original comedy special, "My Life Makes No Sense," in 2017.

No. 13: Markiplier — 19.5 million subscribers

Subscribers: 19.5 million

2017 estimated salary: $12.5 million

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No. 12: NigaHiga — 20.4 million subscribers

Subscribers: 20.4 million

Ryan Higa, who goes by the username NigaHiga, was one of the first major YouTube stars. Higa produces a variety of comedy videos, including sketches, music videos, and short commentaries on pop culture. His videos have high production value and a professional touch, with a quick, funny, and incisive sensibility.

No. 11: Yuya — 20.5 million subscribers

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Subscribers: 20.5 million

Yuya is a 24-year-old Mexican beauty vlogger. She posts makeup, hair, and other beauty tutorials, and has a secondary channel where she talks about her day-to-day life. Yuya's beauty-tutorial channel has featured her in Vogue and on Mexican television.

No. 10: Vegetta777 — 20.8 million subscribers

Subscribers: 20.8 million

Samuel de Luque is a wildly popular Spanish YouTuber who has become known for his voiceovers of gameplay videos for "Minecraft," "Saint's Row," and "Battlefield." His signature style is to create elaborate narratives and histories for the characters in his video games to make them "like a movie."

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No. 9: VanossGaming — 22.3 million subscribers

Subscribers: 22.3 million

2017 estimated salary: $15.5 million

No. 8: Smosh — 22.6 million subscribers

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Subscribers: 22.6 million

2017 estimated salary: $11 million

Smosh, started by comedy duo Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla, was one of the first YouTube sensations, becoming well known for the duo's slapstick comedy videos that parodied video games and pop culture.

Anthony Padilla left the Smosh channel in June 2017 to create his own solo YouTube account, which now has over 2 million followers.

No. 7: Fernanfloo — 26.2 million subscribers

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Subscribers: 26.2 million

Fernanfloo — Luis Fernando Flores — is a YouTube star from El Salvador known for his gameplay videos and wacky antics. His dogs sometimes make appearances in his videos.

No. 6: Dude Perfect — 26.5 million subscribers

Subscribers: 26.5 million

Dude Perfect is a channel from twins Cory and Coby Cotton and three of their college friends from Texas A&M, all of whom are former high school basketball players. They do sports tricks and comedy, some of which makes fun of sports stereotypes.

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No. 5: Canal KondZilla — 26.6 million subscribers:

Subscribers: 26.6 million

29-year-old Brazilian music video director known as Canal KondZilla, has one of the fastest growing pages on YouTube. His first upload to the site came in 2012 with a music video for the Brazilian rapper Nego Blue.

No. 4: Whinderssonnunes — 26.7 million subscribers

Subscribers: 26.7 million

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Whinderssonnunes, 23-year-old Whindersson Nunes, is a Brazilian YouTube star who does comedy and vlogs. He uploads parodies, songs, movie reviews, and videos about his daily life. He started making videos at 15.

No. 3: ElRubiusOMG — 27.3 million subscribers

Subscribers: 27.3 million

Rubén Doblas Gundersen, better known on YouTube as ElRubiusOMG, is a 27-year-old Spanish YouTuber. He's the most followed Spanish YouTube star. Like other popular YouTubers, Doblas Gundersen is a gamer who does walk-throughs, reviews, and more, peppered with funny commentary. He published an interactive book called "Troll" in 2014.

No. 2: Germán Garmendia (HolaSoyGerman.) — 33.1 million subscribers

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Subscribers: 33.1 million

Chilean YouTuber Germán Garmendia is Latin America's biggest YouTube star. The comedian and musician has two channels in the top 20. He released a book in 2016 titled, "#Chupaelperro." He became famous with his video "Las Cosas Obvias De La Vida" ("The Obvious Things of Life").

Besides HolaSoyGerman., Garmendia has another YouTube channel called JuegaGerman, which has 24.4 million subscribers and is focused on video games.

No. 1: PewDiePie — 60.4 million subscribers

Subscribers: 60.4 million subscribers

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2017 estimated salary: $12 million

Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellbergis a boisterous Swedish video game commentator whose videos feature him playing various video games, while a box in the top corner of the screen shows his reactions to what's happening. His YouTube account has over 60 million followers.

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