The first ever video posted to YouTube has made an unbelievable amount of money
Published on Feb 06, 2026 at 9:41 AM (UTC+4)
by Molly Davidson
Last updated on Feb 06, 2026 at 10:59 AM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
The first YouTube video ever uploaded to the platform wasn’t trying to go viral.
It wasn’t chasing views, clout, or ad revenue.
Back in 2005, the platform didn’t even know what it was going to become.
But one short clip laid the groundwork for everything that followed.
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The first YouTube video that launched a billion-dollar platform
On April 23, 2005, YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim uploaded a 19-second video titled Me at the zoo.
That was it.
Just a young Karim standing in front of a pair of elephants at the San Diego Zoo.
The clip was filmed on Karim’s camera by his high school friend Yakov Lapitsky during a research trip to California.
It’s grainy, awkward, and deeply unremarkable, even by early internet standards.
But that’s what makes it so brilliant.
At the time, YouTube wasn’t built for polished productions or professional creators.
It was meant to be a place where regular people could upload regular moments.
Me at the zoo accidentally became the purest expression of that idea.
Fast forward to today and the video has been watched more than 381 million times.
Karim’s channel, which still contains just that one upload, has around 3.46 million subscribers.
And the comments underneath read like a digital time capsule, with viewers treating the clip less like content and more like a historical artifact.
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The real money came from ownership, not views
Despite being the face of YouTube’s first upload, Karim never made money from the video itself.
There were no ads, no brand deals, and no monetization play.
Instead, the real payoff came from equity.
According to reports, Karim didn’t take a salary, benefits, or even a formal title at the company.
What he did take was ownership.
When Google acquired YouTube in 2006, that decision turned out to be life-changing.
Jawed Karim walked away with a lot of money
Karim reportedly walked away with shares later valued at around $64 million.
Today, YouTube itself is estimated to be worth roughly $160 billion, making that original 19-second clip one of the most valuable uploads in internet history.
Not because of what it earned directly, but because of what it helped build.
The video didn’t make him rich on views, it made him rich on timing.
Looking back, the first YouTube video ever posted isn’t memorable because it’s funny or clever.
It’s memorable because it proved the internet didn’t need perfection to change everything.
It just needed someone to press upload first.
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With roles at TEXT Journal, Bowen Street Press, Onya Magazine, and Swine Magazine on her CV, Molly joined Supercar Blondie in June 2025 as a Junior Content Writer. Having experience across copyediting, proofreading, reference checking, and production, she brings accuracy, clarity, and audience focus to her stories spanning automotive, tech, and lifestyle news.
