Musk, MrBeast or Shark Tank: Who might buy TikTok after Trump's ultimatum?
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Donald Trump has given TikTok 75 days to convince US officials it doesn't threaten national security - most likely by finding a new, US owner for its American operation. He signed the executive order within hours of entering the White House and told reporters: "I tell you what. Every rich person has called me about TikTok.".
The wildly popular social media platform briefly went offline in the US on Sunday ahead of a ban, but hours later, it came back online with a message thanking the president. "We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States," it said in a statement.
TikTok is owned by Chinese company Bytedance, and US politicians are worried sensitive data about Americans could be given to the Chinese government, which TikTok has repeatedly denied. So who could buy the all-singing, all-dancing short video platform, which is valued at around $100bn (£82bn) if it is sold with its algorithm?.
MrBeast. Youtuber MrBeast, real name Jimmy Donaldson, posted on 14 January: "Okay fine, I'll buy TikTok so it doesn't get banned.". People took him seriously; he soon posted again saying several billionaires had contacted him to try and make the bid a reality.
He posted more updates from meeting rooms where he said he had been discussing the bid with "a bunch of billionaires". After Donald Trump's inauguration, the Youtuber posted a video to TikTok saying he was on a private jet "about to put in my official offer for this platform".
