Who Is Ryan Kaji? The Real Story Behind Ryan’s World

Imagine being three years old, walking into a toy store with your mom, unboxing a LEGO set on camera—and unknowingly starting one of the most successful media empires in YouTube history. That’s exactly what happened with Ryan Kaji, the face behind Ryan’s World, and the story behind his rise from curious toddler to teenage multimillionaire is far more layered, fascinating, and thought-provoking than most people realize.

The Boy Behind the Brand

Ryan Kaji’s real name is Ryan Guan. He was born on October 6, 2011, in Houston, Texas, to Shion and Loann Kaji—a name the family adopted for all their YouTube and media activities, replacing their original surname. His father, Shion, originally from Japan, moved to the United States in high school and later pursued a master’s degree in engineering at Cornell University. His mother, Loann, whose family fled Vietnam as refugees, grew up in Houston and worked as a high school chemistry teacher before Ryan’s channel changed everything.

Ryan has two younger twin sisters, Emma and Kate, who have also become familiar faces on the channel over the years. Today, the family lives in Hawaii, where Ryan enjoys playing video games, reading comic books, and going on adventures—the kind of teenage hobbies that remind you there’s still a kid underneath all the brand deals and business ventures.

How It All Started: A Simple Question That Changed Everything

The origin story of Ryan’s World is surprisingly humble. One afternoon, a young Ryan was watching toy review videos on YouTube—a genre that was quietly booming among young audiences—when he turned to his mother and asked, “How come I’m not on YouTube when all the other kids are?”

That innocent question planted a seed. In March 2015, Loann filmed Ryan at a store picking out a LEGO Duplo set, then unboxing and assembling it at home. She uploaded the video, and something clicked. Children were drawn to Ryan’s genuine excitement and unfiltered reactions—there was no script, no performance, just a real kid being thrilled about a toy. The video now sits at over 54 million views, and that simple concept became the foundation of a global brand.

The Channel’s Meteoric Rise

The channel, originally called Ryan ToysReview, quickly gained momentum. By 2017, Forbes had already listed Ryan as the eighth highest-paid YouTuber, with earnings of $11 million at just six years old. That figure alone made headlines around the world and sparked widespread conversation about child creators, digital media, and the new economy of online content.

The numbers only grew from there. In 2018 and 2019, Ryan’s channel was ranked the highest-earning YouTube channel on the planet, generating $22 million and $26 million, respectively. By 2020, that figure reached $29.5 million. As of 2024, Ryan’s estimated net worth exceeds $100 million, with Forbes placing him at number 21 on their Top Creators list with earnings of $35 million for that year alone.

The channel itself has evolved dramatically. What began as simple toy unboxings now spans educational content, science experiments, DIY challenges, gaming, and family vlogs. One video—Huge Eggs Surprise Toys Challenge—has surpassed 2 billion views, placing it among the 60 most-watched videos in YouTube’s history. As of early 2025, the main channel boasts over 39 million subscribers and more than 61 billion total views.

Building a Multi-Platform Empire

Ryan’s parents recognized early that YouTube alone wasn’t the finish line. In 2017, they signed a deal with PocketWatch, a children’s media startup, to manage marketing and merchandise. That partnership launched the Ryan’s World toy line at Walmart in 2018, which has since generated over $250 million in merchandise sales annually—spanning action figures, slime kits, clothing, school supplies, and more, available across 30 countries.

The brand expanded into apps (Tag with Ryan, downloaded over 34 million times), video games (Race with Ryan, Ryan’s Rescue Squad), television (Ryan’s Mystery Playdate on Nickelodeon, Super Spy Ryan on Amazon Kids+), and even an anime-style educational series called Elemon, developed in partnership with Toei Animation to teach kids chemistry. In August 2024, Ryan’s first feature film — Ryan’s World the Movie: Titan Universe Adventure—was released in over 2,000 theaters across the United States.

Behind the scenes, the family runs Sunlight Entertainment, their own production company, which employs a 30-person team of videographers, editors, animators, writers, and voice actors, producing roughly 25 videos per week across eight YouTube channels.

The Controversies and Conversations

Ryan’s story isn’t without its complicated chapters. In 2019, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a complaint against the channel for failing to properly disclose sponsored content, raising important questions about advertising transparency when the audience is primarily young children who may not recognize paid promotions.

Additionally, as Ryan has grown older and the channel’s commercial nature has become more prominent, critics and parents have raised concerns about the role of consumerism in children’s media, the ethics of child-led content creation, and the responsibilities that come with targeting toddlers and preschoolers as a primary audience. These are conversations that the broader digital media industry continues to grapple with, and Ryan’s World sits squarely at the center of them.

Who Ryan Is Today

Now 13 years old, Ryan Kaji is no longer just a toddler unwrapping toys. He’s a teenager navigating the unusual experience of growing up in public while also managing a brand that carries his name. His content has matured alongside him—leaning more into STEM education, gaming, and storytelling—and his family continues to build the Ryan’s World universe with fresh ambition.

What makes Ryan’s story remarkable isn’t just the money or the records broken. It’s the fact that it started with a child’s question, a mother with a camera, and the kind of authentic joy that audiences—young and old—recognized as something real. In a digital landscape crowded with carefully polished personas, that genuine spark is what turned a simple toy review into a worldwide phenomenon.

Whether you see Ryan’s World as an inspiring success story, a media industry case study, or a window into the future of children’s entertainment, one thing is certain: Ryan Kaji has already left an undeniable mark on how the world watches, plays, and grows up online.