Top 10 business creators of vertical video in 2024

At the end of 2024, Steven Bartlett’s The Diary of a CEO moves to the top of the business creators we measured, with about 8.84M subscribers against 4.51M a year earlier. Here is the dated ranking, what changed since the end of 2023 and what these creators’ Shorts teach a consultant or coach.

How we ranked them

One criterion for all four years of the series: subscribers of the creator’s YouTube channel, where they also publish their Shorts. The figure is read on the web.archive.org capture of the channel closest to 31 December 2024. Every figure in the table links to its capture and gives its date: they do not all fall on 31 December, some a little before, others a little after.

Three limits, stated upfront. First, YouTube only shows rounded numbers, so read every figure as “about”. Second, these are the subscribers of the whole channel (long videos, podcasts and Shorts), not of Shorts alone: YouTube does not publish that. Third, the ranking covers the 18 business creators whose channel we could read on at least one usable capture; other well-known names, such as Tony Robbins, Codie Sanchez or Sahil Bloom, have no readable capture of their channel and are therefore not ranked.

We kept creators who teach business, sales, marketing, leadership, money or productivity. We left out creators a platform has expelled, and we included no creator we knew to face criminal proceedings. The criterion is the number of subscribers, not the quality of the advice.

The top 10 business creators in vertical video, end of 2024

The 11th, Alex Hormozi, had about 3.02M subscribers (5 Jan 2025), 0.2M behind the tenth, Mel Robbins. Thomas Frank, 10th a year earlier, was 12th with about 3M.

What moved since 2023?

• In: Mel Robbins, 13th at the end of 2023 (about 2.22M), moves to 10th with about 3.23M subscribers.

• Out: Thomas Frank, whose channel stalls around 3M (about 2.95M then 3M), leaves the top 10.

• Biggest rise: The Diary of a CEO, from 5th to 1st.

• Steven Bartlett: 5th → 1st (+4.33M subscribers in a year)

• Patrick Bet-David: 1st → 2nd (+1.29M subscribers in a year)

• Ali Abdaal: 2nd → 3rd (+1.04M subscribers in a year)

• Iman Gadzhi: 7th → 4th (+1.27M subscribers in a year)

• Graham Stephan: 4th → 5th (+0.32M subscribers in a year)

• Jay Shetty: 3rd → 6th (+0M subscribers in a year)

• Gary Vaynerchuk: 6th → 7th (+0.26M subscribers in a year)

• Tom Bilyeu: 8th → 8th (+0.5M subscribers in a year)

• Lewis Howes: 9th → 9th (+0.93M subscribers in a year)

• Mel Robbins: 13th → 10th (+1.01M subscribers in a year)

Who are they, and what do their Shorts teach?

The channel descriptions and Shorts titles quoted come from 2026 captures: they describe recent habits, not necessarily those of the ranking’s year.

Steven Bartlett (1st). Forbes describes his show as a business podcast turned franchise. The channel’s Shorts are titled in capitals, often as a question (“IS AI JUST A SCAM?”). Takeaway: when a channel doubles in a year, it is not video length that changes, it is the regularity of the same format.

Patrick Bet-David (2nd) and Ali Abdaal (3rd). Both stay on the same editorial line: entrepreneurship for one, productivity for the other. Takeaway: a clear line holds for years.

Iman Gadzhi (4th). He climbs from 7th to 4th with a channel that tells, by its description, the path of an online advertising agency entrepreneur. Takeaway: a continuous personal story builds loyalty.

Graham Stephan, Jay Shetty, Gary Vaynerchuk, Tom Bilyeu, Lewis Howes (5th to 9th). Five channels that grow little or not at all: Jay Shetty stalls at about 4.73M, Tom Bilyeu gains 0.5M. Takeaway: an established catalogue does not guarantee growth.

Mel Robbins (10th). Author and host of The Mel Robbins Podcast, she goes from 2.22M to 3.23M in a year. Her Shorts are signed with her name (“You Are Not Too Much | Mel Robbins #shorts”) and feature guests (“Oprah’s Message To YOU”). Takeaway: sign your clips, they travel without you.

Alex Hormozi (11th). He goes from 1.85M to 3.02M. His Shorts quote a question in quotation marks (““How Do I 3X My Business?””). Takeaway: for a consultant, a client’s question, quoted, is a ready-made hook.

Conversation first

This top 10 counts at least six channels built on interviews or podcasts according to their descriptions: Patrick Bet-David, Steven Bartlett, Tom Bilyeu, Lewis Howes, Jay Shetty and Mel Robbins. Of those six, the biggest rise of the year belongs to the channel that titles its Shorts as direct questions. We did not measure it episode by episode: this is an observation about titles, not proof of cause.

What it means for you

The ranking suggests that format matters less than its regularity: same question titles, same series, for months. A consultant or coach can take a client’s question, phrase it as a title, and publish the answer.

What next?

Most of these channels rest on long conversations from which they cut short clips: your calls are the same raw material. For the length and framing of those clips, see how long a short should be and the 9:16 vertical video format. Dailies Studio turns your calls into vertical shorts and publishes them on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, LinkedIn and TikTok: see what it is.

Sources

Pages read on 15 October 2026.

• web.archive.org captures of the channels, one per creator: Steven Bartlett (31 Dec 2024), Patrick Bet-David (28 Dec 2024), Ali Abdaal (31 Dec 2024), Iman Gadzhi (24 Dec 2024), Graham Stephan (26 Dec 2024), Jay Shetty (26 Dec 2024), Gary Vaynerchuk (21 Dec 2024), Tom Bilyeu (17 Dec 2024), Lewis Howes (9 Jan 2025), Mel Robbins (21 Dec 2024).
• Channel descriptions: the 2026 captures linked in the text; Shorts tabs: captures from 9 June to 22 September 2026 linked in the text.
• Forbes, Top Creators lists 2025 and 2026: Steven Bartlett and his interview show.
• Wikipedia, Patrick Bet-David: his podcast and guests.