The Tati Westbrook/James Charles feud brought big drama, but even bigger profit.

Three videos, millions of views and one decimated friendship. It’s been 16 days since Tati Westbrook, 37, cancelled fellow beauty influencer James Charles, 19.

We’re tired, we’re confused and we’re questioning exactly why we (still) care, but according to Cosmopolitan, the financial result of the feud, at least on Tati’s part, is exponential.

As James slowly recovers the 3 million YouTube subscribers he lost over the spat, Tati has increased hers by two-fold. Thanks to her new 5 million subscribers, Cosmopolitan estimates this could go onto “double her networth”, which Celebrity Net Worth currently puts at $6 million.

“The internet was very much team Tati, and her follower count almost doubled—which had a verrrrry positive impact on her whole $ituation,” wrote journalist, Mehera Bonner.

“Many factors go into YouTube’s payment structure—but at the end of the day, more subscribers = more ad revenue. And more ad revenue = more money.”

James Charles responds to Tati Westbrook in his follow-up video, ‘No More Lies’.

Now add to that Tati’s increase in YouTube video views, brand visibility, Instagram followers and awareness surrounding her vitamin company Halo Beauty, and that’s a very plumped-up bottom line.

Before we go any further, a reminder: Halo was the catalyst for the feud. In Tati’s now-deleted 43-minute YouTube video titled ‘Bye Sister,’ she accused James of betraying their friendship after he endorsed Sleep Vitamins by SugarBearHair, which is a direct competitor of her brand. But you knew that.

So who made bank from the whole saga? Let’s break down the figures.

The increase in Tati Westbrook’s YouTube subscribers.

In the land of YouTube stars and beauty influencers, more subscribers equals more views, which equals more money. And while not all of Tati’s 5 million new subscribers will be actively watching her content, the ‘view count’ on her recent videos has increased by an average of 600,000.

Her three videos since the feud have garnered 1.3, 1.4 and 1.8 million views in 2 weeks, while her videos from a month ago range from 3.9 million views (for her famously popular Jeffree Star collection reviews) to the bulk that sit somewhere in the 900,000-1.2 million range.

However, overall it's clear that more people are consuming her content.

Now, according to this highly upvoted Quora thread from 2018, Manikandan Rajendran, who holds a Masters in Engineering from the Madras Institute of Technology in India, YouTube pays around "$7.65 per 1000 ad views".

Although most of Tati's videos come with ad-previews or multiple mid-video ads, she notably disabled advertising on her original 43-minute video condemning James. She did include several breakout boxes with links directing viewers to her beauty supplement brand, Beauty Halo.

But back to the money. If you factor in an increase of 600,000 views per video, that's an extra $3,825 per video, and considering she does two to three videos a week, that's a very sizeable increase. However, keep in mind this amount will vary depending on whether multiple ads are used in a video and whether her audience watch the ads, press 'skip' or use a 'ad-blocker'.

As a beauty influencer, Tati's YouTube income could also include affiliate links from the products she features and sponsored videos, in which she would work with a brand or company in exchange for content. While the bulk of her videos aren't sponsored and don't use affiliate links (she specifically writes "FTC DISCLAIMER: This video is Not Sponsored and there are no affiliate links" in the video description box) as a general rule, the more visibility a YouTuber has, the higher they can set their rates when working with brands.

The effect on Tati's Instagram.

While Tati's current Instagram follower count sits at 3.1 million, it should be noted that the 'beauty guru' hasn't recently shared any sponsored posts, although she has done in the past.

According to Instagram scheduler provider, Later, digital marketers often adhere to a formula that pays influencers $100 per 10,000 followers, which means Tati could earn $31,000 per sponsored social media campaign, which would feature multiple stories and post. Cosmopolitan also states that while Tati would probably make considerably less than James who "earns $9,750 a post thanks to his 15.3 million followers".

 

View this post on Instagram

 

"Never let anyone treat you like a yellow Starburst. You are a pink Starburst!" ????✨???? Living for a little hot pink at the moment, courtesy of @nyxcosmetics THIS COLOR!!! #Paris #softmattemetalliclipcream #nyxcosmetics #ad

A post shared by Tati Westbrook (@glamlifeguru) on Apr 6, 2018 at 6:54pm PDT

The effect on Halo Beauty.

Back to beauty vitamins, or specifically Tati's brand of supplements, Halo Beauty. The source of all this thoroughly 21st Century drama.

"You threw me under the bus, you knew how much it would hurt," Tati told James Charles in her now-viral video. "I told you, I texted you like, 'hey, I'll give you a sponsorship if you want one, don't do this it will hurt me.'

"I'm not an idiot, I know what contracts look like, I know what exclusivity looks like."

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Halo Beauty (@halobeauty) on May 13, 2019 at 12:05pm PDT

Tati's feelings might have been hurt. However, judging from Halo Beauty's Instagram statistics alone, her business was anything but.

Using data from social media monitoring website, Social Blade, the follower count for Halo Beauty (@halobeauty) has jumped from 337,490 followers on May 9 - the day before Tati's first video - to 461,856 as of May 24. That's an increase of 124,366 followers in 15 days.

For this figure to directly profit Tati, the increase in followers would need to translate into sales, but according to her fellow YouTubers, it definitely has.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Hello Sunday ????✨

A post shared by Tati Westbrook (@glamlifeguru) on Dec 2, 2018 at 1:50pm PST

Rick 'FaZe' Banks says the attention from Tati's video would have drastically increased Halo Beauty sales, with him putting that figure at US$19.6 million (AU$28.3 million) worth of product sales in the three days.

"If Tati’s video converted just one per cent of the people who watched that video - just one per cent, which is a very normal conversion rate... that would mean Tati and her company [would have] sold $19.6 million worth of product," he explains in a YouTube video titled 'How Tati made $19.6M dollars in three days'.

"At first that number is so crazy and so out there but it really kind isn't considering how emotionally invested people were in this.

"Just think about for a moment how many people were watching that video and thinking, 'wow he didn't promote her vitamins, I feel bad for her, how can I make things right, how can I help her feel better?'"

And while we don't know if Tati and James will ever repair their friendship, product sales of AU$28.30 million, mainstream visibility and 5 million YouTube subscribers in three weeks is a pretty comparable silver lining.

READ MORE:

• James Charles just shared “the truth” about the Tati Westbrook drama in a new YouTube video.
• Everything you need to know about Tati Westbrook, the woman who ‘cancelled’ James Charles.
• A global pile on: James Charles may have done some horrible things, but he’s 19.

Where you surprised by how much Tati's finances were boosted by her feud with James Charles? Tell us in a comment below.