This man has an amazing amount of power and he is pretty much self-made also. As far as I can tell he's got no mentor or patron. He just figured out the YouTube formula himself. A testament to a rational application of will unrestrained by a normal social conscience.
I'm not saying that he's a psychopath. I don't think he is. He's just extremely driven, manipulative, great a PR and willing to push the limits of the socially acceptable for sensationalistic material both good and bad.
(Correction to the meme, it seems that he obtained 100 hours of 24-hour professional filming permit not exclusive access)