After the Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling upholding a law that mandates TikTok’s sale by Sunday in order to avoid a ban in the United States, speculation about potential buyers of the widely-used social media platform has intensified.

The list of rumored buyers is growing, with names ranging from Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, to popular YouTuber MrBeast, sparking hope among fans and users of the app.

President Joe Biden previously endorsed a sell-or-ban TikTok law, citing national security concerns, which he signed in April after seeking Congress’s approval. This week, he has indicated that incoming President Donald Trump will decide how to implement the ban on the video-sharing platform.

“Our stance has been clear: TikTok should keep operating but should be under American ownership,” a White House representative stated. “Given the timing of the ban, falling on a holiday weekend just before the inauguration, the task of enforcement will be left to the next administration.”

Trump, who tried to impose a TikTok ban during his first term, has now vowed to “save” the beloved app, although specifics on how he plans to achieve this remain unclear. In a post on Truth Social, Trump remarked, “The Supreme Court’s ruling was anticipated, and everyone should comply. I will make a decision on TikTok soon, but I need time to assess the circumstances. Stay tuned!”

With just a few days remaining, here’s what you need to know about the rumored buyers for TikTok.

Who owns TikTok?

TikTok is a property of ByteDance, a global private firm based in Beijing that was established by Chinese entrepreneurs. Around 60% of ByteDance is owned by international institutional investors, while the remaining 40% is split evenly between the founders and employees.

Though its parent company is in China, TikTok operates its global headquarters out of Los Angeles and Singapore, and is not accessible in mainland China. In China, people use Douyin, which is a separate service controlled by ByteDance.

The app is led by CEO Shou Zi Chew, a businessman from Singapore. He is set to meet with Trump’s prominent guests as the president-elect provides his inaugural speech on Monday, according to reports by the Wall Street Journal. Among the expected attendees are Elon Musk, Amazon’s Executive Chairman Jeff Bezos, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Apple CEO Tim Cook, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Why is TikTok facing a ban?

The move to ban TikTok arises from U.S. authorities’ worries over the Chinese government’s influence on the company.

The Justice Department has highlighted two primary concerns regarding TikTok: the potential for the Chinese government to control the content present on the app, thereby influencing public opinion, and the risk of sensitive personal data from millions of American users being collected by the Chinese government.

Who are the potential buyers for TikTok?

Elon Musk, MrBeast, investor and “Shark Tank” personality Kevin O’Leary, and Frank McCourt’s Project Liberty are among the leading candidates rumored to be interested in purchasing TikTok.

Other potential buyers include Bobby Kotick, the former CEO of Activision, Walmart’s CEO Doug McMillon, Microsoft, and the video-sharing platform Rumble.

Is Elon Musk planning to buy TikTok?

While Musk has not clearly stated his intent to acquire TikTok, he expressed opposition to the app’s ban in April.

Musk wrote on X, “In my view, banning TikTok in the USA is unnecessary, even if it might benefit the X platform. Such a ban would contradict the principles of freedom of speech and expression that America upholds.”

Musk, who was appointed by Trump to lead a task force aimed at enhancing government efficiency, has prior experience in the social media realm after acquiring X (formerly Twitter) in October 2022.

Chinese officials have reportedly mentioned Musk when discussing backup plans for the TikTok ban, according to Bloomberg. Musk has a history of meeting with Chinese leaders and has shown support for China, as noted by the Wall Street Journal.

When approached about the prospect of Musk acquiring TikTok, a representative from the platform told the Wall Street Journal: “We can’t comment on mere speculation.”

Are Frank McCourt, Kevin O’Leary, or MrBeast buying TikTok?

McCourt, O’Leary, and MrBeast have all expressed interest in purchasing TikTok or confirmed they have made offers.

MrBeast, whose real name is James “Jimmy” Donaldson, recently announced in a post that he would be willing to buy TikTok to prevent its ban. The YouTuber reportedly earns about $84 million a year, and he later mentioned that several billionaires have reached out to him following his tweet, hinting at possible collaboration.

On the other hand, McCourt indicated that his Project Liberty initiative formally approached ByteDance with an offer last week. The president of Project Liberty, Tomicah Tillemann, mentioned that while the specific bid amount cannot be publicly shared, they have successfully garnered $20 billion in verbal commitments from interested investors.

O’Leary is likely one of the investors referenced by Project Liberty, as he affirmed his intention to work with McCourt on acquiring TikTok.

Kotick, McMillon, Rumble, and Microsoft are still in the running to buy TikTok

Kotick has shown interest in buying TikTok, having previously discussed a potential acquisition with ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming, as reported by the Wall Street Journal in 2024.

Rumble expressed its desire to acquire TikTok in March 2024, stating it was “prepared to collaborate with other parties” for the purchase, although specifics about the offer remain undisclosed.

Walmart and Microsoft may also revisit talks to acquire TikTok after previously proposing bids for its U.S. operations in 2020. They had teamed up with Oracle to take over TikTok’s U.S. branch but were thwarted by a court order against the ban, which ultimately derailed the deal.

Since then, in 2023, McMillon hosted ByteDance’s founder in Bentonville, Arkansas, as reported by The New York Post, citing insider sources.

Contributing: Mike Snider, Greta Cross, Clare Mulroy, Maureen Groppe & Rebecca Morin.