YouTubers Niki and Gabi had a net worth of $9 million in 2021. Now one of them is broke.

In 2012, twin sisters Niki and Gabi 'Demar' Demartino picked up a camera and hit record. 

When they were done, they shared the video online and within three years, they had more than a million subscribers and a brand that set them apart. But while they may be twins, their aesthetic, the way they walked and the way they talked couldn't have been more different.

Their YouTube channel catapulted the sisters to fame that has endured, and more than a decade later, Niki and Gabi have a combined following of more than 26.2 million across YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.

In their prime, it is estimated the pair were making around $3,000 through advertising dollars every single day on YouTube alone in their prime, amassing a reported combined net worth of $9 million in 2021. But after more than 12 years, Niki has confessed in a new video that she almost went "broke" during that time.

Watch a snippet of Niki and Gabi's YouTube channel. Post continues below.

The 29-year-old has been open about pursuing a career in music. But despite having connections in Hollywood and a built-in fanbase in the millions, there were terrible financial decisions made along the way that almost led to her financial ruin. 

"I've always wanted to do music and then I blew up on YouTube with the Niki and Gabi channel," she explained in April. 

"The whole time I was doing Niki and Gabi, and I had Hollywood connections and managers and agencies, I was always talking about doing music. [But] no one would actually listen to me because my YouTube channel was making so much money."

Niki and Gabi Demartino started creating YouTube videos in 2012. Image: YouTube.

Niki confessed she and her sister's team were already "profiting so much" off of their brand deals, weekly and daily video uploads and plugged-in followers.

Then, in 2019, the YouTuber got the opportunity she was waiting for. 

"I met with a real music manager and he took me on. He [had] worked with really, really big artists. It really felt like this was my chance," she said. 

Niki released 'Alone In My Car' in 2020, pulling in more than five million streams on Spotify alone in just a year. "That kind of started my real music career for me," the 29-year-old continued. "After that, I kept just putting out singles, singles, singles, but this is where the going broke thing happened."

While it's easy to assume the pair were roughly making the same amount of money considering their shared platforms, Gabi played it 'safe' by continuing to create content for social media and leverage her influencer status. Her twin, however, made a sideways shift into music that had a lasting impact on her finances.

Niki Demar has been creating videos on YouTube for more than a decade. Image: Instagram @niki.

The YouTuber explained that because she was in "artist development", she was "paying" her music manager a salary — the cost was exorbitant and more than she realised. 

"That was a situation. I was paying that manager a salary more than anyone I paid on my entire team," she said. "I never ever thought I would talk about this publicly [but] there were some things not right with that situation. 

"Some things I didn't know that I found out later... I couldn't afford the salary I once was paying him that I didn't know I was paying him. I wasn't even aware it was stacking up and the number was huge."

Niki said she was "an idiot who put her dreams before survival".

To make music is an expensive gig — one the YouTuber said forced her to put her financials into perspective. On top of the salary she was paying her music manager, there are production fees and mixing rates that make creating a song pricey — and this doesn't include a marketing budget, cover art or a music video.

"At the cheapest, it takes about $5,000 to put out a single so as you can imagine that plus the salary... I was running myself into the ground," she reflected. 

"I know this is a very common story to a bunch of smaller artists. It's rough out there. I was on this hamster wheel of insanity until all of a sudden I realised, 'I'm not okay.' I had to pause and that was the hardest thing I had to do, and I parted ways with that manager."

Niki Demar told followers she almost went "broke" pursuing a music career. Image: Instagram @niki.

She also moved out of her house, which she said in another video cost her about $2,000 more than she expected every month (on top of her already very expensive mortgage). "I actually didn't know my full financial scope," she said. 

"If you don't know every single thing about your finances, you will get f**ked and that happened to me."

The YouTuber also clarified that she realised her problems "are not relatable".

"I'm so aware that my problems are not relatable and my life is so not relatable. I mean who drops out of college to make like $1 million at 19 years old? My life is not normal."

Everyone makes mistakes in life, she added. However, Niki's were just... a little bit more public.

"I had to move out of my house. I made a lot of stupid, stupid decisions for a dream... And this is a part of growing up. You make mistakes to learn from the mistakes to not repeat the mistakes," she said.

"It's great to love your craft but you can't be a slave to your craft. It's good to want something, but also look after yourself."

Feature Image: Instagram @niki.