Khaby Lame: From facing poverty to Sh 90 million per Tik Tok post
Senegalese-born Italian social media personality Khabane ‘Khaby’ Lame earns a whopping $750,000 per clip on Tik Tok. That translates to a stunning Sh 90.4 million.
According to several global publications dating September 15-17,2022, 22-year-old Khaby is the most followed person in the world on Tik Tok with 149.5 million fans.
Also read: ‘Immoral’ Nyege Nyege festival draws sold-out crowds
This cash is earned through brand partnership deals as he earns an average of Sh48.2 million per clip for collaborations.
Hugo Boss paid him Sh 54.2 million after he walked in their Milan Fashion Week show and posting it on his social media accounts.
Fortune magazine also revealed Lame renewed a contract with a Hollywood Studio that pays him Sh 90.4 million for a single clip.
Lame’s parents and his three siblings immigrated to Italy in 2001 when he was one-year-old. His family went in search of better opportunities and lived in public housing in Chivasso, Italy.
At age 20, he got a job as a factory worker but was laid off in March 2020 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
As the world shut down during lockdowns to contain the virus, Khabe began making Tik Tok videos of himself dancing, watching video games and eventually, mocking content creators who came up with overcomplicated life hacks by showing an easier way things could be done. All this was done to pass time as he grappled over his unemployment.
Also read: Actor Blessing Lung’aho sounds wedding bells with fiancé Jackie Matubia
His star began shining and he went on to beat established social media influencers and celebrities in the number of followers he amassed from across the world. All this happened without the world knowing what his voice sounds like.
He is now engaged to his partner, Zaira Nucci and was recently granted an Italian citizenship after years of waiting to be registered as one.
He is now estimated to be worth Sh 1.5 billion today and plans to buy his mother a huge house. He also now hangs out with celebrities including actors and footballers from his favorite team, Juventus.
Also read:
Why Ruto has delayed in naming his cabinet
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja responds to Nameless’ E-Sir petition
NMS Director Mohammed Badi shares insight on managing Nairobi