Senegalese creator becomes world’s most-followed TikToker as income faces steep rise
Khaby Lame, a 22-year-old Senegalese creator, has become the most-followed person on TikTok, Yahoo news reports.
He achieved this feat on Thursday, 23 June 2022, surpassing American TikTok star, Charli D’Amelio, who formerly had the distinction.
Khaby now has more than 142.7 million followers compared to D’Amelio’s 142.3 million.
Khaby who is a former factory worker achieved this feat just two years after he created an account on the social media app after losing his job during the pandemic.
Based in Italy, he rose to fame through his use of TikTok’s duet and stitch features, reacting wordlessly to complicated and absurd “life hacks.”
His following began exploding last year, and in recent weeks, fans launched efforts to push him to the top.
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On his background, Khaby was born in Senegal in 2000 before he immigrated with his parents to Italy the following year.
After high school, he began working as a machine operator in the northern city of Turin before he was laid off in March 2020.
In an interview with Forbes, he said: “The pandemic had just started, and I was bored with a lot of time on my hands so I started making videos on TikTok.”
Khaby TikTok clips are just “simple” hacks for things such as cleaning dishes and even closing doors.
He explained: “Every day, I spend at least three hours looking for the right video to parody.
“I always try to be careful to not offend anyone with my videos, and I always prefer to joke with light-hearted parody.”
The New York Times attributed Lame’s success to his “everyman” quality in a profile published last year.
The paper declared: “His work lacks the polished production value associated with the most famous TikTok stars of today … His rise has been entirely organic.”
As regards how much Lame makes, CA Knowledge said as of 2022, Khaby Lame’s net worth is estimated at around $13 Million.
They also noted that he made $6 million in 2021.
Khaby makes his money from the videos which have clocked up an astonishing 2.3 billion likes in total, and each of his videos is usually watched by tens of millions of people.
The report also showed he makes money through brand endorsements and advertising.
Another report by Techiegamers said he charges brands $50,000 for a single promotional video on TikTok and is estimated to make $200,000 per month.
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