Khabane Lame, famously known as Khaby, is a Senegalese-Italian social media personality. He achieved worldwide fame thanks to his TikTok videos, where he silently mocks overly complicated life hacks.
As of 2024, Khaby Lame’s net worth is estimated at $21 million.
Lame is currently the most-followed person on TikTok and as such, he earns a fortune from this platform alone. He surpassed Charli D’Amelio to hit the spot in June 2022 and still holds the title.
However, this isn’t everything Khaby Lame does to bolster his wealth. Since he achieved fame, Lame has dabbled in business, movies, and much more.
Let’s take a look at how funny videos and consistent TikTok content turned Khaby Lame into a multi-millionaire.
Khaby Lame’s Net Worth Breakdown:
While much information remains unavailable regarding Lame’s business earnings, endorsement deals, and salary from Italia’s Got Talent, our thorough research has provided us with enough data to estimate his net worth. Based on our findings, Lame has earned approximately $57 million between 2021 and now. After accounting for taxes, this would leave him with around $21 million.
| Asset or Income Source | Contribution to Net Worth |
| Sponsored posts | $750,000 each |
| Earnings in 2021 | $10 million |
| Earnings in 2022 | $10 million |
| Earnings in 2023 | $17 million |
| Earnings in 2024 | $20 million |
| Real estate | $7.5 million |
| Car collection | $640,000 |
| Total Net Worth | $21 million |
Khaby Lame Net Worth: Early Life and Education
Khabane “Khaby” Lame was born in Senegal on March 9, 2000. His family moved to Italy when Khaby was only one year old, where they lived in a public housing complex in Chivasso, Turin. Khaby Lame has three siblings and has spent the majority of his life in Italy. He became an Italian citizen in Chivasso in August 2022 after the Ministry of the Interior Carlo Sibilia granted him citizenship.
Until the age of 14, Lame studied in Italian schools.
“In the neighborhood where I lived, every time there was a flat tire, a bike that needed fixing, they would come to me. I spent the afternoons in the courtyard with friends. We slayed at being mechanics, at soccer, at ‘catching’. In those years I wasn’t on social media, I got my first cell phone at 14 and my first Instagram account at 15,” Khaby Lame said about his childhood.
Lame has also shared that he’s dyslexic and has dyscalculia, which caused him a lot of trouble in school. As soon as he got access to technology and the internet, he started paying attention and found his passion. He made his first videos with his very first phone:
“With my friends, we would make up sketches and post them on YouTube. Nobody watched them, but we had fun,” he said.
At age 14, Lame went to study at a Quranic school near Dakar in Senegal. His parents sent him to school to “keep him straight” – and successfully so. Lame went from having a hot shower at his Italy home to getting water from the source with a donkey. He attended an Islamic school, where he studied the Koran and strengthened his religion.
Personal Life
In November 2023, Khaby Lame married Wendy Thembelihle Juel. However, the marriage didn’t last and the two got divorced by May 2024.
Khaby Lame Net Worth: From Unemployment to TikTok Fame and Fortune
Khaby Lame’s story is one of rags to riches. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lame had a factory job as a CNC machine operator. However, he was laid off during the pandemic, which prompted him to start posting on TikTok.
Fast forward to 2024, and Lame is the most-followed TikToker in the world! Let’s see how his career progressed over the years.
Khaby Lame’s Success on TikTok
After being laid off during the pandemic, Lame started posting videos on TikTok. In his first videos, he was dancing and watching video games. He eventually had his breakthrough on the platform with his video responses in the form of TikTok’s “stitch” and “duet” features. Khaby Lame’s videos that gained him recognition depicted complicated “life hacks” that he completed in a very simple way, without saying a word – followed by his signature hand gesture.
Here’s Khaby’s first TikTok post from March 2020.
@khaby.lame
By April 2021, Khaby Lame surpassed the then-most-followed Italian on TikTok, Gianluca Vacchi. Next, he surpassed Addison Rae and became the second most-followed person on TikTok.
By 2022, Lame was listed in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 and Fortune’s 40 Under 40. That same year, in June, he became TikTok’s most-followed content creator, surpassing Charli D’Amelio with an impressive 142.1 million followers.
Over the years, Lame has collaborated with some of the world’s biggest celebrities as guests on his TikTok account. Among the stars who have appeared on his TikTok (and Instagram) account, are Tom Cruise, Jason Momoa, Robert Downey Jr., Novak Djokovic, Lionel Messi, David Beckham, and more.
@khaby.lame Mission accomplished. I am honored to have worked with you Mr. Tom Cruise. I hope to be called soon for a new mission. Over and out. Agent Khaby #learnfromkhaby #missionimpossible paramauntpartner @Mission: Impossible @Paramount Pictures @its_all_reel
He has promoted some movies, notably Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One on his platform, for which he was most likely fairly compensated.
How Much Does Khaby Lame Earn from TikTok?
According to Alessandro Regio, a social media manager who has worked with Lame in the past, he was earning up to $750,000 per post in 2022. The same source also revealed that Khaby Lame pocketed a total of $10 million that same year. He reportedly earned the same sum in 2021, according to AfroTech.
Based on his continuous success, it is very likely that he earns more now. In 2023, he earned $17 million, nearly double from the previous year. In 2024, his income has risen to an impressive $20 million.
Awards and Accolades
In 2022, Khaby Lame was awarded the Premio La Moda Veste La Pace recognition by the African Fashion Gate organization, at the European Parliament.
Other Projects, Source of Income, and Assets of Khaby Lame
In addition to his TikTok success, Khaby Lame has been earning a fortune from endorsement deals. He has also made many notable TV appearances and dabbled in business.
Film and TV Appearances
Within a single year after his first TikTok clip, Khaby Lame appeared as a co-star for the Italian giants Juventus F.C. in an event where they announced the signing of Manuel Locatelli.
In addition to this, Lame was a special guest at the Venice Film Festival for Xavier Giannoli’s Lost Illusions premiere.
In 2022, Khaby Lame was a juror for the Cannes Festival, working alongside Rithy Panh. As a juror, he judged TikTok short films.
A year later, Lame was invited to be a judge on the television show Italia’s Got Talent. He’s still working on the show as of 2024. It’s unclear how much he earns for this gig.
As for his filmography, Lame has done a voice cameo in the Italian-dubbed version of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022). He also makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in the 2024 action comedy film Bad Boys: Ride or Die.
Soon after, he appeared in the three-episode limited series Khaby is Coming to America. In the series, he visits Miami, New Orleans, and New York City, while meeting celebrity guests including David Beckham, Jon Batiste, and Alicia Keys.
Khaby has shared that he has ambitions to break into Hollywood. “My dream is to move to America to act and star in movies,” he told Forbes. He continues to share that he dreams of becoming a comic actor and star in a movie with his idol, Will Smith.
In 2024, Khaby Lame appeared at the Grammy ceremony with Trevor Noah, delivering a comedy spot in his style.
Endorsement Deals
Khaby Lame is the face of Hugo Boss. He signed a multi-deal contract with the fashion brand and was featured alongside Anthony Joshua, Raphael Varane, Hailey Bieber, and others in their #BeYourOwnBOSS campaign.
Lame was tapped by the world of fashion a few years back. He was recruited by Gucci to promote the company’s North Face collection in 2022. Boss (formerly Hugo Boss) paid Lame $450,000 just to strut their clothes in its Milan Fashion Week Show, along with a single TikTok post.
A major contributor to Khaby Lame’s net worth is brand endorsements. He’s signed numerous lucrative brand deals to date, including Netflix, Xbox, Amazon Prime, Juventus F.C. as their brand ambassador, and Dream 11. His collaborations also include a Pepsi endorsement with Shaquille O’Neal.
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He has also been featured as a character skin in Fortnite Battle Royale as part of the “Last Resort” Battle Pass.
While most details about his endorsements remain undisclosed, Lame was reportedly paid $750,000 by a major Hollywood studio for a single TikTok post.
Business Ventures
Khaby Lame has co-founded a creative agency called Iron Corporation to oversee the social presence of athletes, content creators, and actors, dealing with their monetization strategies. He founded this business with his manager Alessandro Riggio.
Additionally, he owns an online shop called Khabyshop, where he sells his line of merchandise.
Authorship
In 2022, Khaby Lame co-wrote and published his first and only book to date, Il Diario di Khaby. C’e sempre il modo di non complicare le cose. In English, this translates to Khaby’s Diary: There’s Always a Way Not to Complicate Things.
Assets
Lame’s lavish car collection includes:
- Mercedes Benz AMG G63 SUV worth around $180,000
- Porsche 911 worth around $200,000
- BMW X5 and BMW X6 worth around $80,000 each
- Audi RS5 and Audi Q8 SUV worth $80,000 and $120,000 respectively
His other assets include at least two properties. He reportedly owns a pad in Los Angeles with a tennis court and swimming pool, worth $6 million, as well as an apartment in Milan that he shares with Riggio. The Milan apartment is reportedly worth $3 million, and the two bought it in 2021.
What Can We Learn from Khaby Lame’s Story?
Khaby Lame’s journey from a factory worker to becoming one of TikTok’s biggest stars is a compelling narrative with several valuable lessons. His story exemplifies the power of resilience. After he was laid off during the pandemic, he seized the opportunity to explore his creativity on TikTok, showcasing how setbacks can lead to new opportunities.
Lame’s appeal lies in his ability to communicate profound messages and show humor through simple gestures. His content, which often highlights the absurdity of overcomplicated life hacks, teaches us the value of authenticity and relatability in storytelling.
Lame capitalized on the potential of social media to reach a vast audience and achieve enormous success. He began posting silent videos on the platform at a point where he was financially struggling in life. His perseverance and hard work on TikTok helped him achieve worldwide success and become wealthy, which is very impressive.
Beyond TikTok, Lame has diversified his income through lucrative deals with brands, business ventures, TV appearances, and authorship. This highlights the importance of building multiple revenue streams to ensure financial stability.
To date, the influencer has earned millions on TikTok and outside of it. His story is a rags-to-riches story, one that teaches us the importance of pursuing our passions in life.