Khaby Lame continues to write one of the most spectacular success stories in the creator economy. Born in Senegal in 2000 and living in Italy since childhood, the TikTok star has just signed a strategic deal estimated to be worth $975 million.
The transaction, announced on February 2, 2026, involves the sale of a majority stake in its management company—19th Management, recently renamed to reflect its industrial ambitions—to Hong Kong-based investment fund Rich Sparkle Holdings.
Revealed in 2020 with his videos mocking absurd tutorials, Khaby Lame has broken all records: 162 million followers on TikTok, 82 million on Instagram, a notable presence on YouTube, and the status of the most followed creator in the world. His universal, wordless physical humor transcends languages and cultures, from Dakar to Milan to emerging markets where TikTok dominates mobile usage.
In 2024, Forbes already estimated his annual income at $16 million, fueled by partnerships with Hugo Boss, Fortnite, and Lamborghini.
This transaction illustrates the rapid transformation of the influencer sector: Rich Sparkle is injecting capital to build a "global brand" around Khaby, including audiovisual production (short series, long-format sketches), merchandising (clothing, signature accessories), gaming content, and expansion into markets such as French-speaking Africa and Southeast Asia. Lame retains an operational role alongside his long-standing managers, while the fund contributes its expertise in international scaling and cross-platform monetization.
It extends a trend that began with his collaborations with Meta (Instagram Reels) and his ambassador contracts with TikTok, and is part of a wave of massive investments: MrBeast raised $500 million for his "Beast Industries" in 2025; Charli D'Amelio sold 40% of her company to an American private equity firm. For Rich Sparkle, which has close ties to Chinese tech giants, the deal is a bet on African IP: Khaby embodies a rare form of soft power, capable of uniting both sub-Saharan Gen Z and urban millennials in Europe.
Starting with videos shot in his apartment in Chivasso after losing his job during the pandemic, Khaby Lame symbolizes the success of digital outsiders. He has turned a recurring gag—pointing out the absurd—into a global cash machine. Now, 15 seconds of genius can build an empire.
Who will be the next Khaby LAME in Abidjan, Dakar, or Lagos?