Influencer Khaby Lame Inks $975 Million Deal To Monetize His Global TikTok Fame
It pays a lot to be silent, apparently.
Published Jan. 27 2026, 12:43 p.m. ET
Whoever first said closed mouths don't get fed couldn't have predicted Khaby Lame's massive success. The Senegalese-Italian influencer found success as a TikTok influencer when he decided to post his wordless content for the first time in 2020, a decision that came after he was laid off from his factory worker job in Italy.
Khaby's quiet responses to everyday organizing tasks or what's happening online catapulted him into viral superstardom, as he has become the most-followed person on TikTok. In January 2026, the influencer inked a deal to continue sharing his hilarious reactions with a larger audience.
Here's the scoop on Khaby's multi-million-dollar deal.
Khaby Lame signed a $975 million for his
In January 2026, reports surfaced that Khaby sold a stake in his company, According to The Hollywood Reporter, the all-stock deal was worth an estimated $975 million.
Rich Sparkle Holdings, a Hong-Kong based financial firm that is listed on the Nasdaq, has acquired a stake in his company, which will allow the company to have 36 months of exclusive global rights to Khaby's brand.
The company plans to take advantage of the 36-month period of them having global rights to the brand by capitalizing off of Khaby's massive TikTok following, which, as of this writing, sits at 160 million followers. The company reportedly hopes to acquire the rights over his TikTok shop, live stream and short-video commerce planning and programming, brand endorsements and more. Rich Sparkle Holdings stated in a court filing that it hopes to generate even more sales from the following Khaby already built organically.
"Khaby Lame’s fan-based commercialization could generate more than $4 billion in annual sales,” the company said in the filing.
Khaby Lame's likeness will also be used as part of his deal.
Part of Khaby's $975 million deal includes Rich Sparkle Holdings capitalizing off of the iconic looks that made him a TikTok star. In addition to the company gaining access to his assets as part of the deal, the company plans to create an AI version of him that will include his face, voice and behaviors to create multilingual social media content, as well as increase his output and posting capabilities across multiple time zones.
Part of the appeal of Khaby's videos is the fact that he doesn't speak in them. Rich Sparkle said that his lack of speech in his videos makes them even more marketable, as it allows him to “scale across languages and cultures without translation.”
While Khaby hasn't addressed the deal on his social media accounts, he's seemingly on board with the deal's requirements. Although he sold the company, the company reportedly plans to make him a controlling stakeholder.
Khaby's hefty deal came just several months after he was detained by ICE at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. He was allowed a "voluntary departure" and hasn't been seen in the U.S. since his Met Gala appearance in May 2025.