
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



<p>Khabane “Khaby” Lame, a TikTok user known for his videos silently mocking absurd “life hack” clips, is the most followed TikToker through the first half of this year with over 162 million followers—putting him about 7 million over second-place Charli D’Amelio.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>Lame—who was named No. 11 on last year’s Forbes Top Creators list—is a Senegalese-Italian social media personality who rose to popularity on the app after he began duetting and stitching life hack videos and highlighting their complicated nature.</p>



<p>Lame has been the most followed TikToker since 2022, when he passed D’Amelio—who grew to fame for dancing videos and has since become a fashion and lifestyle influencer as well.</p>



<p>Since last July, Lame has added about 2 million followers on TikTok, according to data from SocialBlade, a data analytics site tracking social media followings—but D’Amelio has added about 4.3 million, helping her close the gap.</p>



<p>The top five most followed haven’t changed much since <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2023/07/03/khaby-lame-known-for-mocking-life-hacks-top-tiktoker-of-2023/">this time last year</a>, when Lame and D’Amelio still held the top spots, though the bottom three positions have shifted around with Mr. Beast moving up two spots, Bella Poarch moving up two spots and Addison Rae dropping to fifth place.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">SURPRISING FACT</h2>



<p>Though he is the most followed TikToker, Lame isn’t really near the top in terms of most likes on the app. He places 26th in that category with 2.4 billion likes, according to SocialBlade, and D’Amelio holds the title of No. 1 with 11.7 billion likes.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">BIG NUMBER</h2>



<p>$16.5 million. That’s <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenbertoni/2023/09/26/how-top-creator-khaby-lame-became-tiktoks-most-popular-influencer/#:~:text=For%20Lame%2C%20silence%20has%20been,a%20TikTok%20and%20Instagram%20post.">Forbes’ estimate</a> for Lame’s earnings from June 2022 to September 2023. In September, Lame was getting around $750,000 to highlight a product in a TikTok and Instagram post.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">TOP 5 MOST FOLLOWED TIKTOK USERS (AS OF JUNE 30)</h2>



<ol class="wp-block-list">
<li>Khaby Lame: 162,600,000</li>



<li>Charli D’Amelio: ​​155,400,000</li>



<li>MrBeast: 96,900,000</li>



<li>Bella Poarch: 94,200,000</li>



<li>Addison Rae: 88,800,000</li>
</ol>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>Lame grew his following without ever saying a word, focusing his short videos instead on silent critiques of other posts as opposed to sharing his life experiences, which is how many other creators have found success on the app. Lame began using TikTok after he was laid off from his factory job in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. In an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenbertoni/2023/09/26/how-top-creator-khaby-lame-became-tiktoks-most-popular-influencer/">interview with Forbes</a>&nbsp;last year after he was named one of the magazine’s top creators, Lame said when he first started making videos people told him to get “a proper job … but I continued to make videos because that’s what I like doing, even though no one was watching them.” Now that people are watching him, he has raked in a number of partnerships, working with major companies and stars. Lame has been in TikToks with Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Cruise, been in a Super Bowl commercial and taken penalty kicks with David Beckham. He has also branched out from TikTok and debuted a short film, “I Am Khabane,” which documents his story of finding success online, at the Taormina Film Festival in Italy last summer.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">TANGENT</h2>



<p>TikTok is currently facing a ban in the U.S. after President Joe Biden signed a law requiring its China-based parent company ByteDance to sell it before Jan. 19, 2025 or be banned. TikTok and a group of users are in the process of appealing the law, arguing that it violates the First Amendment and would stop a way of communicating that has become “part of American life.” A federal appeals court is set to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2024/06/17/court-will-weigh-possible-tiktok-ban-just-weeks-before-presidential-election/">hear arguments</a>&nbsp;in the case in September, just four months before the ban or sale is required.</p>


“Oppenheimer” UK Premiere – Arrivals

‘Life Hack’ Star Khaby Lame Is 2024’s Biggest TikToker—But Charli D’Amelio Is Close Behind


<p><strong>In June, Senegalese-born Khaby Lame became the most followed star on TikTok. The social media app’s market is particularly growing in Africa’s biggest economy with more influencers tuning to it to make a living.</strong></p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-style-large is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow"><p>“During Covid I started posting videos on TikTok initially because I was bored.”</p></blockquote>



<p>TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, has become one of the world’s most downloaded apps with more than 2 billion downloads according to figures from the platform.</p>



<p>In Africa too, the social media platform has made followers and fortunes for its many stars.</p>



<p>Senegalese-born Khaby Lame is one such example.</p>



<p>He became the most followed star on the social media app with 142.5 million followers in June this year, catapulting him from a humble factory worker living in Italy to landing glamorous and lucrative sponsorships with brands such as Hugo Boss.</p>



<p>His rise has resonated with Africans all over the world and the sensation to become the next big TikTok star has reached fever pitch particularly in Nigeria; little wonder for Africa’s biggest economy.</p>



<p>In recent years, the country is amongst the most active users of TikTok on the continent according to a report by international broadcaster Deutsche Welle.</p>



<p>In recent times, the ‘Don’t leave me’ challenge created by Nigerian TikTok star Josh2Funny became a viral sensation attracting the likes of Greek-Nigerian NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo and other Hollywood celebrities.</p>



<p>With an unprecedented youth unemployment rate in Nigeria, social media has become a medium for Gen Z creators to earn a living. Spurred on by the negative effects of the coronavirus, TikTok reportedly attracted millions of users who wanted an escape from the lockdown.</p>



<p>According to TikTok, its market share in Nigeria peaked at about 50% in 2021.</p>



<p>“During Covid, I started posting videos on TikTok initially because I was bored. Then I realized people were gradually engaging with my content and it became a form of therapy for me because it helped me cope with the stress of being in lockdown every day,” says EmekaG, a TikTok creator in Lagos.</p>



<p>Like him, many young Nigerian creators are hoping to build their own unique brand on the social media platform to help them engage with brands and ultimately make a living as TikTok influencers.</p>



<p>The appeal of the platform lies in its micro-video sharing interface which allows users to create short, funny videos and share them on the platform as well as other apps like Instagram.</p>


Tag: Khaby Lame

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‘Life Hack’ Star Khaby Lame Is 2024’s Biggest TikToker—But Charli D’Amelio Is Close Behind

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