Meet Khaby Lame, TikTok’s most followed influencer: how the Senegal-born 22 year old went from factory worker to a millionaire with 230 million social media followers – and a Hugo Boss endorsement
- Born in Senegal, Khabane ‘Khaby’ Lame moved to a small town in Italy as a child with his family and lived in public housing – he’s since raked in US$10 million in 2021 alone
- He was inspired by Will Smith to pursue comedy but wanted to make it universal; the Hugo Boss rep has since starred in ads with Kendall Jenner and Hailey Baldwin
From a former factory worker to a millionaire social media influencer, Khaby Lame’s life turned around practically overnight.
The 22-year-old Senegal-born TikTokker, full name Khabane Lame, is currently the platform’s most followed account with over 150 million followers.
It’s a far cry from his life just two years ago amid the pandemic, when he was let go from a factory in Italy in March 2020 where he handled numerical control machines, as per The New York Times.
It was then that Lame turned to TikTok, where he devoted much of his time to content creation. In the confines of his family’s home, he started creating comedy sketches, which sarcastically and satirically mocked basic “life hacks” that are too complicated for no reason.
He’s since raked in US$10 million in 2021 according to Forbes – all while saying nothing at all!
So just who is Khaby Lame and how did his success grow so quickly?
His family lived in public housing
Born on March 9, 2000, in Senegal, his family moved to Italy when he was one year old. They lived in a public housing complex in Chivasso, a metropolitan city of Turin in Piemonte, according to Il Fatto Quotidiano newspaper. It has a small population of 26,000. Lame lived there with his three siblings and parents, as reported by CNN. He now lives in Milan with his agent.