Khaby Lame: TikTok entertainer who doesn't 'utter a word'

Khabale Lame alias Khaby Lame became a TikTok sensation in March 2020 after he started entertaining his followers without speaking a word. 

The 23-year-old created his social media account and commenced content creation after he lost his job of assembling car filters in Turin, Italy. 

Born in Senegal, Lame and his family moved to Italy in 2001, aged one year.

He became popular during the Covid-19 pandemic period when he would mimic and mock other people, and show the simplest way to do his tasks. 

He has since gained over 160 million followers on his TikTok with 2.4 million likes, with the growth he has also worked with several big brands around the globe. 

Across all his social media pages, Lame entertains over 244 million followers, with an average engagement of 0.85 per cent. This is according to Forbes. 

Forbes reported that Lame has worked with brands such as; Hugo Boss, Binance and Middle East bank QNB, Fortnite among other partnerships. 

“When I started making videos, people told me 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," he told Forbes in an interview in September 2023. 

Lame is also a star in Fortnite, a video game that currently has over 230 million monthly players.

According to Forbes, Lame's net worth is currently at $16.5 million (Sh2.4 billion) as of June 2022. This the company attributed to the endorsement that the influencer has had since his breakthrough. 

He also told Forbes that for every post he makes on his TikTok and Instagram, he earns a total of $750,000 (Sh110,000,000)

Named as Forbes's most popular influencer, Lame notes that the brands he works with must fit his family and friends, this excludes alcohol, cigarettes, and any product bad for human consumption. 

“I turn down most requests. I want to work clean. I’ve never worked with an alcohol company, cigarettes, or anything that’s bad for you because a lot of kids follow me," he said.