Khaby Lame, the most followed creator on TikTok, has sold a controlling stake in his business – Step Distinctive Limited – for $975m.
News of the deal with Rich Sparkle Holdings comes just three months after Lame stole the show on the launch night at the 2025 Web Summit in Lisbon.
Lame has 160 million followers on TikTok and the deal is seen as the biggest attempt yet to turn creator influence into a full-scale commercial platform.
Under the terms of agreement it’s reported that Hong Kong-based Rich Sparkle has secured exclusive global rights for 36 months to manage and monetise Lame’s massive digital presence.
This includes livestream income, short-form video strategy, supply chain operations, and brand partnerships.
Lame, who also has 77 million followers on Instagram, is the global leader in wordless comedy and his short videos are regularly viewed millions of times.
Speaking at November’s Web Summit, he urged content creators to put passion before profit.
“If you just think about money, you’ll never get rich,” he said. “You’ll get rich by doing what you love.”
He said he became a content creator and influencer because he wanted to make people laugh.
“The business and the money came later,” he explained. “If you do something just for money, you lose the essence.”
Lame urged the audience to be resilient and keep going when it gets hard. “Don’t compare yourself to others,” he said. “Their limits are not yours.”
Details of the $975m transaction can be found in a SEC filing.