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 the agreement it鈥檚 reported that Hong Kong-based Rich Sparkle has secured exclusive global rights for 36 months to manage and monetise Lame鈥檚 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鈥檚 Web Summit, he urged content creators to put passion before profit.
鈥淚f you just think about money, you鈥檒l never get rich,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou鈥檒l get rich by doing what you love.鈥�
He said he became a content creator and influencer because he wanted to make people laugh.
鈥淭he business and the money came later,鈥� he explained. 鈥淚f you do something just for money, you lose the essence.鈥�
Lame urged the audience to be resilient and keep going when it gets hard. 鈥淒on鈥檛 compare yourself to others,鈥� he said. 鈥淭heir limits are not yours.鈥�
Details of the $975m transaction can be found in a .