KSI’s Exponential Success: How the British Youtuber Turned Rapper Made Millions In Net Worth
- By: Hifza Muhammad on February 16, 2024
- Categories: Money
The #2 top creator of 2023, Olajide William Olatunji, more commonly known as KSI, is an English YouTuber who made his debut in 2009. He is known for his songwriting, rapping, influencer boxing, and most recently as an emerging businessman in the apparel and beverage industries.
He boasts an astonishing net worth of $23.9 million as of 2023. The majority of his net worth comes from his two-decade-long YouTube career, social media channels, and his successful music career during which he has collaborated with many household music names.
KSI is the most famous Youtuber in the United Kingdom, boasting over 20.5 million subscribers on his Youtube channel. Credit: ITVX
Early Life
KSI was born on 19th July of 1993, in Watford, England. He was born to parents Jide Adamulla Olatunji who hails from Ibadan, Nigeria and Yinka Antinuke originally from Islington, London.
He dropped out of high school at an early age to pursue his dreams and ambitions. His family, who were more traditional, believed in the necessity of higher education and ridiculed him for his choice.
The best decision I ever made was to drop out of school!
Instead, KSI started his own YouTube channel in 2009. He uploaded gaming and commentary videos and registered it with the name KSI Olajide BT. KSI stands for, Knowledge, Strength, and Integrity.
| Information About KSI | |
|---|---|
| Aliases | KSI, JJ Olantunji |
| Occupation | YouTuber, Rapper, Boxer, Businessman |
| Date of birth | June 19, 1993 |
| Age (2023) | 30 |
| Nationality | British |
| Gender | Male |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180cm) |
| Weight | 187.2 lb (84.9kg) |
| Relationship Status | In a relationship (partner name undisclosed) |
| Net Worth (2024) | $23.9 Million |
Rise on Youtube
KSI’s journey began on YouTube under the “Jide Junior” channel. The channel featured gaming videos with hip-hop music in the background. In the following year, KSI launched his official YouTube channel which is known to the current general public.
This channel had more thought-out content. Keeping his focus on FIFA, he also uploaded game guides, goal highlights, and updates to the FIFA community. He gained prominence as a content creator and his engaging content paired with his charismatic persona garnered him a massive following quickly. Currently, The KSI channel is followed by 24 million subscribers and is the second most subscribed channel in the United Kingdom.
KSI has approximately 10.55 billion views across both YouTube channels and is earning around $ 4.5 million a year from YouTube. He also held the 2021 title of 30 Under 30 – Entertainment in Europe.
KSI and the Sidemen
Similar to Jake Paul‘s Team Ten, KSI joined hands with Miniminter, Zerkaa, TBJZL, Behzinga, Vikkstar123, and W2S to form a British YouTuber Group called Sidemen. The group has an extended cluster of 5 different YouTube channels, publishing a variety of content such as different challenges, gaming commentary, and sketches. Sidemen totals about 114 million views a month and is estimated to earn $6.87 million yearly.
(Pictured clockwise from top left) YouTubers Joshua Bradley aka Zerkaa, Vikram Barn (Vikkstar123), Harry Lewis (Wroetoshaw), Ethan Payne (Behzinga), Olajide Olatunji (KSI, JJ), Tobit Brown (TBJZL), Simon Minter (Miniminter), collectively known as the Sidemen are a famous Youtuber group who have grown in popularity in the UK because of their entertaining content and other businesses. Credit: The Times
Sidemen also launched their clothing brand through an online clothing store in December 2014. With a global rank of 179,131 and a national rank of 23,545 currently, their net asset evaluation stood at 2.1 million pounds in 2021.
A Surprising Twist of Music
It was clear from the beginning that KSI had an interest in music and rap. In December 2011, he published a video featuring a rapper and Youtuber, Randolph. A music video that soon became a hit on iTunes called “Hesky Time”. This was the start of KSI’s music career.
Music quickly became more of a priority to KSI. The production quality and features becoming more professional. Since that time, KSI has produced dozens of songs with world-famous artists. He featured 21 Savage, Lil Durk, Lil Wayne, Future, etc.
KSI topped the UK charts with his albums ‘All Over The Place’ & ‘Not Over Yet’. Credit: Collage by PokCas
Some of the most famous songs by KSI are, “Little Boy”, “Ares”, “Two Birds One Stone”, “Beerus” etc. His tracks have gained millions of views and streams, demonstrating his flexibility and growing fan base. The music industry’s success gave KSI a popularity boost in addition to increasing his wealth. He has earned roughly $8,000,000 from his Spotify streams,
The Rising Fighter
Perhaps the most unexpected turn of KSI’s career was his journey into professional boxing. He engaged in a series of highly publicized boxing matches against a fellow YouTuber Logan Paul. The fights were so expertly marketed that the second bout earned each of the YouTubers $900,000. The fight also had more pay-per-view buyers than any other non-Mayweather fight.
Since that time, KSI has fought other entertainers such as FaZe Temper and Joe Fournier.
KSI and Tommy Fury before their boxing match in 2013. Credit: DAZN
KSI made his latest comeback into professional boxing alongside new opponent Tommy Fury. While KSI lost the match via unanimous decision, the fight made him millions.
Business and Entrepreneurship
KSI’s entrepreneurial spirit is clear from his diverse range of business ventures through stardom. He launched a restaurant chain named “Sides” with his fellow sidemen. A fried chicken brand that started with one branch and expanded into multiple others throughout northern England and Scotland.
He created another brand with the sidemen called XIX Premium Vodka. An alcoholic beverage online store with a home delivery system. The first batch was introduced in December of 2021 and sold out within minutes of its release. Since then, XIX has had multiple drops and all the products have been sold out at the earliest.
In 2022, KSI partnered with his former rival Logan Paul to create a brand-new sports and energy drink line named Prime. The drink was an immediate hit in both partner’s fanbase with their initial 5 flavor release. In one year, prime earned $250million in retail sales and $110million gross internally. The product is seen to be having a constant uptrend and is projected to earn consistently more in the coming years.
What Does KSI Spend His Money On?
KSI has a strategic approach to wealth management beyond his YouTube career. However, he doesn’t mind spending his hard-earned money luxuriously. His biggest splurge was a whopping $500,000 on a dazzling Diamond Beerus chain, which he hardly wears. The 18-karat diamond-studded chain is a oneof a kind item that was custom-made for KSI after he got inspired from his song with Randolph titled ‘Beerus’, released in 2018. For non-fans, Beerus is a fictional character from the popular anime series ‘Dragonball’.
KSI ordered a custom-made Beerus chain, worth $500,000, which took craftsmen 550 hours to make. The 18-karat gold ‘Beerus’ chain has 2,000 stones embedded including purple sapphires and yellow diamonds. Credit: Collage by PokCas
In addition to his jewelry indulgence, KSI invested a staggering $13 million in a three-floor house located in the heart of London. This lavish residence stands as a testament to his success and affords him a comfortable and stylish living space in one of the world’s most vibrant cities. KSI also made a substantial investment of $13 million in a property empire, solidifying his financial portfolio.
I’m happy where I’m at money-wise. I feel like I’m in a good place. I’ve been doing YouTube for how many years, invested in so many things. When I first started I invested in houses because I didn’t know how long this YouTube bubble would last. So yeah, I’ve made the money that I wanted to make and now I’m looking for more than that.
KSI dropped $260,000 on a sleek Lamborghini Aventador, custom-wrapped by Yiannimize in purple. Other cars in his impressive collection include a silver Porsche Cayenne, a Porsche 718 Boxer, and a Rolls-Royce Wraith.
Soaring Net Worth
With his multifaceted career spanning YouTube, music, boxing, and entrepreneurship, KSI’s net worth has witnessed a remarkable ascent. KSI’s journey from a YouTube gamer to a cultural phenomenon underscores the power of embracing one’s passions and diversifying one’s talents. His wealth will undoubtedly stay a reflection of his unwavering character and capacity to engage audiences everywhere as KSI develops and pursues new opportunities.
