MARKETREALIST.COM / NET WORTH

What is Singer, Entrepreneur and Philanthropist Akon's Net Worth?

As per the Guinness Book of World Records, more people use his songs for ringtones compared to any other artist in the world.

BY SUNAYNA KANJILAL

UPDATED DEC 21, 2023

Akon | Getty Images | Stephane Cardinale - Corbis via Getty Images

Name	Akon
Net Worth	$80 Million
Sources of Income	Singing, Record Producing, Acting
Gender	Male
Date of Birth	April 16, 1973
Age	50 Years
Nationality	United States of America
Profession	Singer, Record Producer, Musician, Rapper, Television Producer

Akon's net worth

Aliaune Thiam, known to the world as Akon, is an extremely influential figure in the music world. He rose to prominence in the early 2000s. He had achieved success both as a solo artist and by launching two successful record labels. He is best known for his songs like, "Smack That" and "Locked Up." As per the Guinness Book of World Records, more people use his songs for ringtones compared to any other artist in the world. He is also the only artist to occupy two spots simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100 list. As of October 2023, Akon is worth $80 million, per Celebrity Net Worth.

Akon's sources of income

He earned close to $13 million during 2011 before which he had made a stunning $21 million. This time was considered as the artist's peak when he was earning close to $20 million every year.

Businesses

He also earns from his entrepreneurial ventures. He has a clothing line called Konvict that he launched in 2008. He also has another high-end clothing brand called Aliaune.

Television and film stints

Akon was seen in the Big Brother house in "Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Edition 2" as a guest. He has also collaborated with Indian music director duo Vishal-Shekhar for a song called "Chammak Challo" as part of a film starring Shah Rukh Khan, "Ra.One."

Akon's early life and career

Akon was born on April 16, 1973, in St. Louis, Missouri. Even though he was born in the States, he has strong roots in Senegal. He spent much of his childhood flying back and forth between Senegal. Later, he settled in New Jersey. He was born to a percussionist father and his mother was a professional dancer. The next stage in his life is filled with controversy. Some say that he spent three years behind bars for being involved in an auto theft organization. However, later it was revealed that he was never convicted of any crime. When he was later confronted, he said that he did go in and out of jail during that period but he was never in jail for three long years.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by 96.9 Cool FM Lagos (@coolfmlagos)

He entered the music industry in 2003 and gained the attention of Devyne Stephens who was known for helping artists like Usher. He released his debut album in 2004 and it hit the number 8 spot in the Billboard Top 200. He spent the next few years collaborating with different artists and churned great songs like, "Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101".

Konvicted

Akon started his new label called KonLive Distribution and his second album Kovicted came in November 2005. The album sold 286,000 copies in its first week and later sold more than one million records in the US. Of course, the album was certified platinum after seven weeks.

Akon's personal life

Akon has six children with three different women. He reportedly owns a diamond mine in South Africa.

Akon's assets

Akon had a mansion in Atlanta that he had bought for around $2..6 million. He had another mansion in the same area that he listed for $7 million.

Instagram

8.7 Million Followers

Akon's philanthropy, contribution to Africa, and quotes

Akon started a project in 2014 named the Akon Lighting Africa project which provides electricity in 15 countries of Africa. He also owns a charity for underprivileged children in Africa which is called "Confidence."

Akon City

In 2018, Akon announced to the world that he was working with the Senegalese government to build a tourist city named Akon City, which was designed to use the cryptocurrency called the "Akoin." After loads of promises, construction was way behind schedule. A suit against Akon in the United States was filed by Devyne Stephens for a debt of almost $4 million. Stephens at the time said that this was all a "fraudulent scheme."

Akon's famous quotes

"Whatever obstacle comes your way, you gotta be prepared to jump over it! And I think that's what separates the legends from the regular artists. It's all in how you manage that success, and how you deal with the controversy when it comes."

"I always feel like 'as long as I'm doin' what I love to do, the money's naturally gonna come.' When you start thinkin' business and you start thinkin' 'What's hot? What's the wave? Who is hot? Let's get at that person,' It becomes a point where you're tryin' to strategize to make money. And that's always a gamble."

"In Africa... age is not important over there. They don't care."

"I don't want to know I'm getting older. Then I'll start to think about getting checkups and insurance. I don't want that."