From YouTuber to Multi-Million Media Mogul

If you need a playbook for making money via YouTube, a 28-year-old British YouTuber, rapper, and (more recently) boxer, KSI is a good example. With a fortune estimated to be around $25 million, JJ Olatunji, as he is known to his parents, has shown how a smattering of talent and a lot of ambition can go a long way.

KSI was born and raised in Hertfordshire, but now lives in London. His father Jide is from Ibadan, Nigeria and his mother, Yinka, is from Islington, London. His younger brother is YouTuber Deji, and the pair were named the 'UK's Most Influential YouTube Creators' in 2015.

KSI, which stands for "Knowledge, Strength, Integrity," is one of the most successful YouTubers in the history of the company. He has over 24 million subscribers on his main channel, which he registered in 2008 when still at school, and 16 million on a secondary channel. Getting in the game early, as a 15-year-old, was vital KSI merely filmed himself playing FIFA. His talent, if you can call it that, was discovering what the rest of us had no idea about 14 years ago — that you could get rich from filming yourself in your bedroom playing video games.

Poor grades and expulsion from school didn't sit well with his Nigerian parents, who envisaged a career as a doctor. What they, or KSI, never imagined was that his videos would be viewed nearly 6 billion times! His Twitter and Instagram channels boast similarly impressive numbers, which would make household Hollywood celebs green with envy. Considering YouTubers with $1 Million subscribers are expected to earn around $60,000 a year from the platform, KSI earns well over $2 million a year from YouTube alone. However, that's his just baseline earnings. In 2018, Esquire magazine reported that, according to Social Blade, KSI can make up to £250,000 in advertising revenue from one video and that product endorsements on his social media cost around £75,000.

Boxing

For his heavily hyped fight with fellow YouTuber Logan Paul in 2018, KSI was rumored to have earned $40 million (based on a $160 million pay-per-view gross). He likely repeated the feat for their rematch the following year and pocketed a cool $25 million in August; the latter was after three years out of the ring, when he faced UK rapper Swarmz and pro boxer Luis Alcaraz Pineda, on the same night.

The event was promoted by KSI’s boxing promotions company, Misfits Boxing in conjunction with the established sports streaming service, DAZN. So far Misfits seems solely dedicated to boxing; the latest is on October 15th at the sizable Sheffield Arena, again with DAZN featuring a bout between Jamie Micheal “Jay” Swingler, from the YouTube Channel, TGF, and American Youtuber, Cherdleys.

Prime Hydration

Proving money conquers all, KSI and former rival Logan Paul, joined forces to launch the hydration drink, Prime which apparently sold well in the US, but according to KSI, has been selling out so fast in the UK, in bulk, only to be sold later on the black market, that it’s virtually impossible to find in stores. The company estimated valuation is between $150 Million and $200 Million

Real Estate

KSI hasn't been frivolous with his cash. He's built a UK- based real estate portfolio worth an estimated $16 million, this is made up of over 12 high-end flats and homes. He has two main property companies: Kilimanjaro Your Mum Ltd (with holdings of around $11 million) and The Throne Holdings (with assets of around $5 million)

The Sidemen

KSI is known as JJ in the YouTube collective The Sidemen. The team of UK YouTube celebs was first formed in 2013. In 2014 he moved into the first Sidemen house and started collaborating with other well know British YouTubers. After moving into a second sidemen house — a mansion outside London — in 2016, he left in 2019, and KSI moved into a condo with fellow Sidester Miniminter until early 2022. Sidemen's YouTube channel currently has 16.8 million subscribers. The Sidemen have launched three different brands: A fried chicken concept called Sides, an alcoholic beverage venture named XIX Vodka, and Side+, a membership club for the group's most devoted fans

Music Career

KSI has, according to Spotify, managed to amass over a billion streams. According to different sources, 1 billion streams can generate between $3-$5 million. From huge hits like 'Holiday' and 'Don't Play' with Anne-Marie. He has regularly topped the charts with collaborations with Yungblud, Rick Ross, Craig David, and many more. He has had record deals with BMG and Atlantic Records, it's safe to say the YouTuber turned musician is taking the world by storm!

Conclusion

KSI proves that if you get involved in something early and stick with it, you can make a fortune. Talent, where social media is concerned, is secondary. There's no doubt that KSI has a certain amount of charisma but no more so than many young guys in the London area interested in gaming, soccer, music, and girls. However, he got involved in YouTube reasonably early on and found an online niche of similarly-minded young men. By being relentless with his content posting, he became a fixture in their lives, and his audience grew. After that, it was a case of leveraging what he'd built. In an age where being famous for being famous is a commodity, hard work tends to trump talent.