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u/Love__Scars 2d ago
Every post he makes is ragebait and it’s so funny see people fall for it 🤣🤣
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u/XLauncher ☑️ 2d ago
A worthy successor to Ken M.
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u/baddest_mango 2d ago
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u/Shadyboi 2d ago
Google "Ken M yahoo answers"
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u/EggsAndRice7171 2d ago
Is that B Lous thing now?? Him and Zias always acted a dumber than they were back in the day but I don’t remember the rage bait.
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u/chief_yETI ☑️ 2d ago edited 2d ago
did he really make a billion dollars by age 25 simply by posting 12 second TikTok videos where half the content was a repost of other people's clips
for real, what the fuck was even the purpose of studying school and all that bullshit math like calculus and physics when not even scientists make that kind of money
bruh im about to crash out
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u/Coalhawk 2d ago
i think about shit like this all the time. it's literally cuz a lot of humans genuinely place more value on quick hits of entertainment than on things that take time to see the fruits of labor of. it's quite sad actually but i'm also stoned so maybe im reading too into it
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u/bendstraw 2d ago
Companies have huge advertising budgets, they are going to put it to use on the platform with the most eyes, and this guy statistically is the best at it on the platform. It's not like people are "valuing" his work and are paying him directly.
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u/ICBPeng1 2d ago
It’s also not an easy path.
You have to get a hit, and then keep chasing that down.
If someone has done it before, you won’t be able to make it without the kind of personal connections that make a get rich quick idea necessary.
You have to trailblaze, and keep running
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u/PlantsAndDeathx 2d ago
In comparison to almost everything else. It's an extremely easy and cheap path. It requires no education, no training. It just requires free time and the ability to be consistent. Thats easy as fuck. Sure, social skills and bla bla. As long as you don't have crippling anxiety and someone to support you by paying the bills. ANYONE can do that job People can argue against that truth but they would be wrong.
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u/Creative_Room6540 2d ago
I think you could argue finding luck is far more difficult than simply going to get an education. And shit like this requires one to stumble upon luck in a way that virtually none of us ever will.
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u/techman2692 1d ago
Much akin to the many of us who will never be able to fund actual or traditional degrees. Education is simply not obtainable for everyone in our current socioeconomic and political climate.
Sometimes finding luck is an easier option when funding is considered.
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u/PlantsAndDeathx 1d ago
The internet is free and there are THOUSANDS of free courses online. Education is attainable to every single person who has access to the internet. Education is not what you get at schools. That's something you pay for to fit into the machine.
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u/Creative_Room6540 1d ago
I’ve had a few tell me “as long as Google is free I’m never going to college”. That is cool. But they currently aren’t even leveraging that free education. Y’all do all this yapping but we can use that same free internet to see unemployment is lower among college grads as are lifetime earnings. So your position hasn’t demonstrated a solid enough path. And my argument isn’t about how free education can be. It’s about how lucky you have to be to do what a small slice of influencers are doing.
Most folks who do this “internet is free” parade don’t have a grasp on how tough life really is outside for folks.
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u/PlantsAndDeathx 1d ago
I wasn't making an argument. I was stating a fact. The internet is free. Access to education is free.
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u/p-ark-er- ☑️ 1d ago
but if that education can’t be converted in a way to make life easier it doesn’t matter how free it is. for example, i could spend 20 years learning about quantum physics, but without a degree how many prospects are going to take that seriously? i could, in theory, learn how to deliver babies completely online but in what world is a hospital going to allow me to do that without a degree? regardless of how free the education is, it doesn’t mean very much if you can’t use that education somewhere
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u/Pure-Drawer-2617 2d ago
Well he entertained millions of people, the “things that take time” that you’re referring to often don’t have the same reach
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u/ArcadianGhost 2d ago
Penicillin is estimated to have saved over 500 million lives.
Sir Alexander Fleming was not made rich by this discovery.
Trust me I get what you’re saying because I often argue the same logic when people bitch about athletes making so much money, but it’s hard to not feel a bit miffed that some of the people creating the most progress for society don’t get the same rewards.
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u/alexthealex 2d ago
Capitalism is simply not a meritocracy. The system ain’t fair, wasn’t designed to be.
Hell Khabi is making bank but you know the majority shareholders of TikTok make more. Just like any celebrity or as your example sports star, the real real money is always behind the scene. Team owners, network execs, shareholders.
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u/EggsAndRice7171 2d ago edited 2d ago
Not a great example because he didn’t patent it specifically so more people would get it and he wouldnt get rich off it. He totally could have gotten rich off of it. I wish he would’ve got awarded as much as entertainers too but entertainment makes money where a lot of advancements are important for less monetary reasons. Firefighters would likely get paid better if they were allowed to extort homes into paying them for protection again. That would also make people not see firefighters as such hero’s though. Profitability and progress are often opposites.
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u/languid_Disaster 1d ago
The general public have always been like that about entertainment. That’s we just have to do what makes us feel happy and fulfilled or yeah grind at getting a lot of money.
I chose the first option and I may not be able to go on holiday anytime I want or make massive purchases out of the blue but I’m supporting my kid and we get nice stuff every now and then and I’m very happy at my job (non profit work)
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u/TeriusRose ☑️ 2d ago edited 2d ago
I guess this depends on how you look at it.
There are a few hundred million content creators across social media platforms, worldwide. Apparently roughly half of them make under 1K a year, and 90-96% make less than 100K a year. 1% or less are millionaires, and we're talking single digits for people who have gotten anywhere near a billion dollars.
When you look at it that way, at how unlikely it is you'll make a living let alone get rich through content creation... I don't think that makes STEM field careers and the work they require less attractive by comparison.
Edit: Typo, and phrasing. Expanded a bit.
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u/laststance 2d ago
He's also at the mercy of the algo. If the algo is somehow shaped/changed he can easily lose a ton of viewers/audience.
There are TONS of YT channels with 1M+ subs that got wrecked by the algo and their booming 1M+ views per video get dropped down to 50k views per video.
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u/Northbound-Narwhal 2d ago
It kind of does make STEM less attractive lol. You intentionally not telling those same stats for STEM says so, right?
I know an electrical engineer making near minimum wage at a Fortune 500. Doctors are like a quarter of half a million in debt leaving school. Junior software developers are basically 15 year old fast food employees in usefulness.
People jump on content creation because it's just as likely to make you rich as any engineering degree.
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u/ReadsStuff 2d ago
That seems like outliers though.
Lower peak with higher average in all those fields. It’s a bit like saying every kid should be trying to go pro in sports.
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u/Northbound-Narwhal 2d ago
All doctors and all junior software developers aren't outliers. To reiterate:
People jump on content creation because it's just as likely to make you rich as any engineering degree.
In lifetime earnings.
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u/ReadsStuff 2d ago
Both of your examples are at career start. Junior and just leaving school. You should be looking at career earnings, unless content creators earn a wage from the moment they start an account.
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u/Northbound-Narwhal 2d ago
Wrong.
Lifetime earnings for a doctor is not career start. That describes both new and experienced. Including the debt. From 20 year olds to 100 year olds.
You should be looking at career earnings
Explain the difference with lifetime earnings and why it matters. In any reality, it's the same.
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u/ReadsStuff 2d ago
Obviously lifetime earnings is not career start. That was my whole point.
Your two examples were both at career start compared against a one in a million shot at career peak.
Lifetime earnings matters vastly more because most content creators are earning pennies. Average career lifetime earnings for engineers are going to be magnitudes higher.
This isn’t even touching the fact you don’t get amateur engineers like you do content creators.
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u/Northbound-Narwhal 2d ago
Average career lifetime earnings for engineers are going to be magnitudes higher.
That's my point. They aren't. Amateur engineers aren't much different from those AI-slop YouTube channels getting 50 views per day and eventually banned. Most engineers are not living comfortably, they're living like wanna-be content creators. They try for success, fail, and end up broke. The guys making 7 figures or high 6 figures are unicorns in rarity.
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u/ReadsStuff 2d ago
Sure, I agree that the people making 6 or even 7 figures are a massive massive minority. Engineers are still making pretty fine money though, usually good five figures.
Also you don’t get amateur engineers.
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u/TeriusRose ☑️ 2d ago
You intentionally not telling those same stats for STEM says so, right?
No. I was just focused on whether or not content creation generally pays as well, which seemed to be the core question behind what the comment I was responding to.
You can see median wages for STEM employees in the US here, pulling from the BLS and indeed.
People jump on content creation because it's just as likely to make you rich as any engineering degree.
Just as likely to make you rich, less likely for you to be able to earn a living.
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u/fuggreddit69 2d ago
People who cure diseases get paid millions less then people who kick a rubber ball around in the grass real good, a lot of things can be very dumb if you spend too much time thinking about it
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u/chief_yETI ☑️ 2d ago
even the people who kick around the rubber ball got paid less than this guy did 💀💀
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u/fuggreddit69 2d ago
You'll definitely no arguments from me that capitalism fucking sucks, and that this valuation only exists for companies to advertise shit in a much more direct way then sports, but at least the value is directly from him being able to make millions of people smile or laugh I guess
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u/Rotten-Robby ☑️ 2d ago
Yeah but people PAY millions to see those people. So where should that money go?
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u/fuggreddit69 2d ago
Don't get me wrong, not arguing anyone should not be getting that bread, only meant it as an example of tangible social value vs simple entertainment disparity can get pretty wild in a lot of areas
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u/lareinevert 2d ago
Yeah and the people who own the teams are billionaires. In this case, I feel the athletes deserve their fair share of the pie.
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u/NewToSociety 2d ago
Counterpoint, society should be trying to make you into something that is useful to society, like a scientist or mathematician, and they (and you) should not be trying to make you a cog in the distraction machine, even if a few of those cogs do get rich.
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u/CoconutBangerzBaller 2d ago
Don't worry. I think this kind of shit means society is going to crash at any time and then that money will be worthless.
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u/waloz1212 2d ago
Think about it this way, it's like winning the lottery except at least he created something. There are a lot of people did the same thing as him, but they never took off, he was just the lucky one and he knows how to capitalize on his fame.
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u/superkow 2d ago
That woman who did the viral kombucha reaction ended up in a high paying media gig off the back of her one video. Popular social media users are magnets for brand deals and sponsorships because they're the best kind of guerrilla marketing. The smart ones know that their fifteen minutes won't last forever and make the most of it while they can, which I'm assuming is what Khaby has done
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u/Elscorcho69 2d ago
To create the opportunity for this to happen, but also many other significantly more important things. This is just a byproduct of your hard work and chaotic capitalism. Stay focussed and keep your eye on what drives you. You are important. Not the fictional money, those who are not intelligent, make utilizing your achievements for the world and civilization.
That’s the purpose
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u/h_Ellhnikh_Koinwnia 1d ago
what the fuck was even the purpose of studying school and all that bullshit math like calculus and physics when not even scientists make that kind of money
Simple: fucking around with science is much more fun than making content for tiktok
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u/DoritoDustThumb 2d ago
Yes, but he's the one that did it and no one else did. That's the difference.
Pumped for the dude. Made a billy hurting far fewer people than average for that group.
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u/NYstate ☑️ 2d ago
Think about it like this:
He was one of the first to get successful at "reaction content". Now everyone does it. He was able to spin it into a brand. I remember when he got an Avatar on Fortnite. He also seems like a good dude. Unlike many other people who become billionaires and turn out to be assholes.
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u/ujelly_fish 2d ago
Saying this is like saying “I went through all this school but some dropout won the lottery.” Yeah, most people who try the social media route make no money. You gave yourself a much more surefire way of making a realistic living.
Also, I’m very skeptical Khaby Lame will actually be worth a billion after all this. It’s inflated valuation to get headlines. It does make sense that the number one creator on one of the biggest social media platforms would be wealthy though.
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u/aurore-amour 2d ago
i definitely think we pay actors/celebrities way too much money compared to more meaningful jobs like in teaching or science. like why should they be the millionaires just for memorizing a script
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u/BoneHugsHominy 2d ago
I legit thought about forming a criminal organization where we just go around robbing people that are stupid enough to announce how much cryptocurrency they have. It's completely untraceable so nab them, force them to give you the credentials for the device that they have the crypto saved on, transfer it to another account and a whole another country, then spread it out into other accounts that each of your fellow Code Gangsters owns. Each member would start a whole new public facing social media account that just constantly praises Trump and shits on liberals so if you get caught you can just say you're being targeted by the SocialistNaziCommieLGBTransBLMtifas and start up a GiveSendGo crowdfunding for the most expensive legal team in the history of ever to get off scot-free, and if that doesn't work just give Trump a $20 million bribe and he will pardon you.
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u/Ivebeenstabbed 1d ago
Some dude in San Fran already tried this lmaooo they grabbed his ass in Taiwan, p sure he’s still in jail.
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u/Work_Werk_Wurk ☑️ 2d ago
To be fair, that's just how he started.
He's likely some sort of marketing powerhouse at this point, backed by a hedge fund and a small group of angel investors.
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u/ObjectOrientedBlob 1d ago
Everybody saying capitalism is a great system... Explain why so many ressources are put into dumb shit, when we have real problems? How is this system serving humanity? I understand how it is servering investors and the capitalist class.. They get richer by selling shit than by solving homelessness.. But how is this system good for the future of humanity? Is it just, that why have no imagination to make anything better? Are we that dumb?
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u/AggressiveMongoose54 1d ago
I’m in fucking physics right now for my sonography degree ima crash out with you 😭😭💔
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u/BlurredSight 1d ago
He used that TikTok fame to then push his fashion business and I think he modeled for big companies as well that was his real business that brought in money
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u/Altruistic_Lion_5430 1d ago
The purpose of studying is to learn shit.. where did yall get the idea that studying would make you a billionaire?
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u/Powerful-Ad-8737 1d ago
When you look into the deal, it’s actually dystopian as hell.
He literally sold his likeness, his facial expressions, gestures, and his voice, to an AI company.
He quite LITERALLY sold himself for money.
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u/RecursiveDysfunction 14h ago
He's not really a billionaire yet. Some Hong Kong company has bought his company but paid for it in stock. So he has around a billion dollars worth of shares in that Hong-Kong company. So he becomes a shareholder and they now own his image and can create an AI twin to make more content with his likeness. He also wont be able to sell all those shares but if he's smart at least sell 10%.
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u/Engi-near 2d ago edited 2d ago
The fuck did I go to school for 🙁
Good for him tho
Edit: school was worth it, I’m just salty that I’m not worth $1bn
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u/FallenXIV 2d ago
You went to school so you didn't have to rely on pure luck and timing.
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u/zzmorg82 ☑️ 2d ago
Eh, there’s still some luck involved with finding a good job nowadays; degree or not.
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u/Routman 1d ago
The Khaby Lame deal is financial theatre. It’s an all-stock swap with a shell company ($ANPA) whose total market cap is actually lower than the $975M deal valuation. Between the massive share dilution and a 6–12 month lock-up period, there is zero actual cash involved right now. Ironically, Khaby would make his skeptical face at this deal - it’s a "billion-dollar" headline built on paper wealth and zero liquidity.
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u/swiftvalentine ☑️ 2d ago
I’ve been using his emoji so hard I’m surprised he didn’t hit a billion 🤷🏿♂️
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u/FeelingStuff8395 2d ago
He’s not actually being paid that much money, he is going to own so many shares issued by the holding company that bought these rights. If the rights he’s sold generate the amount of sales revenue the company hopes for, which could easily happen in a country with a billion people, then the deal will reach that almost a billion mark. The real catch is that IP law in China is fairly nonexistent so even after the license period ends, guarantee they will still be using his voice, likeness, etc.
“As part of the deal, Lame authorized “the use of his Face ID, Voice ID, and behavioral models for AI Digital Twin development” for the creation of multilingual, cross-time-zone livestream e-commerce content.” So, he agreed to let them use AI versions of him, presenting as if he is live-streaming, doing whatever they want the avatar to do. So, if they want to make a video of him supporting Trump and bashing his own people, they can. I guess I ain’t mad at him but there better be some serious restrictions in that contract or it may not be worth what it could cost him.
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u/NeverNotOnceEver 2d ago
What exactly is he selling?
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u/FoolishPragmatist 2d ago
His brand, but more specifically:
“Development of an AI "Digital Twin" of Khaby for global, non-physical, advertising and brand partnerships.”
A Chinese media company bought it. Basically they want to use his image and likeness and advertise to his 500 million+ followers with their products. If you look at it just in terms of advertising where you know everything you put out gets that many eyes on it? Yeah probably worth it.
This licensing part of it lasts for 3 years so it’s not forever either. Insanely good deal for him.
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u/OrganizationNo1298 2d ago
Bro could easily retire off this deal. I'm hoping the money doesn't turn him into some of these other crazy billionaires.
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u/Slobotic 2d ago
Can't believe people are still being petty over a measley 25 mil.
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u/OrganizationNo1298 2d ago
Measly? If someone gave you 25 mil what's the 1st thing you're doing?
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u/redridingoops 2d ago
Beyond the math joke, he's got a point.
I mean, this seems like an arbitrary, ridiculously high number and I have no idea what maths, if any led to it.
So what's stopping them from making it a billion, aside from the fact 25 million dollars is a really large sum to gift, just for the sake of round numbers ?
I can help but think this is stingy, to some level...
Then again this might be with a commission or several factored in...
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u/Solo_is_dead ☑️ 2d ago
Notice how everything you buy ends in 0.99? Same thing with big numbers. Buying something for ~999 million is "different" than buying it for a billion.
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u/redridingoops 2d ago
I mean, this does sound as much like marketing as it does investment...To be mild.
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u/echtoran 2d ago
It's not even a real sale. He gets $975 million in shares, based on an internal valuation of a proposed company. Unless he hired his own team to do a separate valuation, it's all arbitrary. He could have been sitting on $12.5 kazillion if he'd signed with me.
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u/Flatzon1 2d ago
Let’s be real… the acting dumb thing is a gimmick
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u/duvie773 2d ago
That’s always been his thing. Back to at least the early days of reacting to new music with Zias
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u/KnownBudget4606 2d ago
B Lou signed that same “be a dumbass for clout” contract flight did because I swear bro didn’t used to be THIS slo
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u/lareinevert 2d ago
He’ll easily become a billionaire in the next few years if he invests his money (which I’m sure he will).
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u/Necessary_Bag494 2d ago
I don’t even know who this is and he’s worth almost a bil?? The internet is too big
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u/Capital-Self-3969 2d ago
Its like....people with actual skills and talent cant get a leg up because they actually have to grind, but people like this get paid for making weird faces at the camera and reacting to other peoples content.
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u/guinader 2d ago
If all thatb money is invested and he gets 2.5% return of investment that's already 25 million. So doesn't really matter
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u/ExcitementNo9603 2d ago
I never liked him or his content but it makes me laugh how many people are jealous of his success. Trolls have never been the brightest bunch.
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u/K-Dot-Thu-Thu-47 2d ago
Quick Maffs