The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 13th (local time) that stars of TikTok, a short video sharing platform, are making unenviable profits as CEOs of large U.S. companies such as Starbucks.
According to Forbes’ tally, Charlie Diamellio, an 18-year-old woman with 133 million followers, earned $17.5 million last year, becoming the most profitable TikTok influencer.
She started posting dancing videos on TikTok in 2019, and earned a huge amount of money by promoting his own clothing brand business and other companies’ products.
Diamelio earned more money last year than the median salary of $13.4 million for CEO of a company belonging to the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index in 2020.
The total CEO remuneration included not only annual salaries, bonuses, severance pay, but also stocks and stock options.
As of 2020, Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods ($15.6 million), Starbucks Kevin Johnson ($14.7 million), Delta Airlines’ Ed Bethcheon ($13.1 million), and McDonald’s Chris Kemcinski ($15.8 million) fell short of Diamelio.
Last year’s TikTok influencer revenue was Dixie Diamelio (21), Charlie Diamelio’s older sister. According to Forbes, his profit last year was $10 million.
Last year, the top seven TikTok high-yield earners earned $55.5 million, up 200 percent from the previous year.
Makerworthky, founder and CEO of influencer marketing company Obiusly, said many TikTok influencers are diversifying their revenue sources by running companies or launching brands.
However, the WSJ reported that TikTok is being investigated by authorities around the world for personal information protection issues, and algorithms that expose harmful content for teenagers are pointed out as problems.
Nevertheless, major brands around the world are unable to reject millions of followers owned by TikTok influencer, analysts said.
“Followers are more inclined to buy things they ask influencer to buy because they administer their emotions,” said Krishna Subbram, CEO of social media data company Captive 8.
