Bang Si-Hyuk Net Worth: BTS Founder Is 16th Richest In South Korea

Bang Si-hyuk, the mastermind behind music juggernaut BTS, is among the top 20 richest people in South Korea. Here's how much he is worth in 2021.

The founder and chief executive officer of Hybe, previously known as Big Hit Entertainment, ranked no. 16 on Forbes' list of the top 50 wealthiest individuals in South Korea for 2021 with a net worth of $2.7 billion. Bang's net worth has jumped since the list was released in June, and he is estimated to be worth $3.4 billion as of Monday.

Bang became a billionaire after then-Big Hit Entertainment went public in October 2020. It marked the country's biggest initial public offering (IPO) in three years, Forbes reported.

His wealth saw another massive jump in April when Hybe merged with Scooter Braun's Ithaca Holdings, which represents pop stars Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande, in a deal believed to be worth more than $1 billion, Variety reported.

Bang founded the company in 2005 and signed 8eight, a vocal trio, in 2007. It later signed a joint management contract with JYP Entertainment in 2010 over the boy group 2AM. In the same year, Bang signed the first member of BTS, Kim Nam-Joon, also known as RM, according to Time.

BTS would go on to become the biggest achievement of Big Hit, bringing in more than 97% of sales in 2019 and nearly 88% in the first half of 2020, Celebrity Net Worth reported, citing IPO documents.

Despite having their tour canceled, BTS continued to rake in massive amounts during the coronavirus pandemic by releasing new songs and holding a live streaming concert that 756,000 fans around the world watched.

Bang’s company has since become the most valuable entertainment agency in South Korea, pulling ahead of the country’s “Big Three” companies, JYP, SM and YG. In 2020, Hybe reported a net income of $77.6 million, which was 19.1% higher than the company’s earnings the previous year, Asia Tatler reported.

However, earlier this month, Bang announced his decision to step down as Hybe’s CEO. The decision was part of the company's leadership reconstruction plan so he can focus on his music production career, Variety reported.

Bang will also focus on his role as the chairman of the board of directors, where he will still be involved in the company’s decision-making for its core businesses.