Throughout his musical career, Aliaune Thiam — known as Akon to the world at large — has been dedicated to making life better on the African continent.
Back in 2015, he told The Guardian that the reason for his dedication to African causes was because the charities that are currently on the continent don’t always help the people they claim to help.
“One thing I’ve realized about Africa is that only the organizations that involve Africans themselves are successful,” he said to the outlet. “A lot of corporations that come with their own policies and try and implement them in Africa fail horribly. The advantage we had is that all three founders are African, so we were able to navigate through each country a lot faster.”
Regardless of the truth of the matter, Akon has used his success as a musician to lobby for positive change throughout Africa. His futuristic vision has helped provide new opportunities for Africans from all walks of life, and this has only added to his massive $80 million net worth, per Celebrity Net Worth.
Let’s take a look at just a few of the many endeavors Akon has undertaken for the benefit of the continent.
Editorial note: The net worth listed in this piece is a speculative estimate drawn from a variety of online sources.
Music Career
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Akon’s musical career is that he’s in the Guinness Book of World Records. According to the esteemed record keeping book, Akon holds the record for the most ringtones downloaded in the world (back when ringtones were a thing). Additionally, he’s had more than 35 Billboard Hot 100 singles and several multi-platinum singles.
Konvict Clothing
One of Akon’s most successful ventures is his Konvict clothing line, which he released in the early 2000s, around the same time that his musical career was taking off. Pieces of the collection are still available on the Akon Shop’s official website.
Cryptocurrency
In April 2020, AfroTech reported that Akon had plans to take Africa into the future with his version of cryptocurrency, and announced plans to do it for a city in Senegal. Subsequently, AfroTech reported that he had additional plans to build a second “crypto-city” — this time, in a city in Uganda. Most recently, AfroTech reported that in November 2021, Akon debuted his “cryptocurrency card” which can be used anywhere where MasterCard is accepted.
NFTs
Like many other celebrities, Akon has gotten involved in the world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). As AfroTech previously reported, Akon is involved with Stage11, a startup which helps celebrities like himself and Snoop Dogg create their own proprietary NFTs. He also plans to release his next album as an NFT, AfroTech previously reported.
