As one of the most talked-about figures, Psy has built a significant fortune. In this article, we dive deep into the assets and career highlights.
Psy is a South Korean rapper who has a net worth of $60 million. Psy gained nearly instant international fame thanks to his catchy hit single and YouTube music video "Gangnam Style."
Another interesting thing has happened for Psy and his family during the "Gangnam Style" insanity. For some reason, the stock of his father's publicly traded company has skyrocketed during the same time that Psy's single was exploding. For more information on this anomaly, read our article on how theGangnam Style Rapper's Family Just Made $30 Million.
How much money did Psy make from "Gangnam Style"?
Psy's family has made Millions as Well
Psy was born Park Jae-Sang on December 31st, 1977, in the Gangnam District of Seoul, South Korea. He comes from an affluent family. His father, Park Won-Ho, is a chairman of DI Corporation. His mother, Kim Young-Hee, is a restaurateur. Psy attended Sehwa High School and was known as the class clown, as he did not enjoy school. It's been said by his former classmates that he added a contagious and lighthearted energy to his classes. Psy's love of music was inspired by the band Queen, particularly "Bohemian Rhapsody." Park had originally planned to attend Boston University but lost interest in his business administration studies by the time he got to the U.S. and began classes. Psy used his leftover tuition money on musical instruments and equipment. He dropped out of BU and enrolled at Berklee College of Music but ultimately dropped out to return to South Korea to pursue a music career.
Thanks to the incredible success of "Gangnam Style," Psy made a small fortune from his song in the first year of its release. Psy's 7 billion video views have earned millions worth of ad revenue sharing. From the 4 million iTunes downloads, Psy has earned around $4 million. His streaming revenues are relatively paltry, a mere $500,000. Psy has also earned an estimated $8 million from endorsement deals with brands like Samsung. In total, the incredible success of "Gangnam Style" has put more than $20 million into Psy's pockets, before taxes, managers fees, etc.
For people outside of South Korea, Park Jae-Sang, also known as Psy, seemed to appear out of nowhere. His massively popular single "Gangnam Style" took the world by storm and is one of the most-watched videos on YouTube ever. Before making it big overseas, he was considered a rather controversial artist in Korea. The majority of K-pop stars are ridiculously attractive, young, and perfectly trained in music, dance, and acting. Psy is older, chubby, dances any way he likes, dropped out of Berklee Music School, and regularly releases tracks with lyrics that either cause his songs to be banned or slapped with an "Ages 19+ only" label. Though he won numerous music awards, he was aggressively targeted by various civil groups in Korea and was often criticized.
After completing his mandatory military service, Psy was informed that his service was illegitimate, and he was ordered to spend two more years in the military. Unable to make music, he wound up quite poor and ultimately chose to join YG Entertainment, a popular Korean music label that was owned by a friend. Other artists on the label protested his signing with the company, which was primarily focused on the teen market. Their protests proved unfounded, however, as the first single from his second album with the label catapulted him into international superstardom.
In summary, the total wealth of Psy reflects strategic moves.
Disclaimer: All net worth figures are estimates based on public data.
