The man behind the success of BTS and various famous Korean artists owns a fortune of 2.3 billion USD, becoming the richest man in Korean entertainment today.
In the list of IPO billionaires (starting billionaires, billionaires sell shares publicly for the first time) in 2021, according to Forbes’ statistics, only Bang Si Hyuk – the man who launched BTS – works in the entertainment industry. Bang Si Hyuk’s total assets are estimated at $2.3 billion.
The American magazine wrote: “Bang is the founder of the company Big Hit Entertainment, managing the famous K-pop group BTS. He listed the company on the Korean exchange in October 2020. Only two months prior to Big Hit IPO, BTS – also known as ‘The Beatles of the 21st century’ – became the first Korean group to top the Billboard Hot 100 with Dynamite. It was also the group’s first song to be sung entirely in English.“
According to the South China Morning Post, most people working in the Korean music industry respect Bang Si Hyuk because of his talent, power and influence.
Who is Bang Si Hyuk?
Bang Si Hyuk was born in 1972 and soon realized his passion for music from a young age. However, he used to be discouraged by his parents from pursuing this path because of its instability and pitfalls. Therefore, Si Hyuk majored in Aesthetics at Seoul National University.
Because he is a stubborn and fierce person, of course, Si Hyuk did not give up on his dream. He started his career as a composer during his school days. He and Park Jin Young became a songwriting duo in the 1990s.
The South China Morning Post wrote, “The company was valued at around $8 billion as of June 2021, but audiences may be surprised to learn that Big Hit almost closed due to bankruptcy in 2007. At that time, Big Hit has only 4 staff members and a small team of talents like 8Eight and K. Will”.
Thanks to a number of popular songs, the company managed to stay strong, giving them the opportunity to sign contracts with the members of BTS in 2010 before the 7-member group was officially debuted in 2013.
Strict with the company’s artists
Starting from a poor company with tens of billions of won in debt, Big Hit has made a remarkable development after BTS’s success in the international music market.
During a visit to Archive K, BTS’s members revealed that Bang Shihyuk was extremely strict with them. Jungkook shared, “He looks closely at each of our training videos and often stops to check the angles.”
Bang Shihyuk himself admitted, “When working with the company’s artists, my voice will be louder than on television. I often get angry and scream like ‘You call yourself a singer?’ Every singer I work with must hear this!…'”.
Bang Si Hyuk realized a substantial drop in record sales when the firm was first founded in 2005, owing to a lack of effort on the part of some of the artists. At the same time, he recognized that the power of fans has played a significant role in Kpop idols’ success.
As a result, Bang Si Hyuk had devised a method for approaching and cultivating a cordial connection with BTS’s fan base. The 7 boys were permitted to make vlogs and share their status on SNS prior to their debut day in order to gain public interest.
The company allowed them to freely interact with fans in order to grow and enhance their fan base, resulting in a strong fandom as of now.
BTS is considered as the “golden goose” of Big Hit Entertainment in general, and Bang Si Hyuk in particular. According to statistics, the group generated 87.7% of the company’s income in the first half of 2020 and 97.4% in the first six months of 2021. BTS is the most popular boy group in Korea right now, and their impact has spread to the worldwide market.
The power of Bang Si Hyuk
In April 2021, HYBE (formerly Big Hit Entertainment) acquired a 100% stake in Ithaca Holdings and its properties, which includes SB Projects and management clients Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, and Demi Lovato, among others, as well as Big Machine Label Group.
On social networks, Demi Lovato and Justin Bieber also recorded videos congratulating Ithaca Holdings on joining HYBE. This merger took place through the HYBE America branch in the United States. The financial specifics have been a closely guarded secret thus far.
Bang Si Hyuk said the merger of the two companies was “the start of a new adventure no one could have possibly imagined.”. “ Please look forward to the endless possibilities of HYBE and Ithaca Holdings, and the new paradigm the partnership will establish in the music industry.” – he added.
Following the organizational reorganization, HYBE Corporation stated in July that Bang Si Hyuk would step down as CEO. Park Ji Won will succeed him, although Bang will continue to engage in key business decision-making as chairman of the board. Bang Si Hyuk will concentrate on music production, which is his area of competence.
Before acquiring Ithaca Holdings, Bang Si Hyuk acquired many other entertainment companies, including Source Music (GFriend‘s company), Pledis (Seventeen and NU’EST‘s company), KOZ (Zico‘s company).
Bang Si Hyuk has returned to his major love of making music after going around in a large circle. He has received over 17 major and minor awards in the fields of composition and production over his career. The famous prizes attest to this man’s exceptional ability.
