Founder and chairman of BTS' label HYBE is now worth $3.2 billion

Bang Si-hyuk, the founder and chairman of BTS‘ agency HYBE, is now worth about US$3.2billion.

This is according to a new report by Bloomberg Wealth, which notes that Bang’s net work has more than doubled since October 2020 from US$1.5billion, when HYBE (formerly Big Hit Entertainment) went public. Meanwhile, the value of the company’s shares has risen by 131 per cent.

The Bloomberg Wealth report also cites HYBE’s recent acquisitions as a factor in the company’s increase in net worth. Earlier this year, the South Korean company announced its merger with Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings, the media group that manages pop stars such as Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber.

“HYBE has managed to bring other entertainment players over to its side,” noted Sungho Park, an analyst at Yuanta Securities Co. “That has helped earn the trust of investors that the business will do well.”

Bang currently owns 34 per cent of HYBE according to company filings, with Braun holding a roughly one per cent stake. The seven members of BTS, as well as Grande and Bieber, also hold stocks of the company.

Earlier this year, Bang stepped down as CEO as part of a company-wide restructuring of the agency to “accelerate global operations”. The CEO position will be position will now be filled by Park Ji-won, the former global CEO of game publisher NEXON Korea.

However, Bang will remain as the chairman of HYBE’s board of directors, where he will still help to steer the company’s core decisions. In addition, Bang, who also helped to write and produced several of BTS’ hit songs, will also have a larger focus on music production.