Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok, the mid-laner for T1, is not only known as the greatest mid-laner of all time, but also one of the wealthiest athletes in the history of esports. Faker’s full story includes how he rose from a humble gamer to the player now dubbed as the “Unkillable Demon King”.
After a decade at the forefront of SKT T1's everlasting grip onto the entire League of Legends esports scene, how much is Sang-hyeok worth today, how does he make money, and what are his investments?
Faker's Total Net Worth
Conservative estimates around his net worth put it around $25 million USD at the start of 2025, representing the accumulated profits from various income streams over the last decade. However, some sources speculate it to be over $50 million USD. The hard number is difficult to pin down, since it relies on estimates on private contracts.
| Source | Average Subtotal per Year |
| T1 Salary | $7-8 million |
| T1 Options | $35.5 million |
| Prize Money | $0.6-1.5 million |
| Streaming | $1.2-1.8 million |
| Sponsorships | Undisclosed |
| Investments | Undisclosed |
In 2019, his net worth was only a few million dollars, which rose to tens of milions by 2025. This growth is somewhat tied to his increasing salary. However, most of the value lies in his sponsorships and investments.
Regardless, even with a conservative figure of $10 million, he ranks among the top-paid figures in esports. If we only take known, publicly announced prize pools into account, Faker still ranks in the top 5 highest-earning esports players.
Sources of Income
Salary and T1 Contract
One of his biggest income sources is his salary as a star player for T1. The exact figure is confidential, but reports indicate his base salary as between $7-8 million USD per year. In comparison, the average pro League of Legends player in Korea earns around $300,000 per year.
As of 2020, he also signed a contract to become part-owner of T1 until 2029, receiving stock options amounting to a 6% stake in T1. With T1 currently being valued at $220 million with a yearly revenue of $35.5 million, this immediately added $13.2 million USD to his net worth, and $2.13 million yearly in stock options.Faker
It's hard to estimate how much money he'll get when he cashes out in 2029. In 2023 and 2024, T1's revenues increased, first by 49.4%, and then by 127.5%. Assuming a stable growth, Faker's stake stands to increase up to $111.6 million USD in 2029 from this contract alone.
Faker reportedly turned down several enormous offers from other teams, with one undisclosed Chinese organization offering him up to $20 million USD as a yearly salary. Despite this being a mind-boggling number that would put Faker in the same payment bracket as top athletes like LeBron James and Lionel Messi, his equity at T1 is ultimately worth a lot more in the long term.
Tournament Prize Money and Winnings
As of 2025, Faker has earned approximately $1.8-1.9 million in prize money from competitions, including cash prizes from winning five World Championship titles (2013, 2015, 2016, 2023, 2024) as well as multiple LCK (Korean league) championships and international tournaments.
| Year | Cash Prize (USD) |
| 2013 | $1 million |
| 2015 | $1 million |
| 2016 | $2 million |
| 2023 | $445,000 |
| 2024 | $450,000 |
Sponsorships and Streaming
Faker has built a strong personal brand that attracts important sponsorships. He has been the face of T1 for years, but this is mostly due to personal choice.
He's had high-profile endorsement deals from huge companies. Nike, Red Bull, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Samsung and Razer have all partnered with Faker or T1 to leverage his image. Mercedes-Benz even gifted Faker a new Mercedes-AMG luxury car, valued at around $120,000 USD. The official figures of the deals, however, aren't public. We can only estimate that they must be some of the highest paying in esports, given Faker's status.
He's also contributed to smaller projects and brands, such as Stealer and Secretlab.
Faker also earns money through content creation and streaming, after having signed a streaming exclusivity deal with AfreecaTV in South Korea. His channel averages out at about 50,000 concurrent viewers at any given time, with a total of 31.4 million followers on the platform.
Personal Business Ventures
Faker hasn't really had any major blunders with his personal investments. His most notable venture is a piece of real estate known as "Faker Tower" in his hometown, which he leases out to other companies, using one of the floors as the headquarters for his company and brand. The rental income remains undisclosed, but we can only assume it represents a significant income stream for him.
His other investments remain largely secretive. He focuses on practical investments guaranteed to build wealth over time, and he prioritizes long-term, slow-drip income over humongous short-term deals and flashy startups.
He chooses to reinvest most of his income back into his most important revenue stream, and that is T1.
How The Future Looks for Faker
Faker's net worth is estimated to remain robust and grow even further. He lives frugally, reportedly only using about $200 USD a month on his living expenses. He lives in the lodgings provided to him as per his esports contract with T1, and the rest just goes back into savings or investments.
Even if Faker were to leave T1 tomorrow and not do anything at all with his wealth, he could live very comfortably for the rest of his life on T1 stock and investments alone. He's built enough of a brand around himself to justify business deals and partnerships even after his retirement from League of Legends.
Faker is financially set for life. With a total net worth exceeding $25 million, and undisclosed deals reasonably breaking into $50-60 million, he's built an empire during his player career that will last decades.
FAQ
How Much Is Faker's Net Worth in 2025?
Around $10-20 million USD. Some speculations claim it could be up to $50 million, if we include revenue from his investments and his equity in T1.
What Is Faker's Salary?
Around $7.5 million USD a year. The figures are confidential, and the latest verifiable reports are from 2023. It is very likely he could renegotiate for over $10 million USD in 2026.
Is Faker The Richest Esports Player?
He is one of the richest, but saying who is the richest for sure would need a lot of confidential information that is not public. Faker is very likely the wealthiest LoL esports player, but he may have some competition if you compare him to LoL content creators.
Conclusion
Faker has set a gold standard for building an incredibly powerful career off of esports, and has proven that an esports pro can achieve financial security comparable to, and even higher than, traditional sports stars.
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