KSI has £24m but nothing means more than pride of his Nigerian parents

KSI had locked himself in the toilet as his mother screamed and threw glasses around the kitchen, while his father was slumped with his head in his hands.

It was AS-Level results day in the Olatunji household in Watford and the YouTuber hid for 30 minutes when the family had learned how disastrously he had failed.

KSI's parents, who came to the UK from Nigeria as teenagers, had scrimped and saved and gone into debt to cover the costs of his £23,000-a-year private education at the Berkhamsted School.

His father Jide, 58, ran a bingo hall and his mother Yinka, now 57, worked as a PA, and he's recalled 'being a kid and seeing how s**t  it was' for his parents as they strove for a better life for KSI and his brother, Deji.

Today the boxer, rapper, PRIME energy drink mogul and social media megastar is worth £24million, has ten properties in London and lives in a £10million mansion with his secret girlfriend.

Now, he is about to make millions more as a judge on the new series of Britain's Got Talent, replacing Bruno Tonioli when he's away in the US for America's version of Strictly during the first round of auditions in Blackpool this month.

His extraordinary rise to fame and fortune - and now a bid for TV domination - is even the topic of study in A-Level media study classes in the UK.

But back in 2009, his own studies descended into chaos when he came out with a C,D, F and U after spending his time filming himself gaming instead of doing homework, despite his parents trying to cut his internet and hiding his XBox to make him prioritise his education.

Describing what happened that day, he admitted he was devastated for his parents who had 'worked their a***s off' to provide for him and younger brother Deji.

In fact, they worked so hard that KSI admitted he felt like he didn't know his father growing up. 

In his Amazon Prime documentary, KSI: In Real Life, he admitted that at one point they 'became strangers' and that hugging his father or telling him he loved him was 'a foreign thing'. 

'Back in the day, like, it’s crazy it never happened,' he said. 'And because he’s always working, it made sense, cause he had to do like two jobs and we didn’t have the time to bond ever.

'We just didn’t know each other. He was just a guy who provides and that was it.

'We didn’t have a relationship, we didn’t have that bond. That’s what I’m trying to fix now, that’s what I’m trying to create.

'It’s cool cause now I’m taking him to Arsenal games, talking to him all the time.'

Recalling the day they found out he flunked his exams, he said: 'My mum just screamed. I've never heard her scream so loud and she was just throwing glasses everywhere. My dad was just disappointed. My dad just looked on the ground and he just didn't know what to say or do'.

KSI, whose real name is Olajide Olayinka Williams 'JJ' Olatunji and says KSI means Knowledge, Strength, Integrity, tried to take his exams again but was not allowed.

His parents persuaded him to enrol for another year of sixth form on an IB course  but quit himself because he was already making good money from adverts and sponsors for his YouTube content.

'I started making good money, to the point where I told my teacher I didn't want to go to school,' he explained. 

Friends started calling him a 'weirdo' for filming himself playing games. Soon he was earning more than his teachers because of his skills on FIFA. 

'I told him I was making £1,500 a month, and it turned out it was more than him. As soon as I heard that, I realised YouTube was my calling. It was what I had to do.

'My parents lived in Nigeria and worked hard to get to this country, and put all their effort into making sure I was able to go to private school. They've taken out loans. Been in enormous debt. You can understand how frustrating it was when I said, "Nah, I want to do YouTube",' he said.

His mother is now hugely supportive of his career and retweets posts about her son on X, alongside verses from the Bible.  

His YouTube channels has several sweet videos where he speaks with his father, and teaches him how to use his computer and answer questions from viewers.

There are also pranks, commentaries and most recently a set-up showing Simon Cowell calling him to invite him to be a BGT judge. 

The young man with glasses looks like a different person to the ripped and tattooed influencer he has become. 

KSI joined a collective of social media influencers called The Sidemen - making up sketches, gaming, commentating on e-sports - earning their first millions together.

Five years later he was even able to buy his parents a house. 

He was living in a mansion with his friends who have a combined 150million YouTube followers and shared a home with cinema, gym, pool, sauna and round the clock security. 

KSI even bought his first £280,000 Lamborghini Aventador at the age of 21.

Today he is said to have a fleet of fast cars, diamond-encrusted jewellery including a £150 watch and even a throne in his current £10million property in London with his secret girlfriend.

Most recently he has been making a fortune from his soft drink, set up with Jake Paul.

Launched in January 2022, PRIME has quickly become one of the world's most popular drinks, with fans in some areas even queueing outside supermarkets overnight in the early days of the company, in a bid to get their hand on a bottle. 

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland, NFL superstar and Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes and Aston Villa Women's Alisha Lehmann have become faces of the brand.

The brand's relationship with the UFC is particularly noteworthy, with the PRIME logo often seen on the Octagon canvas, while Israel Adesanya and Alex Volkanovski also have ties to PRIME.

The LA Dodgers are among the biggest sporting partners in the United States, while NHL Maple Leafs' star Auston Matthews represents another high-profile athletes in PRIME's portfolio across the pond.

A big part of their success comes from KSI and Logan Paul's social media following, with a combined 47.5million followers on YouTube - where they both made their name - and 40m on Instagram.

They are particularly popular among a younger demographic, which is what Dortmund pointed out as a reason for their link-up with the brand.

KSI has also launched his own boxing promotion, Misfits.  

The influencer - who last fought Tommy Fury in Manchester - first stepped foot in a boxing ring back in 2018 to face fellow YouTuber Joe Weller in a highly anticipated bout. 

Since then he has also fought the likes of Logan Paul and headlined events at some of the top sporting venues around the world while working hard behind the scenes to match up other influencers via Misfits. 

KSI will serve as a guest judge on the next series of Britain's Got Talent with bosses hoping he'll bring in some of is 80million followers as viewers.

The musician, 31, will stand in for Bruno Tonioli when he heads to the US to serve on the judging panel of Dancing With The Stars.

The  social media influencer will take over for Bruno for three of the five days the show has its first round of auditions in Blackpool this month.

Speaking about joining the show, KSI said: 'I'm so excited to be a guest judge for BGT. When I got the call up, I couldn't believe it. I remember watching old BGT episodes and going from being amazed to laughing my a**e off. I'm buzzing to see all the fresh new talent, and I'll be sure to leave a mark.' 

It comes after Bruno's seat on Britain's Got Talent's judging panel was reportedly  'saved' by show boss Simon Cowell after he recently slammed speculation that he would be replaced full time. 

Filming for the ITV series was set to clash with Dancing With The Stars - which Bruno, 68, has been a judge on since 2005. 

However, Simon, 64, will reportedly fork out thousands to have the Italian TV personality flown back and forth. 

'When Bruno joined BGT last year, he breathed new life into the show. Simon loved how unpredictable he was and thought he made great TV. From the ratings, it's clear the viewers agreed too,' a source told The Sun. 

'When plans were drawn up to revamp BGT for 2025, it was quickly flagged to Simon and the producers that Bruno is already committed to Dancing With The Stars.

'Simon managed to find a way to make it work. It means while a stand-in judge may be needed once or twice, Bruno remains on the show.' 

The source also revealed that flying back and forth isn't ideal for Bruno, however, he loves both shows and feels committed to them. 

The former Strictly judge started filming in the United States on September 17.

Comedian Alan Carr, 48, was initially tipped to replace him if he had to leave the show but is now thought to be top of the list to stand in. 

This week, ITV unveiled a format change for the show, which also features Alesha Dixon and Amanda Holden as judges. 

It starts a four-month run in February, with live semi-finals on Saturday evenings replacing nightly episodes across one week.