Here’s How Much Money Wanna One Members Have Made Already

Since WANNA ONE‘s debut in August 2017, the group has become one of the most popular boy groups in the history of K-Pop.

While most Korean idol groups aren’t paid for as long as years after debut, WANNA ONE members will apparently already make a huge sum of money.

An anonymous insider reported, “The exact amount would vary depending on how the member is contracted with his agency. But if the term is to divide 5:5, a member would have taken home around $279,000.”

This amount includes profits made since the group was finalized on Produce 101 in June of 2017 to December of the same year. Reportedly, each member’s profit from individual activities have been calculated and paid separately.

Here’s the math. From WANNA ONE’s total profit, costs such as staff wages, transportation charges, venue charges, album production costs, and such are covered first. Then, from the remaining balance, the producing agency CJ E&M takes 25% and the managing agency YMC Entertainment takes 25%.

The other 50% is then divided equally among members, which are split into the contracted proportion with their individual agencies. So members who have a 5:5 contract would take 25%, while those with a 6:4 contract would take 20% of the profit. And that 20-25% is said to be $279K, just from 2017!

The earnings came from various outlets, including modeling. As soon as the TV program Produce 101 confirmed the members, WANNA ONE has been picked as commercial models for popular companies like Lotteria, a franchise fast food brand, and Ivy Club, a school uniform brand.

The group has done exceedingly well in a short 6-month’s time and the actual numbers probably aren’t too far off. WANNA ONE showed the earning potential of a successful K-Pop boy group!