“BTS have made such a significant and huge impact in the world that the world seeks to know what the secret formula is for making the band what it is today. BTS’ influence surpasses just the music industry, it is on the global scale with economies seeing a boost in revenue any time BTS as much as steps onto the country’s soil. Companies have been revived, grown, created, and even awarded due to one or another BTS member, case in point is the manufacturers of Kumbucha whose business saw exponential growth after Jung Kook was seen drinking the drink.
And we cannot talk about BTS’ success without the mention of their founder, now chairman Bang Si Hyuk. He always said in talks that he gave that he wanted to present content that was always better than the last and content that would not embarrass BTS or the company. With such values, why wouldn’t BTS be the greatest band in the world?
Bang Si-hyuk, better known as “Hitman” Bang, is a lyricist, composer, producer, and record executive from South Korea. He is the founder and chairman of Big Hit Music (formerly Big Hit Entertainment) and Hybe Corporation. Bang is the only billionaire in the South Korean entertainment industry and one of the fifty richest people in South Korea, according to Forbes Asia. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, he is worth an estimated $3.2 billion as of July 2021.
Bang left JYP Entertainment in 2005 to start his own company, Big Hit Entertainment, where he continued to write, compose, and produce for Big Hit artists—he co-wrote six songs on BTS’ critically acclaimed Wings (2016) album, for example. Wings’ success earned Bang the Best Producer Award at the Mnet Asian Music Awards, as well as the Songwriter Award at the Melon Music Awards that same year. Because of BTS’ achievements, he was named one of Variety’s International Music Leaders in June 2018.
Following the release of Time magazine’s annual list of the 100 Most Influential Companies in March—Hybe was included on the list for a second consecutive year and topped the “Leaders” category—Bang was featured on the cover of the April 2022 issue, alongside BTS.
Later that month, he received an honorary doctorate in Business from Seoul National University (SNU)—he is the first figure in the entertainment industry to be awarded such—in recognition of his “contribution to the development and innovation of the nation’s cultural and entertainment industry” and for his “role in turning K-pop into a global pop music culture”.
Bang contributed 5 billion won (about $3.5 million) to the Community Chest of Korea in October 2022. On February 17, 2023, Bang gave 200 million won to Save the Children through the Turkey-Syria earthquake relief fund.
Swahili Bangtan 