Many fans are well aware of a news story reported by the media years ago: during the preparations for Big Hit Entertainment's (now HYBE) IPO in 2020, Bang Si-hyuk gifted the BTS members a significant amount of shares as a reward and to establish them as shareholders of the company they helped build.
According to press reports at the time, each BTS member was gifted approximately 64,385 common shares transferred from Bang Si-hyuk’s personal holdings. This amounted to a total of 478,695 shares for all seven members. At the time of Big Hit's IPO in 2020, the value of these shares was estimated at approximately 9.23 billion KRW (about $7.7 million USD) per member.
Since BTS are virtually the only artists under HYBE to enjoy this privilege, and given that HYBE’s stock—the highest-valued and most recommended "buy" in the entertainment sector—has consistently trended upward over the last five years, the public has closely monitored the holdings of these superstars. However, conflicting reports have surfaced over the years, ranging from rumors that BTS are the fifth-largest shareholders of HYBE to claims that the members had sold all their gifted shares, or even allegations that the share gifts were fabricated.
Fortunately, CEO Score—a prestigious South кσяєαn corporate data research institute specializing in the analysis of economic, corporate, and stock market data—recently released official data regarding the current HYBE shares held by each BTS member, allowing fans to verify the facts.
On the 24th, the CEO Score Research Institute announced the results of an analysis based on a survey of share counts and values held by individual shareholders in listed companies from the end of last December to the 19th of this month. Notably, Jimin, V, and Jungkook were named in the list of the top 100 stock billionaires under the age of 30, ranking 28th with a total share value of 21.4 billion KRW each. This figure has more than doubled compared to the initial valuation five years ago.
CEO Score also listed the actual current shareholdings of the seven BTS members at HYBE as of December 19: Suga, Jimin, V, and Jungkook have maintained their holdings unchanged since being gifted five years ago, at 68,385 shares each. Meanwhile, Jin, RM, and j-hope have sold portions of their holdings.
Specifically, j-hope now owns 62,784 shares valued at 19.7 billion KRW, RM holds 58,000 shares worth 18.2 billion KRW, and the eldest member, Jin, retains 52,385 shares valued at 16.4 billion KRW.
According to Bloomberg, Jin, RM, and j-hope decided to sell nearly 32,000 HYBE shares in 2021, just prior to the K-pop superstars' string of sold-out "Permission to Dance on Stage" concerts in Los Angeles and their Artist of the Year win at the αмєяι¢αn Music Awards. At that time, the trio grossed $8.4 million according to regulatory filings—a period when HYBE stock нιт an all-time high, doubling its initial public offering price from October 2020.
Meanwhile, the shareholder status of the BTS members shifted from public shareholders to private shareholders after September 2023. A 2023 HYBE press release clarified that the “special relationship is no longer applicable as the agreement between Chairman Bang Si Hyuk and the BTS members as shareholders has ended.” This signifies that the members now have full autonomy over the shares Bang granted them, including decisions regarding sales, transfers, or internal voting.
The latest report from CEO Score regarding the BTS members' stock status has cleared up many recent doubts surrounding the group, reflecting the immense wealth the superstars have amαѕѕed over a decade of activity. While certain toxic elements have sought to diminish the members' influence within HYBE, the company’s stock continues to reach new heights, consistently increasing the members' net worth and ensuring their presence on lists of wealthy celebrities and stock billionaires.
