Richest K-pop idol failed 20+ auditions, lived in a cockroach-infested room, scammed by agencies; now beats BTS, G-Dragon in net worth

Indian Express

4 days ago

K-pop has its fair share of jaw-dropping success stories, but this idol built hers by staying rooted. While many chased global fame, she chose home, and the country loved her back for it. In an industry ruled by idol groups and global powerhouses like BTS, Lee Ji Eun, aka IU, has quietly held her spot as South Korea's richest singer, and she's still going strong in 2025. Debuting at just 15, her success journey is packed with poverty, rejection, scams, and friendships lost far too soon. But through it all, she never lost her voice.
According to Celebrity Net Worth and Ranker, which track the earnings of public figures, IU's estimated net worth sits around $40-45 million, making her the richest K-pop idol in the world. She built her empire on music first, saying no to flashy overseas offers. Alongside her singing career, she's also made her name in acting, headlining hits like Hotel Del Luna and When Life Gives You Tangerines. IU holds multiple songwriting and producing credits, not just for her own tracks but for others too. She's the face of major luxury names like Estée Lauder and Gucci, while also backing homegrown brands like Woori Financial Group, Evezary, Black Yak, and more. On the tech front, she's inked deals with Samsung Korea, Sony, and SK Telecom.
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Born in 1993 in Songjeong Dong, Seoul, IU grew up poor. When her parents struggled to pay off debt and couldn't afford to raise their kids, IU and her younger brother were sent to live with their grandmother in a small, cramped home. That's where she spent most of her childhood, and it's also where she discovered her voice and knew early on what she wanted to do. As a teen, she ran after every audition she could find, only to be turned down over and over. In a YouTube video, IU once said they barely had anything to eat. They lived in a freezing, cockroach-infested room, and her grandma would sell hair clips in the market just to bring some money home.
IU recalled sleeping in studios just so she could get a proper meal. She's also spoken about struggling with an eating disorder while growing up. 'Because I was so stressed, even the smallest thing would actually make my skin crawl. I was really unhappy. Once I started disliking myself, there was no end to that. I kept digging deeper and deeper into a hole of self-pity. I was so lethargic and felt like I only had two choices, sleep or eat. So whenever I wasn't sleeping, I was binge eating,' she told SBS.
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While growing up, IU's own relatives used to mock her, saying she'd never make it as a singer. But instead of backing down, it only made her hungrier to prove them wrong. She auditioned for over 20 agencies and got rejected by every single one, including JYP Entertainment. JYP, one of the biggest K-pop labels, led by Park Jin Young, has since publicly admitted that they regret letting her go. What stung more than rejection, though, were the scams, fake entertainment companies promising her a role on TV and then vanishing, stealing money from a kid who was already scraping by.
At 15, she finally signed with Loen Entertainment (now Kakao M) and debuted with the song 'Lost Child'. But her debut didn't exactly get a warm welcome. The track, a mature, melancholic ballad, was way ahead of time and different from the bubbly, soft concepts people expected from young female idols at the time. During her first public performance, people in the audience booed her, shouting for her to get off the stage. The album flopped. But IU kept climbing, slow and steady, until songs like 'Boo' and 'Marshmallow' finally started getting attention.
In 2010, she got her first real breakthrough with the release of 'Good Day'. The song, still iconic for its three-step high note, became a massive hit across the country. That's when IU earned the nickname 'Nation's Little Sister'. The success and money that came with it helped her pay off all her family's debts, a huge personal and emotional milestone for her. But despite finally making it, she never got the chance to finish her studies. 'College entrance is for those who worked hard for it. I won't even have time to actually have a college life, so I will not be pursuing a college education,' she said in an interview.
By 2011, she was unstoppable, dropping hits like 'The Red Shoes,' 'My Old Story,' 'Friday,' and 'Last Fantasy,' all topping charts in Korea and even landing on the Billboard K-pop Hot 100. In 2015, IU took full control of her music with the album Chat-Shire, and by 2020, she was running the game. But her second biggest setback hit when her close friend Sulli (former f(x) member) died in October, reportedly taking her own life. IU delayed her album release. Just days later, another friend, Goo Hara of KARA, also passed away. IU was mid-performance when she got the news. She had already lost SHINee's Jonghyun in 2017. Fans feared she'd spiral. But after taking time, she made a strong comeback. First with a song for Crash Landing on You, and that May, she dropped 'Eight,' produced by and featuring BTS' SUGA. In 2021, her track 'Celebrity' became a TikTok sensation, and skyrocketed IU to global fame.
With her talent, clean image, and philanthropic work, IU is now one of the most respected singer-songwriters in the business.