Fact Check: Did Akon's Ex-Wife Really Demand €100 Million But Only Find $10k In Their Account?

Back in 2006, an unknown singer named Stefani Germanotta was signed to Interscope Records—not as a performer, but as a songwriter. Stefani had mild success writing songs that were recorded by several major pop acts, including Britney Spears, New Kids on the Block, Fergie, and The Pussycat Dolls.

Meanwhile, around the same time, singer and producer Akon was struggling to finish tracks for what would become his second studio album, "Konvicted." One day, a label executive asked Stefani to step into the studio where Akon was recording and lay down a reference vocal—a sample performance meant to guide how a finished song might sound.

As the story goes, Akon was so blown away by the young woman's voice that he immediately stopped what he was doing, walked straight to Jimmy Iovine's office down the hall and convinced him to let Stefani sign to his new label, KonLive… as an artist.

After signing, Stefani Germanotta reinvented herself under a new name: Lady Gaga. And the rest is music history.

Kon Live also launched or promoted acts like Kardinal Offishall, Colby O'Donis, and T-Pain, but Gaga's success eclipsed them all. By the time Akon sold his share in her career back to Interscope in 2013, she had sold roughly 30 million albums and more than 100 million singles worldwide.

During the years Gaga was signed to Kon Live, Akon's earnings skyrocketed. Between 2008 and 2011, he reportedly earned $66 million — $12 million in 2008, $20 million in 2009, $21 million in 2010, and $13 million in 2011 — largely thanks to Gaga's success. In total, he has likely earned well over $100 million throughout his career.

Akon has also poured millions into various ventures, including his ambitious but ill-fated Akon City project in Senegal. Still, after two decades of chart-topping hits and production deals, few would doubt that Akon remains a very wealthy man.

At least, that's what his wife thought — until, according to a viral rumor, Tomeka Thiam discovered he only had $10,000 to his name. Or so the internet claims…

Akon and Tomeka Thiam (Photo by Gilbert Flores/ Billboard via Getty Images)

A Viral Twitter Rumor

Over the weekend, a rumor about Akon and his soon-to-be ex-wife Tomeka Thiam went extremely viral. Hundreds (probably thousands) of users on TikTok and Twitter have repeated a headline that claims Akon's wife "just" filed for divorce (she actually filed in September 2025) and demanded €100 million in support—only to learn he only had $10,000. I don't know why they all use Euros instead of USD in the headline, probably not a good sign for the authenticity of this rumor. Here's one version from Twitter that has nearly 6 million views:

Akon's wife, Tomeka Thiam, filed a divorce to part ways after 29 years of marriage and demanded €100m as compensation.

The court handling the case only found $10k in Akon's account, as the singer's wealth is sitting comfortably in his mother's account. pic.twitter.com/1zEB4pPnNg

— Ọmọ Akin (@GuyMr0) October 12, 2025

Pulling A Hakimi

A second variation of the rumor claims Akon transferred all of his money into his mother's name before filing for divorce, in a maneuver people online are calling "pulling a Hakimi."

I had to Google this.

Apparently, back in 2023, an unverified story went viral claiming that during Moroccan soccer player Achraf Hakimi's divorce, his actress wife Hiba Abouk discovered that all of his assets were legally held in his mother's name. According to that viral claim, Hakimi's wife allegedly asked for half of his property, only for the court to reveal that he "owned nothing" because his salary and assets were registered under his mother's accounts. Social media users turned the tale into a cautionary meme, celebrating it as a clever "financial move" and dubbing it "pulling a Hakimi."

However, that story was never proven true.

Major outlets including BBC, Le Monde, and Reuters confirmed there was no court record or official evidence that Hakimi's assets were transferred to his mother. Hiba Abouk herself later clarified that while their separation was real, the viral "mother's name" narrative was false and sexist, a complete invention by tabloids.

Fact Check: Did Akon Pull a Hakimi?

If "pulling a Hakimi" means someone made up a story to go viral on Twitter and TikTok, then YES, Akon pulled a Hakimi. If "pulling a Hakimi" means Akon put all of his money in his mother's name before filing for divorce, no he did not do that. It's a completely fake story, likely made up with the hope of going viral on Twitter and TikiTok to earn money from the social media platforms' engagement bonus programs.

The Bottom Line

Akon's wife did file for divorce — that part is true. Everything else in the viral "€100 million and $10k" story is completely false.

There's no evidence of a €100 million demand, and no indication his fortune vanished or was transferred into his mother's name. For what it's worth, we estimate Akon's net worth to be $50 million. Considering he was married to Tomeka for the last 29 years, starting well before he was famous, it's very likely she'll get a large payout. When verified information is revealed through their divorce process, which may take years to unfold, we will report the facts, even if they are extremely boring will never go viral.