Emma Coronel, wife of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, has turned her social media livestreams into a new source of income.
Her daily activity on TikTok—where she receives virtual gifts that can be converted into cash—has sparked a conversation regarding the controls used to identify the source of funds circulating on such platforms.
The model and influencer has around 1.4 million followers. In addition to monetizing content and collaborations, she has launched a $52-a-month subscription service for access to exclusive content.
With close to 28 subscribers, this model would generate approximately $1,456 per month—equivalent to roughly 24,700 pesos.
Added to this income are the gifts she receives during her livestreams. Since July, Coronel has frequently hosted live sessions and participated in TikTok “battles”—competitions where two creators vie to garner the highest number of virtual tokens of support from their viewers.
Some of these gifts carry a high value. Items appearing in her streams include hearts, hats, and lions. The latter can be worth the equivalent of hundreds of dollars, depending on the country and the platform’s coin-purchasing mechanism.
