Is Vin Diesel the unofficial king of Facebook? The Fast & Furious star is quickly approaching 100 million likes on the social media site, more than double that of President Barack Obama.
Diesel, 48, has the third most popular celebrity page on Facebook, behind only soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo (110 million) and singer Shakira (104 million), who are huge stars internationally.
So, how did the actor’s social media presence grow so quickly? Furious 7 alone earned over $1.5 billion worldwide, and the smash franchise has three more sequels on the way before 2021.
The New York Times noted that Diesel’s Facebook page, which is often referred to by fans as VinBook, is “more than just a fan page: it’s a home base, a community hub where people can compliment Vin Diesel, express gratitude over Vin Diesel and ogle photos of Vin Diesel.”
The Guardians of the Galaxy star maintains a personal touch on his posts, which often include inspirational quotes and photos of Diesel, his girlfriend, Paloma Jimenez, and their three children, Hania Riley, 7, Vincent Sinclair, and Pauline, 11 months.
In 2013, Diesel discussed his massive following on Facebook in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.
“What Facebook didn’t realize is something very big was about to happen, and that was — for the first time in history, and it’s kind of a fluke they didn’t see this coming — when I jumped on that page in April 2009, I started talking to people. In the realest ways,” Diesel told EW. “Imagine if you could’ve been a Facebook friend to Marlon Brando, or whoever your role models are. Imagine, if you were able to Facebook Elvis, and talk to him, and hear from him without the Hollywood of it all.”
He continued, “So, when I had started my page, the only person that had a million fans was Barack Obama. Because it was first-quarter 2009, and he’d just got elected as president, because of social media. So, when I started talking to the fans, I became the No. 1 page in the world. Over Coca-Cola, over huge companies. And it was only because I said: ‘Hi, guys, I love you.’”
But where does Diesel stack up among other A-list celebrities? Eminem and Rihanna have 92 million and 81 million likes, respectively. Justin Bieber racked up 76 million likes, Will Smith has 75 million and Taylor Swift has 74 million. Katy Perry has 71 million likes, while Adele and Beyoncé each have 64 million.
Last year, the accomplished actor placed No. 43 on the Forbes list of the world’s highest-paid celebrities, earning $47 million in 2015.
