Akon has been rumored to have three wives, but recently has said to only have one. Akon nominally belongs to the Sunni sect of Islam. Both his parents are Muslim. It has been reported that he is both a believer and practitioner of polygamy, though such reports are unconfirmed, as Akon has not given a straight answer to questions about the matter. Polygamy is illegal in the United States of America and in many Muslim countries. He claims to have five children with three different women in an interview with Blender.

 He is the first solo artist to hold both the number one and two spots simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100 charts "twice". Akon has had four songs certified as 3x platinum, three songs certified as 2x platinum, more than ten songs certified as 1x platinum and more than ten songs certified as gold in digital sales. Akon has sung songs in many other languages like Spanish, Hindi etc. He was listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the #1 selling artists for master ringtones in the world.