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.[citation needed] 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[citation needed]. He claims to have five children with three different women in an interview with Blender.

He also has his own charity for underprivileged children in Africa called Konfidence Foundation. Akon owns a diamond mine in South Africa and denies the existence of conflict diamonds, saying, "I don't even believe in conflict diamonds. That's just a movie. Think about it. Ain't nobody thought about nothing about no conflict diamonds until the movie came out." He also allegedly had a previous occupation as a drug dealer but has sta