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He might be a multiple-award-winning music producer and rapper, but Kanye West’s net worth is crumbling thanks to his increasingly hostile and bigoted presence on social media. On October 10, 2022, West said in a since-deleted Tweet that he was “going death con 3 [sic] On JEWISH PEOPLE,” and also that, “You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda.” He was swiftly blocked from the social media platform for violating Twitter’s user policies on hate speech. Most of Ye’s fashion collaborators and sponsors subsequently cut ties with him and relieved him of his billionaire title.
The DONDA rapper had previously battled against industry-wide net worth reports by the likes Forbes over personal claims that his net worth is far higher than publicly estimated. Major updates to Kanye West’s net worth were first reported back in 2020 when the rapper launched his Yeezy x Gap collaboration in June of that year; it elevated him to that coveted 10-figure sum. This major move in Kanye’s fashion career seemed like a step in the right direction for the artist—that is, until his fashion brand Yeezy’s appearance at Paris Fashion Week in October 2022, where Ye debuted a t-shirt that had the slogan “White Lives Matter” emblazoned on the back.
The DONDA artist received a lot of criticism about how dangerous the slogan was from various people in the industry. The most notable one is between him and Gigi Hadid and her friend Gabriella Karefa-Johnson. Ye attacked fashion editor Gabriella via social media and the two have continuously argued with each other on social media. But Gigi called Ye out for being a “bully” and stood by Gabriella in her defense.
What is Kanye West’s salary?
In a September 2019 Forbes report, Kanye West’s net worth placed him as the highest-paid rapper in hip-hop
that year. They calculated an estimated income of around $150 million a year after deducting fees for agents, managers and lawyers based on pretax income documentation. For some context, Jay-Z—who was reported as the hip-hop industry’s second-highest-paid artist in the Forbes article—made an estimated $81 million in 2019 in comparison. It’s likely his music industry earnings will take a hit following his publicized antisemitism, as on-demand fitness giant Peloton announced it would no longer play his music during their classes. Music streaming service Spotify, however, said it would not pull Ye from its roster of artists because his recent hate speech has not appeared on a recording uploaded to the platform. “His music doesn’t violate our policy,” Spotify CEO Daniel Ek told Reuters. “It’s up to his label if they want to take action or not,” and as far as we’re aware, they haven’t done so. Universal Music Group did however denounce antisemitism in a statement: “There is no place for antisemitism in our society,” the record label wrote on Twitter. “We are deeply committed to combating antisemitism and every other form of prejudice”
How much did Kanye West make from Yeezy?
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It may come as a surprise that most of Kanye West’s net worth was from his Yeezy line, according to Forbes. In their 2020 update to Kanye West’s net worth, the publication explained that Kanye “has created a brand that’s challenging Nike’s Air Jordan for sneaker world supremacy,” and as such, it should come as no surprise that the brand made an estimated revenue of about $1.3 billion in 2019 alone. Kanye, who technically owns 100 percent of the brand, was estimated to take home an 11 percent royalty from adidas (who is behind the production, marketing, and distribution of Yeezy footwear), which amounts to over a $140 million salary from Yeezy sales in 2019 alone. On October 25, 2022, adidas terminated its partnership with Kanye, saying in a statement: “adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech. Ye’s recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and they violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness.” This would lead to a “short-term negative impact of up to €250 million ($247 million) on the company’s net income in 2022.”
What is Kanye West’s net worth in 2022?
According to Forbes, Kanye West’s net worth was $1.8 billion as of the first half of 2022 but, since his public antisemitic rants, that’s dropped to around $400 million. Throughout October 2022, adidas and a legion of collaborators including Gap, Balenciaga, CAA, JPMorgan Chase, Peloton and Foot Locker dropped Ye products from their collections and cut ties with the disgraced rapper. Some fans tried to reclaim his billionaire status with a series of GoFundMe’s, Page Six reported, but the original and copycats have since been taken down. According to the gossip outlet, sources familiar with his finances say that Ye’s four out of five sources of income have been either completely shut down or badly compromised, leading them to believe he’s headed for a financial crisis in a matter of months.
The adidas deal alone was said to have been worth $1.5 billion, according to Forbes. While numerous sites reported that the rapper became the richest Black person in America with a net worth of $6.6 billion in 2021, Forbes confirmed that these reports were inflated estimates following the launch of his Yeezy brand Gap partnership, which was also dropped on October 25, 2022. In a statement, Gap said: “Antisemitism, racism and hate in any form are inexcusable and not tolerated in accordance with our values.” It now means his ex, Kim Kardashian, has overtaken him as the more valuable name. She’s worth $1 billion as of 2022, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Did Kanye and Kim have a prenup?
With all this money, many fans have wondered if Kanye and Kim had a prenup, especially after his wife filed for divorce in February 2021. According to a 2014 report by Radar Online, Kanye and Kim signed a prenup two months before their May 2014 wedding. According to the agreement, Kim will receive $1 million per year for every year she’s married to Kanye (with a cap of $10 million) in the event of a divorce. Radar Online also reports that Kim will remain on Kanye’s life insurance policy, which is valued at $20 million, for the rest of her life, even if they divorce. The site also claims that Kanye and Kim didn’t include a custody clause in their prenup. At the time of their wedding, the two were only parents to daughter North.
“The entire process for the prenup for Kim and Kanye has been extremely easy, and relatively drama-free,” a source told Radar Online at the time before referencing Kim’s previous ex-husband, Kris Humphries. “Kanye didn’t even think the couple needed a prenup, and was ready to give Kim carte blanche to all of his financial assets. Yes, he loves Kim that much. There is a huge difference from Kim’s prenup with Kris Humphries…the preparation of their agreement went on for several months. It was long and tedious.”
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Kanye West has had financial troubles in the past, too. In 2016, Kanye claimed on Twitter that he was $53 million in personal debt after he used his own money to launch his own failed clothing label, Pastelle, in 2009. After the launch of Pastelle, Kanye also created his own merchandise line, titled G.O.O.D., which was supposed to market to fans of the label. However, seven months after Pastelle’s launch the label (and G.O.O.D.) shuttered. That wasn’t Kanye’s only failed business. In 2011, he launched a high-end women’s wear line called Kanye West. The line, however, never made it to stores. In 2013, Jean Touitou, the founder of the French line A.P.C., which created capsule collections with Kanye, said that his fashion experiment cost him $30 million in debt.
However, as evidenced by Kanye West’s net worth following, the “Stronger” rapper made his money back and came out of the red. In 2013, Kanye released his first adidas Yeezy collaboration: Yeezy Boost 750. He followed the design with several more shoes, such as Yeezy 950, Yeezy 350 Cleat, Yeezy Powerphase Calabasas and Yeezy Boost 700. In 2015, Kanye also launched his first Yeezy clothing line, Yeezy Season 1.
Still, Kanye’s income fluctuates. In a 2019 interview on The Late Late Show with James Corden, the Grammy winner claimed that he received $68 million in tax returns at the time. “Last year, I made $115 million and still ended up $35 million in debt. This year, I looked up, and I just got $68 million returned to me on my tax returns,” he said at the time. “And people say, ‘Oh, don’t talk about these numbers.’ No, people need to hear someone that had been put into debt by the system talk about these kind of numbers now that they’re in service to Christ.”
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In an August 2020 interview on Nick Cannon’s podcast, “Cannon Class,” Kanye also claimed that he’s richer than President Donald Trump. In the interview, Kanye also responded to theories that he’s in “cahoots” with the Republican Party because he’s being paid. “People keep on saying I think that y’all, you and Republicans, are in cahoots,” he said. “Bro, can’t nobody pay me,” West replied. “I got more money than Trump.”
Despite his and his wife’s wealth, Kanye’s wife, Kim Kardashian, revealed in an interview with The Sunday Project in 2019 that she and her husband are raising their four children—North, Saint, Chicago and Psalm—to be aware of their financial privilege. “No matter what you’re given and no matter what you have, you have to treat people with respect,” Kim said of the wisdom she tells her children. “I do the best I can, and I really do believe my children are well adjusted and know they are blessed, but understand to be really compassionate. They’re really good people, and that is my No. 1 goal in life.”
Jenzia Burgos, Jason Pham and Sophie Hanson
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