Well, he’s definitely got his money right. Lord. According to Bloomberg, Kanye West is now worth a whopping $6.6 billion dollars.
It was around this time last year that the rap superstar finally cracked the nine-figure threshold and became a certified billionaire. Now, after a terrific sales year for his sneaker and apparel brand Yeezy, and the closing of a new Yeezy partnership with Gap, the recent divorcee has seen his wealth skyrocket roughly 500%.
Like all net worth estimations, some of this is based on fickle market speculation. However, Yeezy’s high-profile deals with Adidas and Gap have launched its value into the neighborhood of $3.2 to $4.7 billion. Since West remains the sole owner of the company, that money can be attributed to his personal net worth, which also includes another $1.9 billion from his music catalog, personal cash and stock, and other assets (like that $500,000 luxury tank he showed off last year).
At a time when many Americans are suffering under the pandemic economy, Yeezy’s business has been booming. Sales for his Adidas sneakers increased 31% last year (bringing in $1.7 billion in annual revenue), and his Gap partnership that’s set to launch by July is expected to rake in $150 million in its first year.
According to financial documents that Bloomberg obtained, Gap believes that the investment in Yeezy’s clothing will become a billion-dollar operation within eight years, which they hope will build good will with the younger generation they’re currently failing to attract.
All of this is to say that despite West’s failed presidential campaign, his waning relevance as a musician, and his boorish personality not winning him any favors with the entertainment press, the 43-year-old is way more financially successful now than ever before. Considering that he claimed to be $53 million in debt less than five years ago, that’s a feat worth recognizing.
However, bafflingly, he still managed to secure a multi-million-dollar PPP loan last year to help pay the 160 employees of his whose jobs were allegedly in jeopardy amid the crashing economy. The Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program was intended to help companies with 500 or less employees stay afloat, and West’s literal billion-dollar company was somehow eligible for a loan to the tune of $2 to $5 million.
