Nairobi News

Must Read

Kanye West now a dollar billionaire – Forbes


Rapper Kanye West has added another comma to his net worth and is now a dollar billionaire thanks largely to the basketball shoes bearing his name that he developed with Adidas.

On Friday, a report from Forbes magazine said Kanye has officially achieved billionaire status, making him the second rapper to do so after Jay Z.

However, although Kanye is confirmed as a billionaire by the brand, there is speculation across social media as to whether or not Dr. Dre and Diddy have achieved this feat as well. None of them has officially been deemed billionaires by Forbes.

The publication notes that it’s his Yeezy brand, which he owns in its’ entirety and falls under the Adidas umbrella, that helped push him over the $1 billion mark.

Forbes dissected the Chicago rapper’s success with Yeezy while also sharing how they tabulated Kanye’s net worth.

Forbes previously reported that West’s brand would closeout 2019 with a revenue of $1.5 billion.

The rough figure of the wealth of Kim Kardashian’s hubby is $1.3 billion, the magazine said in announcing the musician is now on its list of people worth at least $1 billion.

The 42-year-old, Chicago-born rapper’s Yeezy footwear often sells for more than $200 a pair in the United States and elsewhere.

West was associated with Nike for years but broke away in 2013, lending his name to Adidas as they launched their first shoe together in 2015.

Forbes said that for years West has been pressing the magazine to be listed as one of its mega-rich but that it declined, for lack of proof.

Nonetheless, a decent portion of Kanye’s net worth can be attributed to his royalty agreement with Adidas.

West receives a “royalty around 15 percent of Yeezy revenue from Adidas. Upon closer inspection, it appears some expenses are carved out of that slice, bringing his actual cut closer to 11 percent. At that rate, he would have received royalties of over $140 million from Yeezy sales last year,” the report says.

To get this official billionaire label, Kanye West’s team provided a statement of the rapper’s assets, which were listed as $17 million in cash, $35 million in stocks, $81 million in “buildings and improvements,” $21 million in land, as well as his G.O.O.D. label and publishing rights, which is said to be worth at least $90 million. There was also a sizable deduction of $100 million worth of debts, which included mortgages and advances.

Forbes also notes that they gave Kanye’s net worth a “50 percent haircut” due to the illiquidity of his assets and the “the lack of independent backup.”