Kanye West, the hip-hop redefining rapper, and owner of multi-million dollar fashion wear brands and deals, is a force to be reckoned with. Legally known as Ye, the musician has made a name and earned his way up the charts of fame all by himself. Alongside his status as an influential musician, Ye also has a grip on his business acumen. Finally, among his many business ventures, a fashion and sportswear-oriented business charted up in popularity and eventually set out to make Kanye West a billionaire.

Starting from the realms of music to the chairs of a business tycoon, West has had quite an unpredictable financial trajectory. However, as the talk of the town centered on Kanye West’s billionaire status, it all came down with an unflattering fall that grounded him back to his roots. Analysing West’s profile offers insights into the highly volatile and oftentimes controversial nature of high-profile deals and businesses.

Kanye West’s Rise to Billionaire Status

From Music to Business

Ye has oftentimes displayed brilliant exuberance and ambitions in the many facets of various industries. Starting out by freestyling in the early 2000s, West soon went on to win Best New Artist among several other Grammy awards in 2005. The rapper gained significant advances in his net worth thanks to music deals, concerts, and collaborations. Eventually, with added fame and wealth, the rapper went on to capitalize on his gains in the market. Taking the approach of a keen entrepreneur, West invested in many brands across various fields.

In 2008, the rapper started out on a burger and fast-food chain, which was then followed by a brand named after his late mother, DONDA. The brand which curates music, art, architecture, and technology ultimately brought West closer to his most ambitious project yet. In 2015, Ye launched his fashion and footwear brand, Yeezy, in partnership with Adidas, which went on to showcase to the world how Kanye West became a billionaire. Additionally, the rapper also holds a five percent stake in SKIMS fashion wear owned by his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian. Lastly, he has, in the past, also invested in fellow rapper Jay-Z’s streaming service TIDAL as well as the Twitter owner, Elon Musk’s Neuralink.

Kanye West’s Initial Billionaire Status

Soon after the musician’s Adidas deal started selling through, the question on the ground was “Is Kanye West a billionaire?” Ironically, the answer to this question came in differentiating numbers from none other than West himself. Around the period 2018 to 2019, several of Ye’s tweets were directed at self-upliftment and boasted of his billionaire status. At one point, he stated that he was worth $3 billion, only to differ from his stance and upgrade the number to $5 billion.

Finally, in 2022, Forbes took over the charge of correcting Kanye West’s claims, calculated the ‘Donda’ singer’s net worth, and confirmed that he indeed was a billionaire, just not as much as he claimed to be. A major chunk of West’s billionaire net worth came from his Adidas deal for Yeezy. The brand was valued at a whopping $3.2 to $4.7 billion dollars with the rapper’s share accounting for about $1.3 billion dollars. The news highlighted the undisputed influence Kanye West had over the current generation, as well as the music and hip-hop industry. It also brought to the for his keen business insight. However, all of it was very short-lived as West hammered his own foot soon after.

The Forbes Controversy

Kanye West’s success with Yeezy had several other brands expressing their interest in joining the rapper’s chain. Of them, GAP led the pack. In 2020, Yeezy and GAP entered into a strategic partnership to collaborate and produce co-branded fashion wear. However, everything changed rapidly. In 2022, Kanye West faced a reality check by Forbes on his net worth. Not long after Forbes had calculated and accentuated the fact that Kanye West was indeed a billionaire, it had to recheck his net worth.

Ye went around his social media and the national media, making various anti-Semitic and controversial remarks that forced his partner brands to review their partnerships. West’s antics of displaying “White Lives Matter” apparel forced Adidas to reconsider their partnership. However, before them, Balenciaga came forth and cut ties with the rapper as well. Soon after, Adidas also terminated its contract with the rapper. As such, Ye’s net worth fell appallingly. From a then $1.5 billion to a somewhat $400 million fall, Kanye West was no longer a billionaire.

Yeezy’s Impact on Kanye West’s Wealth

Yeezy Brand and Apparel Line

As much as Kanye West earned from his music collaborations and streaming deals, he cumulatively earned more than all of them combined from his Yeezy venture. The apparel and footwear deals with Adidas raked in more than $190 million in royalties for the rapper. Additionally, the brand was on an upward trajectory, reporting a 31 percent growth in the year just before the fallout of the deal. The brand had revolutionized and made its products massively popular owing to the added influence of Kanye West. Moreover, Adidas had frozen West’s assets of over $75 million, further striking down his net worth. Nonetheless, Ye won the case in a recent court order.

Yeezy GAP Deal

Yeezy had entered into a partnership with GAP for a mutual collaboration. Gap wanted high-end designs offered by Yeezy and to utilize its supply chain to mass market fast fashion. However, the deal fell off not long after West blamed GAP for breaching its contract. And GAP followed suit by suing West for the same. Apparently, the rapper had failed to live up to his commitment to meeting the target. And was also guilty of making unsolicited changes to its Los Angeles production complex. As such, the GAP business had the potential to reach the levels of success that Yeezy had achieved with Adidas. However, the premature fallout added to West’s already flailing financial outlook.

Debunking the Billionaire Myth

Evaluating Net Worth Fluctuations

Kanye West is a highly erratic, controversial yet influential figure. The rapper has several businesses that need his attention for their proper functioning. However, oftentimes they are at the receiving end of West’s antics. Ye falls short of being able to represent his brands. The rapper’s words usually get the better of him. Additionally, he struggles to get out of the pit he digs for himself. An unwavering fluctuation of more than a billion dollars dropping away in a flash. It certainly has massive ramifications and is something that needs to be accounted for in West’s fluctuations in net worth.

Kanye West is an iconic personality by the standards, for he is unique in his own way. Often controversial and out of the ordinary, the rapper, however, makes it a point to own up and reconcile. Carving his own way to success, West has earned a place for himself in the music industry. Many young and upcoming rappers have expressed their admiration and respect for the rapper showing that his influence knows no bounds. Additionally, not a billionaire, he still has his investments to sustain him. However, without a doubt, West’s actions often land him in trouble and are the source of his tumultuous net worth.

Though the rapper was not on the billionaire list of 2023 owing to the controversies he landed in, his current sake in shares and his attempts to start Yeezy on his own from scratch might make the rapper one yet again. Do you think Ye will become a billionaire again? Let us know in the comments below!