How Kanye West Created An Empire With a Supposed Net Worth Around $6 Billion

Kanye West By: John Shearer/Getty Images
Kanye West By: John Shearer/Getty Images

Rapper and fashion mogul Kanye West is now officially one of the richest black men in America’s history with a net worth around $6.6 billion USD. Around this time last year West became a verified billionaire with the success of his apparel and sneaker brand Yeezy. Then, the confirmed multi-year contract with Gap really boosted his net worth to billionaire status. His Yeezy brand today is now valued at a whopping $3.2 to $4.7 billion USD, while the new Yeezy Gap line is expected to be worth more than $970 million USD. The highly anticipated first Yeezy x Gap collection is set to release this summer. West remains the sole owner of the Yeezy company, where much of his net worth is attributed to. The Yeezy brand has seen a large increase in sales and growth despite the economic downturn caused by the Coronavirus pandemic. West’s sneaker sales at Adidas (XETRA:ADS.DE +0.70%) have seen an increase of 31% from last year, bringing in a slightly over $1.7 billion USD in annual revenue. By the end of 2021, the Yeezy designer is expected to rake in $150 million USD from its Gap partnership. 


Aside from Yeezy, West made a significant investment into soon to be Ex-Wife Kim Kardashian’s Skims label, which has done very well financially. Additionally an unaudited balance sheet of West’s finances reveals that he has $122 million USD in cash and stock, while his entire music catalog is worth $110.5 million USD. Considering the rapper claimed to have been $53 million USD in debt less than half a decade ago and notoriously calling out Mark Zuckerberg to invest into his companies via a twitter rant, his feat is worth the recognition. However, it still remains a big mystery to many as to how West’s billion-dollar company was eligible for a loan of $2 to $5 million USD under the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program.

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