Kanye West’s Bulletproof Business Empire
Over the years there’s been a lot of contention over the state of Kanye West’s finances. In 2016 he famously tweeted that he was broke and $53 million in debt. But West appears to have more lives than Floyd Mayweather has fought out of retirement and today, West is purported to be worth a mighty $2 Billion according to Forbes. That number is low according to West. Other estimates have put the number closer to $6.6 billion. So how did he do it?
One thing West knows how to do is keep the attention focused on him. There’s a fascination with everything he does, and while he became famous for his music and then his marriage to Kim Kardashian and went down paths that would have got any other entertainment figure canceled (namely supporting Donald Trump), it has only seemed to pour gasoline on the media’s ongoing obsession with the Atlanta born, Chicago raised rapper.
West enjoyed some of his biggest musical successes (Jay-Z's iconic The Blueprint, seven solo albums, most platinum or multi-platinum) by the time he declared he was $53 million in the hole in 2016. The number itself is almost unfathomable. So clearly, although music made him famous, it didn’t make him the net worth he has today. When Forbes interviewed him in 2020, he had one thing on his mind — proving he was a billionaire. It became clear that his Yeezy sneakers, which are marketed, distributed, and backed by sportswear giant Adidas are what made Kanye West his fortune. Forbes said it challenged Nike’s Air Jordan’s for sneaker world supremacy, calling it “one of the great retail stories of the century.”
Breaking Down the Yeezy Deal
According to Forbes, West owns 100% of Yeezy which is tied into a five-year plus deal with Adidas. The Yeezy brand generated $1.3 billion in 2019. At a royalty rate of around 11%, his net in 2019 was a cool $140 million. Forbes goes on to state that West’s lofty opinion personal worth figure comes from his 100% ownership stake in Yeezy. But as they explain, moving it away from Adidas will not be as West seems to think.
In 2020 West’s team also provided Forbes with documents showing $17 million in assets and $35 million in stocks. What can’t be denied is the reliance and market power of the Yeezy brand. It grew by 31% throughout the pandemic to a value of $1.7 billion. Documents reviewed by Bloomberg reveal that Yeezy made $191 million in royalties in 2020. An unaudited balance sheet of West’s assets provided by his lawyer to Bloomberg in 2021 provided the following information:
$122 million in cash and stock
$1.7 billion in other assets
An investment in Skims, Kim Kardashian’s underwear label
A music catalog worth $110.5 million, according to a 2020 valuation by Valentiem Group.
The Gap Deal
Here’s where the numbers really start to add up. In 2020 West announced a partnership with Gap for a multi-year Yeezy collaboration. Clearly noting his success with Adidas, Gap thought they could replicate the formula and revive their flagging brand whose heyday seemed stuck in the 1990s. For leveraging the Yeezy moniker, West was reportedly paid $970 million with Bloomberg announcing that the collection was set to rake in an impressive $150 million in 2022 — its first full year of sales. Combined, investment bank UBS estimated West’s sneaker and apparel business with Adidas and Gap to be worth $3.2-$4.7 billion. According to documents reviewed by Bloomberg, “Gap envisions it becoming a billion-dollar revenue brand within eight years, with an upside case of sales exceeding $1 billion as soon as 2023.”
Touring Revenue
While West earns a significant (compared to music musicians) income from streaming and royalties of his music, he earns the majority of his music-generated money from touring. Sell-out arena tours and pricey tickets mean that West’s tours are among the most successful in hip-hop history. Let these figures sink in:
Glow in the Dark Tour: Grossed $30.8 million
West & Jay-Z’s Watch the Throne Tour: Netted $75.4 million (split between the two rappers)
The Yeezus Tour: Grossed $31.8 million
The Saint Pablo Tour: Netted $52.8 million
Real Estate Investments
In keeping with most billionaires (except Elon Musk), West has homes far and wide, ranging from downhome country ranches to minimalist oceanfront concrete bunkers. Here are some of the pricey West pads that we know about.
Wyoming — Monster Lake Ranch: Value $11 million
Wyoming — Bighorn Mountain Ranch: Value $14.5 million (as of 2019)
Malibu: Brutalist beach bunker: Purchase price: $57.3 million
Calabasas (LA): Purchase price: $4.5 million
Antwerp, Belgium: Value unknown
Love him or loathe him, Kanye West’s biggest asset has always been his self-belief. From being $53 million in debt to a net worth that’s possibly approaching $7 billion in the space of 6 years is not any kind of trajectory that can be taught in business school. His refusal to doubt himself, even after hospitalization for mental illness, is a testament to his unwavering commitment to his cause along with his genius. Enigmatic, creative, controversial, and conceited are just some of the adjectives that have been used to describe him. Whether you agree with them or not, the one word you cannot disagree with is the one that probably matters to West the most — rich.
Insightful! Kanye 🐐