Rapper fashion designer Kanye West is now the richest black American ever, according to an estimate by Bloomberg News that puts his net worth well beyond $ 6 billion.
That figure includes Yeezy’s clothing and footwear business with Adidas and Gap, whose investment bank UBS valued between $ 3.2 billion and $ 4.7 billion. Bloomberg also estimated that West has $ 122 million in cash or shares, along with a $ 110 million music catalog and $ 1.7 billion in other investments. Sales of Yeezy’s Adidas sneakers grew 31% during the coronavirus pandemic, reaching annual revenue of nearly $ 1.7 billion last year, earning West $ 191 million in royalties, Bloomberg said, quoting UBS.
West’s status as a billionaire is a far cry from where the Chicago-born college dropout was five years ago. West, 43, told BET News that he owed $ 53 million in 2016. About $ 16 million of that came from trying to get Yeezy up and running, West said.
His luck finally changed after Yeezy was released. Forbes reported that West has negotiated 11% royalties on its Adidas Yeezy shoes. He ended up generating $ 150 million in revenue during Yeezy’s first 12 months of existence, according to Forbes. West signed a 10-year contract with Gap for Yeezy’s clothes and shoes.
As Yeezy continued to gain traction, his success caught the attention of West’s then wife, Kim Kardashian. Kardashian tweeted about how proud she was of West turning her fortune. Forbes declared West a billionaire last April, listing his net worth at $ 1.3 billion.
West joins a small crowd of black American billionaires, a list that includes filmmaker Tyler Perry, rapper turned businessman Jay-Z (real name Shawn Carter), owner of Charlotte Hornets and basketball legend Michael Jordan and Oprah Winfrey .
In its latest estimates, Forbes rated Winfrey’s net worth at $ 2.5 billion. Former Goldman Sachs executive Robert Smith has a net worth of $ 5.2 billion and World Wide Technology founder David Steward is worth about $ 3.7 billion, Forbes said.