This week, Page Six reported that Kim Kardashian West plans to divorce Kanye West after six years of marriage. Although they are said to have a prenuptial agreement, the couple’s situation has changed a lot since their luxurious wedding in Italy.
According to an April Forbes story, Kanye’s net worth rose from $ 100 million to $ 1.3 billion, thanks to his careers in music and fashion. (Kanye says the figure is closer to $ 5 billion.) Kim saw his fortune go from $ 40 million in 2014 to $ 780 million, with his modeling and makeup brands on the rise.
The prenuptial agreement guarantees Kim $ 1 million for each year of marriage, according to previous reports. She can also keep all the gifts that Kanye gave her. It is unclear whether this includes “$ 5 million in art, almost $ 4 million in vehicles and $ 3.2 million in jewelry,” Forbes said they own together.
“If they didn’t keep things separate, God knows what happens to accounting issues,” said Beverly Hills attorney Joseph Mannis of Hersh Mannis LLP, who has Halle Berry and Tim Burton as clients. “It can be a huge pain in the neck to find out what you are doing.
Here’s what may be at stake in the Kim Kardashian-Kanye West divorce.
Kim’s business: $ 700 + million
According to Forbes, most of Kim’s revenue comes from her cosmetics line KKW Beauty, which she started in 2017. On January 5, Kim finalized an agreement with Coty Inc., selling a 20 percent stake KKW for $ 200 million. (It already owned 72 percent of the shares, worth $ 500 million, in the brand, according to Forbes.)
In 2019, its Skims shapewear line raised $ 5 million in funding and, minutes after launch, raised $ 2 million in sales.
The prenuptial agreement states that “The money she earns from … the Kardashian clothing line and promotional appearances, will be considered her only and individual income”. That language can prevent Kanye from claiming his business, said Aimee Gold, a leading family lawyer in Los Angeles.
There may be a language in the couple’s prenuptial agreement that says: “’without goodwill’, which means that there is no capitalization on [shared] name, ”said Gold. “It just means because [her] the surname is West ”- and the company is KKW -“ that doesn’t give him any access ”.
Kim’s reality show world: millions
At the end of last year, it was announced that “Keeping up with the Kardashians” – the reality show that made Kim and her family famous – would be over at E! network in 2021 after 20 seasons on the air.
Although Kanye was initially cautious about appearing on the show, he made several appearances over the years, including recording their engagement at Oracle Park and preparing for the wedding. Their children, especially from the North, also often appear.
But the prenuptial agreement states that whatever money Kim earns from the program, she stays with him.
She, her sisters and her mother, Kris Jenner, signed a multi-year contract with Disney to create new exclusive content that will be broadcast exclusively on Hulu in the United States.
Custody of their four children
Kim and Kanye are the parents of daughters North, 7, and Chicago, who turns 3 this month, and of sons Saint, 5, and Psalm, 1. The couple’s prenuptial agreement does not contain any custody agreement, as per law from California.
Gold said the courts are likely to start with both parents receiving “50/50” physical custody. But each camp could litigate longer if it proved that the situation would be “harmful to the child,” as if one parent were on tour for a year, Gold said.
”If you file for divorce in California, neither party can take children [out of state] without the other [parent’s] permission, ”added lawyer Mannis. “There is often a discussion about this in celebrity cases.”
When both parents have extremely high incomes, negotiating child support can be particularly “bizarre”, he said. But he doesn’t expect Kim or Kanye to face such a fight. “It’s bad publicity.”
California properties: $ 78 million
After buying a home in Calabasas, California, for $ 40 million, Kim and Kanye spent $ 20 million on renovations.
“Everything we do is an art installation and a games room,” Kanye told Architectural Digest of the minimalist mansion, designed by Axel Vervoordt. The 15,000-square-foot, 4.5-acre property features cave-like corridors, two pools and a vineyard. A single sink cost $ 30,000.
The couple also owns three adjacent properties, as well as land near Palm Springs, California, purchased in 2020 for $ 6.3 million.
“Kim is trying to get Kanye to hand over the Calabasas’ house to her …”, a source told Page Six. “She owns all the land and adjacent lots around the house, but Kanye owns the house.” Sources told the Post that this is unusual and could complicate a deal.
“Most business managers are very good” and do not allow “financial confusion”, explained Mannis.
Engagement ring: $ 1.3 million
According to the report on the couple’s prenuptial agreement, Kim takes all the gifts Kanye gave her – including her 15-carat Lorraine Schwartz engagement ring, which is worth about $ 2 million.
To be clear, this is the ring he used to propose to her in front of friends and family when he rented the AT&T Stadium in San Francisco, complete with the Chicago Symphony performing and the message “PLEASE MARRY MEEE” on Jumbotron. Not to be confused with his second $ 4.5 million ring, which was stolen in a robbery in Paris.
Over the years, Page Six reported, Kanye has gifted his wife with at least $ 350,000 in Cartier bracelets, a Hermès Birkin bag painted by artist George Condo – and another painted by his daughter North – and a $ 1 million diamond choker. There is also the custom Mercedes SUV, which is worth over $ 227,000, and a plethora of stocks.
Kanye business: up to $ 5 billion
Kanye started designing sneakers in 2009, soon expanding to clothing. The Yeezy brand is a phenomenon, with sales of $ 1.5 billion in 2019. He owns 100% of his company, but has an agreement to sell his sneakers through Adidas. In June, he announced a 10-year deal with Gap, and said he had raised his net worth to $ 5 billion. It is not known whether Kim has a stake in his business.
The rapper has released nine albums over 17 years through Roc-a-Fella Records. Although he promised an album in 2020, he then refused, claiming that his recording contract was a form of “modern slavery”.
According to leaked documents, Kanye received $ 11 million for the 2013 “Yeezus” albums and $ 6 million for the 2016 “The Life of Pablo” albums.
His own label, GOOD Music, released songs from Big Sean, John Legend and Kid Cudi.
Kanye Complex in Wyoming: $ 30 million
In 2019, Kanye spent $ 14 million on a ranch in Cody, Wyo. He was approved to build a 52,000-square-foot house with an underground garage, but he denied permission to build an amphitheater, according to the AP.
Kanye was at the ranch, recording his tenth album, yet to be released, when he unleashed his Twitter speech against Kim and his family in July, taking friends, including Dave Chappelle, to fly to see how he was doing.
Since then, it has been reported that Kanye remained mostly at the ranch. He also owns a $ 15 million ranch in Greybull, Wyoming, and a deposit in Cody. It is not known whether Kim’s name is in the deed.