Did you know that Kanye West is the richest man 👨 in 🇺🇸? His total Net worth is 6 billion dollars. Congratulations, Kanye West from my family to yours.
By Kanwal
Kanye West has hit a new high on the professional front. The rapper is now the richest African–American with a net worth estimated at USD 6.6 billion. The star’s net worth shot up, thanks to his sneaker and apparel business, Yeezy.
Kanye West is the richest Black American, bank finds
That figure includes West’s Yeezy clothing and shoe deal with Adidas and Gap, which investment bank UBS valued at $3.2 billion to $4.7 billion. Bloomberg also estimated that West has $122 million in cash or stock, 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 to annual revenue of nearly $1.7 billion last year, netting West $191 million in royalties, Bloomberg said in citing UBS.
West’s status as a billionaire is a far cry from where the Chicago-born college dropout found himself five years ago. West, 43, told BET News that he was $53 million in debt in 2016. About $16 million of that came from trying to get Yeezy up-and-running, West said.
His fortunes finally turned after Yeezy launched. Forbes reported that West negotiated an 11% royalty on his Adidas Yeezy shoes. He eventually generated $150 million in income during Yeezy’s first 12 months of existence, according to Forbes. West signed a 10-year deal with Gap for Yeezy clothes and shoes.
As Yeezy continued to gain steam, its success caught the attention of West’s then-wife Kim Kardashian. Kardashian tweeted about how proud she was of West turning around his fortune. Forbes declared West a billionaire last April, listing his net worth at $1.3 billion.
West joins a small crowd of Black U.S. billionaires, a list that includes filmmaker Tyler Perry, rapper-turned-entrepreneur Jay-Z (real name Shawn Carter), Charlotte Hornets owner and basketball legend Michael Jordan, and Oprah Winfrey.
In its latest estimates, Forbes placed Winfrey’s net worth at $2.5 billion. Former Goldman Sachs executive Robert Smith has a $5.2 billion net worth and World Wide Technology founder David Steward is worth an estimated $3.7 billion, Forbes said.