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Kanye West Was Once Worth $2 Billion. Then His Wealth Dropped. What Is His Net Worth Now?

Kanye's clothing line makes up the majority of his net and the brand raked up close to $1.3 billion of revenue back in 2020.

BY SUNAYNA KANJILAL

UPDATED DEC 19, 2023

Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Kevin Winter

Name	Kanye West
Net Worth	$500 Million
Sources of Income	Music, Business
Gender	Male
Date of Birth	Jun 8, 1977
Age	46 years
Nationality	United States of America
Profession	Record producer, Songwriter, Singer, Actor, Film Producer, Rapper, Businessperson, Screenwriter, Fashion designer, Music Video Director

Kanye West's Net Worth

Kanye West, also known as Ye, recorded his first composition at the age of 13 and soon made a name for himself in the Chicago music scene where he would often perform with local artists. His years in music and high-profile relationships made him a household name. He also built a fortune of over $2 billion, which tragically dropped to about $500 million in recent times, per Celebrity Net Worth.

Kanye West's Sources of Income

While his music accounts for most of his net worth, his businesses like Yeezy have also contributed to his fortune. Kanye still owns 100% of the brand and during his collaboration with Adidas, he earned royalty on every dollar the brand made. The company brought in $2 billion per year in revenue and $250 million in profit for Adidas, as per Celebrity Net Worth.

West's net worth may have slightly risen from $410 million but it's nowhere close to what it used to be before October 2022. Interesting Fact: When West was a billionaire, he was one of the three richest self-made black individuals in the history of the country.

What did Kanye West say in October 2022?

The rapper lost several deals and sponsorships following his comments about Jewish people on social media. Following an uproar over his comments, he was banned from Twitter as he violated the social media platform's policies on hate speech.

His frequent controversial statements were too much for the world to handle. West was removed from Forbes' billionaire list following his anti-Semitic remarks in October 2022. However, Twitter (now known as X) recently reactivated Kanye West’s account (his account was suspended following his remarks). West will not be able to monetize his account and no ads will appear next to his posts, per CNN.

Getty Images | Kevin Winter — Image Source: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

After Adidas severed ties with Kanye West, the sportswear company struggled with the $1.3 billion worth of Yeezy products in stock, as per Digital Music News. However, as per reports by Bloomberg, Kanye is entitled to 11 percent of each sale made by Adidas of any Yeezy product. So, if they successfully sell the inventory they will owe around $143 million to Kanye.

As of August 6, 2023, Adidas had sold the first batch of Kanye West's leftover Yeezy stock and raised $437million, per NME.

What happened at the Paris Fashion Week?

He triggered controversy with a 'White Lives Matter' shirt at Paris Fashion Week. The American rapper held a fashion show for his Yeezy brand which created a negative buzz around the T-shirt which promoted a white supremacist message.

At the very peak of the collaboration, the brand was worth a towering $5 billion in itself.

What is Kanye West's salary? Albums, tours, and merch sales

West's music catalog on the other hand is estimated to get him around $90 million annually. Back in 2019, he was named the highest-paid artist in the field of hip hop and then he was named the highest-paid musician in the world with $170 million in earnings, per Parade. West's breakthrough album, "The College Dropout" sold over 6 million copies. He made a comeback with "Graduation," selling more than 6 million copies.

West's 5th studio album which is considered his best, "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy," sold more than 1.7 million copies. In 2021, West became the first artist to have 10 studio albums reach 1 billion streams on Spotify, and per estimates, he earned $3,747,643 from the platform as of 2021.

West makes a handsome amount from his musical tours, with his Glow in the Dark tour grossing $30.8 million and Watch the Throne tour with Jay-Z netting $75.4 million. The Yeezus Tour grossed $31.8 million and the Saint Pablo Tour netted $52.8 million. Kanye's clothing line makes up the majority of his net and the brand raked up close to $1.3 billion of revenue back in 2020.

Kanye West's real estate portfolio

West has two ranches in Wyoming worth $14 million. He also owns 4,500 acres of Monster Lake Ranch which has eight lodging units, two lakes one event center, meeting spaces, restaurants, and barns for animals. He once owned a mansion in California with his former wife Kim Kardashian. This mansion was featured in Architectural Digest and is known for its minimalist design.

Kardashian has agreed to pay around $23 million to buy out his half as she plans to stay with her four kids in the mansion. They also had a Bel Air mansion which the two sold in 2017 for $17.8 million. Two years later in 2019, it was reported that Kanye bought another mansion worth $14 million for his then-wife. It's not clear who owns the mansion currently.

Other Assets

He also owns a food company, KW Foods LLC, which owns the rights to the Fatburger fast-food chain in Chicago. He also had an establishment of DONDA which is a creative content company which is named after his late mother Doda West. West is also the co-owner of the streaming service named Tidal along with other artists like Rihanna, Jay-Z, and Madonna.

Car Collection

Like many hip-hop stars, West also owns several luxury cars. His collection includes cars like Lexus ES300, Maybach 57, Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, Bugatti Veyron 16.4 FBG Par Hermès, Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Stirling Moss, Dartz Prombron Red Diamond Edition, Aston Martin DBS V12, Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4. He also owns cars such as Porsche 911, Carrera 4S, Lamborghini Urus, Sherp, and more.

Personal Life

West was in a relationship with designer Alexis Phifer. The two parted ways in 2008 after which he started dating Amber Rose. West famously dated Kim Kardashian. The two tied the knot in 2014 and have four children together. In 2021, the two filed for divorce. He soon started dating Australian architect Bianca Censori, and the two got married in a private ceremony in Beverly Hills.

Quotes

"If you have the opportunity to play this game of life you need to appreciate every moment. A lot of people don't appreciate the moment until it's passed."

"Would you believe in what you believe in if you were the only one who believed it?"

"Nothing in life is promised except death."