Kanye West May Not Be Worth $6.6 Billion, But He Is Still A Billionaire

On Wednesday multiple media outlets, including Forbes, reported that Kanye West had a net worth of $6.6 billion and was now the richest Black man in U.S. History. As of Thursday (March 18), Forbes has retracted their story, disproving Bloomberg’s report that West’s Yeezy Brand, Yeezy GAP fashion line and West’s additional assets totaled to $6.6B.

According to Forbes calculations, West is estimated to be worth “less than a third of that, or $1.8 billion.” Although Forbes estimate of West’s net worth is an increase from Forbes initial projection of $1.3B back in May, it’s still significantly lower than Bloomberg’s estimate of $6.6B. 

Instead of just focusing on calculating the current worth of West’s business, Bloomberg tallied the forecasted future earnings of Yeezy GAP into their estimation of West’s net worth. Contrastingly, Forbes evaluated West’s net worth by solely focusing on the profits West’s businesses has currently generated. 

Breaking down West’s net worth, Forbes finds that West’s Yeezy brand is worth $1.5B, his cash and other assets total to $160M and music catalogue is worth $90M. West also has a stake in his estranged wife Kim Kardashian’s shapewear company SKIMS, resulting in an additional $64M being added to his net worth. 

While Bloomberg’s estimation seems plausible, it’s very idealistic since Yeezy just partnered with Gap in June and the Yeezy Gap partnership hasn’t produced any revenue yet, according to Forbes. 

West’s net worth may not be $6.6B yet, however his present-day estimate of $1.3B-$1.8B is still a major accomplishment considering that he had debt worth $53M in 2016. Ironically, West has not taken to social media to address all of the talk surrounding his net worth or net worth growth. Maybe West is too busy planning a major Yeezy X GAP launch and he has no time to focus on anything besides Yeezy GAP.