Earlier this week reports surfaced indicating Kanye West was not only the wealthiest Black person in America currently, but that he was also the richest African American in history.
Thanks to his shrewd business investments, music catalog (as performer and producer), deals with Adidas, fashion retailers, and more, the original report clocked his net worth at an astonishing $6.6 billion.
As the story made its rounds on the net, Forbes – the authority in celebrity wealth and finance – has clocked the claim as “invalid” and provided receipts to substantiate their dispute.
Details inside:
In an article printed Thursday (March 18), the rich and famous lifestyle mag disagreed with reports that suggested West was worth nearly $7 billion. In fact, they claim his net worth hovers under one-third that amount.
“Forbes is treating West the same way we do everyone else with similar royalty-based businesses: we take the most recent year’s licensing income and apply a multiple to it to account for the fact that this is an ongoing revenue stream.
Here’s a breakdown of Forbes’ estimate of his net worth—which is quite impressive, even if it’s not as high as he wants, or thinks, it to be: Yeezy: $1.5 billion, Cash and other assets: $160 million, Music catalogue: $90 million, Skims: $64 million, Yeezy x Gap: $0.
Forbes estimates he’s worth less than a third of [$6.6 billion], or $1.8 billion. Vista Equity’s Robert F. Smith remains the richest Black person in the U.S., worth an estimated $6 billion, while Aliko Dangote of Nigeria, worth $11.8 billion, is the richest Black person in the world.”
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Though the $1.8 billion is an increase from the magazine’s 2020 report on West’s wealth, it’s still less than the $3.3 billion he claims he’s worth. Click here to read more on that.