With Adidas ending the deal because of hate speech, Kanye West was removed from the list of billionaires
Yesterday (October 25, US time), Adidas AG ended its cooperation with rapper and designer Kanye West after hostile statements. This move·caused him to be removed from the list of billionaires.
“Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other type of hate speech,” the company said in its announcement.
“Ye’s recent comments and actions are unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and they violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fair” – Adidas added.
Forbes magazine said the end of this deal means Kanye West’s net worth drops to $400 million. The magazine valued the American rapper’s stake in the Adidas partnership at $1.5 billion.
Forbes added that the rest of Kanye West’s wealth comes from real estate, cash, his music catalog and a 5% stake in ex-wife Kim Kardashian’s fashion company, Skims.
Representatives for Kanye West did not respond to requests for comment on the end of the Adidas partnership.
Of course, ending the collaboration with Kanye West also has negative effects on the sportswear brand. According to the company, for Adidas, ending cooperation and production of Yeezy-branded products, as well as stopping all payments to Kanye and his companies will have a “short-term negative impact”. term” of up to 250 million euros ($248.90 million) on the income of this line.Kanye West has courted controversy in recent months by publicly ending his ties to major companies and with social media outbursts against other celebrities. His Twitter and Instagram accounts have been restricted, with the social media platforms deleting some of the rapper’s online posts, which users have condemned as anti-social.
In now-deleted Instagram posts from earlier this year, the multiple Grammy-winning artist accused Adidas and US apparel retailer Gap Inc of not building permanent stores as promised under contract for products from his Yeezy fashion line. Kanye also accused Adidas of stealing his designs for his own products.
Adidas poached Kanye from rival Nike Inc in 2013 and agreed to a new long-term partnership in 2016 in what the company later called “the most significant partnership created between someone other than is an athlete and a sports brand”. This partnership has helped the German brand close the gap with Nike in the US market.
According to estimates from Telsey Advisory Group, Yeezy sneakers, priced between $200 and $700, generate about 1.5 billion euros ($1.47 billion) in annual revenue for Adidas, accounting for more than 7% of total sales. airline revenue, according to estimates from Telsey Advisory Group.
Shares of Adidas, which cut its full-year forecast last week, closed down 3.2%. The group said it will provide more information as part of its upcoming third-quarter earnings announcement on November 9.
