Billionaire No More: Kanye West’s Antisemitism Obliterates His Net Worth As Adidas Cuts Ties-HO
The superstar rapper no longer has a place on the Forbes Billionaires’ list now that his lucrative deal with Adidas is over.
Just days ago, the rapper-cum-fashion entrepreneur Kanye West challenged Adidas to drop him following a weeks-long barrage of antisemitic remarks made on social media and in national media appearances.
“I can say antisemitic s—- and Adidas cannot drop me,” said the rapper, who legally now goes by the name “Ye,” on the Drink Champs podcast earlier this month. Ye, who had worked with Adidas since 2013 on his Yeezy line of super-expensive, super-popular sneakers, thought he was untouchable. After all, Adidas gets an estimated 4% to 8% of its sales from Yeezy products, according to investment bank Cowen. For Ye, it was an even bigger deal, accounting for $1.5 billion of his net worth.
But Ye’s words put the German athletic wear company, with its own Nazi ties dating back to its founders, in the hot seat. What followed was even more escalating pressure on Adidas to sever ties with Ye, as his string of antisemitic remarks drew condemnation from the top tiers of Hollywood. For weeks, Adidas stayed silent, except to say on October 6 that their partnership with Ye was “under review.”
The pressure ratcheted up on Adidas after an image was released over the weekend of a banner draped over a Los Angeles highway overpass reading “Kanye was right about the Jews” accompanied by a group of white supremacists giving the Nazi salute to the drivers below. The white supremacists were apparently referring to Ye’s “death con 3 on Jewish people” tweet that got his Twitter account locked; other antisemitic remarks got him blocked on Instagram, and thousands upon thousands upon thousands of social media users chorused for Adidas to also drop Ye.
Today—Tuesday, October 25—Adidas finally broke its silence and ended the relationship. That move will cost them big, but Ye even more, immediately knocking him out of the billionaire ranks.
“Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech. Ye’s recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and they violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness,” the company declared in a press release. “After a thorough review, the company has taken the decision to terminate the partnership with Ye immediately, end production of Yeezy branded products and stop all payments to Ye and his companies. Adidas will stop the Adidas Yeezy business with immediate effect.”
With that gone, Ye is no longer a billionaire.
It caps a stunning, self-induced downfall for one of the brashest and most volatile personalities to have graced Forbes’ pages (and a magazine cover). Ye did not respond to request for comment.
The $1.5 billion value of the Adidas deal was calculated off of a multiple of annual earnings. Based on interviews with industry experts, Forbes had viewed the royalties Ye received from Adidas to be similar to royalties from music catalogs or film residuals. The Adidas income stream could be sold off, those experts said, just like dozens of musicians (including the likes of Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen) have sold off their life’s work over the past two years.
Without his partnership with Adidas, Kanye West’s estimated net worth stands at $400 million, according to Forbes. The remaining portion of his fortune comprises investments in real estate, cash holdings, ownership of his music catalog, and a 5% stake in his ex-wife Kim Kardashian’s shapewear company, Skims. However, a source close to Skims informed Forbes that West has not been involved with the brand since its launch in 2019.
Being removed from the Billionaires’ list concludes a longstanding saga between Kanye West and Forbes. West consistently felt that his net worth was undervalued by the publication. Even when he first appeared on the list in 2020 with an estimated $1 billion fortune, West expressed dissatisfaction, asserting that his wealth was actually $3.3 billion. This pattern persisted each year, with West persistently disputing Forbes’ valuations. For this year’s assessment, West submitted documents claiming that his Adidas partnership alone was worth $4.3 billion. Upon learning that his overall valuation would be $2 billion, West’s discontent with Forbes became public knowledge.
Losing the partnership with Adidas dealt a significant blow to Kanye West’s net worth. Additionally, Gap terminated its collaboration with Yeezy in September, further impacting his financial standing. Earlier this month, JPMorgan reportedly ceased its banking relationship with West. Furthermore, French fashion house Balenciaga ended its association with West on October 21, shortly after he appeared on their runway during Paris Fashion Week.
