zEntrepreneur and musician Kanye West lost his lucrative multi-year deal to design sneaker brand Yeezy for Adidas after making antisemitic comments.
Other brands and companies that cut ties to West, who formally changed his name to Ye, include Gap, CAA and Balenciaga.
Forbes had valued the Adidas deal at $1.5 billion. Without it, West’s fortune drops to $400 million.
His current fortune includes cash, real estate, the value of his music catalog and a 5% stake in his ex-wife Kim Kardashian West’s shapewear brand Skims.
West has faced backlash after a series of bizarre behavior over the past month. In early October, he donned a “White Lives Matter” t-shirt during Paris Fashion Week and has made antisemitic comments over the past few weeks, including saying he would go “death con 3 on Jewish people.” His Twitter and Instagram accounts were later locked, but he returned to Instagram Wednesday with new posts. West has been dropped by many industry connections, the biggest being Adidas, the German sportswear company that West created Yeezy brand products with. On Wednesday, West was escorted from the Skechers corporate office headquarters after making an unauthorized visit. Skechers released a statement saying West was not invited and that the brand “is not considering and has no intention of working with West.”
Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, is an award-winning music artist, record producer, and fashion designer. He’s famous for hit albums like The College Dropout, his Yeezy brand, and his marriage to Kim Kardashian West.
Since he began his ascent as a rapper in 1996, Ye has recorded over 100 Billboard Hot 100 songs, earned more than 20 Grammy Awards, and amassed a net worth of over a billion dollars. But most of that wealth comes courtesy of Yeezy, his sneaker collaboration with the sportswear company Adidas.
Ye is also known for his eccentric behavior, including interrupting Taylor Swift’s MTV Video Music Awards acceptance speech to declare Beyoncé the rightful winner, making controversial comments about slavery, and mounting a campaign for U.S. president.
- Full name: Ye (born Kanye Omari West)
- Birthday: June 8, 1977
- Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia
- Height: 5’8″
- Net worth: $2 billion
- Spouse: Kim Kardashian (m. 2014-2022)
- Children: Psalm West, Chicago West, Saint West, North West
- Genres: Rap, hip-hop, pop, gospel
- Top tracks/albums: “Diamonds From Sierra Leone,” “Famous,” “Gold Digger,” “Hurricane,” “Jesus Walks,” “Monster,” “Niggas in Paris,” “Southside,” “Stronger,” 808s & Heartbreak, Donda, Graduation, Late Registration, The Life of Pablo, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Watch the Throne, Yeezu