Forbes Says Kanye West Is Officially a Billionaire; Rapper Calls Them Out

Kanye West finally crossed the billion mark recently, according to a newly published Forbes report. But the rapper-designer wants the record to be straight about how much he is really worth.

Per out the out, Kanye provided documents that is believed to be an “authentic numeric look into Kanye, Inc.” After analysing his assets, Forbes determined Kanye was, in fact, a billionaire—something he had claimed during an appearance at the 2019 Fast Company Innovation Festival.

“When I did Forbes, I showed them a $890 million receipt and they still didn’t say ‘billionaire,'” Kanye told the audience, per Complex.

Now, Forbes say he has passed the $1 billion mark by a little, and most of this comes from his highly successful Yeezy brand and its partnership with Adidas.

Per Forbes:

Our sources told us last year that West’s agreement calls for him to receive a royalty around 15% of Yeezy revenue from Adidas. Upon closer inspection, it appears some expenses are carved out of that slice, bringing his actual cut closer to 11%. At that rate, he would have received royalties of over $140 million from Yeezy sales last year …

Conservatively, as we typically are with such figures, a 10x multiple, applied to West’s Yeezy cut of $140 million makes his stake worth about $1.4 billion. But that’s a private, highly illiquid $1.4 billion — our rule-of-thumb for private assets like that is to lop off at least 10%. That’s $1.26 billion.

West’s team also sent statements that list $17 million in cash, $35 million in stocks, and about $102 million in “buildings and improvements” and land. His music, which includes publishing rights and his G.O.O.D. Music imprint, is said to be worth around $90 million.

However, Complex reports that Kanye insists his assets are valued at around $3 billion, but Forbes gave these figures “a 50% haircut” because of the assets’ liquidity and a lack of independent confirmation. The team also deducted $100 million for debts, which included mortgages and advances, putting Kanye’s estimated net worth at $1.3 billion—about $300 million more than his 22-year-old sister-in-law, Kylie Jenner.

But Kanye reportedly disagreed with Forbes.

“It’s not a billion,” he allegedly texted the reporters Thursday night. “It’s $3.3 billion since no one at Forbes knows how to count.”