Kanye West Claims he's a Billionaire. Forbes Says No!
Kanye West has long been a figure of controversy, but one of his most significant disputes has centred around his net worth.
You might recall the singer of Gold Digger’s infamous clash with Forbes back in 2019 when he claimed to be a billionaire, but the financial publication didn’t back him up on the cover.
West, who now goes by the name Ye, accused Forbes of disrespect and a deliberate snub.
Now, it seems another dispute may be on the horizon...
The rapper has recently asserted that his net worth is $2.77 billion.
In an Instagram post, he stated that this figure had been confirmed by Eton Venture Services and was based on his music portfolio and ownership of the Yeezy trademark.
He captioned the post: "Laa, la, la, la."
However, Forbes, which has been compiling an annual list of billionaires for nearly four decades, estimates West’s net worth at a mere $400 million as of 27 January.
The magazine acknowledged that West had once had a lucrative deal with Adidas, valued at $1.5 billion, but after his antisemitic comments in 2022 led to the end of that partnership, his fortune took a significant hit.
Forbes’ estimate of his net worth includes cash, real estate, his music catalogue, and a 5% stake in his ex-wife Kim Kardashian West’s shapewear brand, Skims. The publication also highlighted that several other brands, including Gap and Balenciaga, have severed ties with the rapper.
So how is it that such wildly different calculations of his wealth can exist?
On the surface, net worth is a simple matter of adding up assets and subtracting liabilities. But certain assets don’t have a fixed value, which makes these estimates more complicated.
Craig Hughes, a partner at accountancy firm Menzies, told Money that the process of estimating asset values can vary greatly depending on who is doing the assessment.
"The discrepancies you often see in net worth estimates can come from differences in the methods and assumptions used by various sources," he said. "Some sources may have more detailed access to financial data, whereas others rely on public filings or industry reports."
Forbes calculates West’s worth based on tangible assets, whereas his self-reported valuation places considerable weight on the Yeezy brand.
Simon Heath, a partner at investment bank Heligan Group, added to the debate, explaining that third-party valuations can often be unreliable, particularly when self-interest is involved in inflating the numbers.
"Third party valuations are notoriously unreliable, particularly if there is self-interest inflating a valuation," he told Money. "Kanye’s self-valuation is dependent on attributing a high value to the Yeezy brand, which continues to be mired with association to his public outburst. No doubt, he is a wealthy man, but probably no longer a billionaire."
