Last week, multiple outlets, including Entrepreneur, reported that the artist was worth more than $6 billion, but Forbes has since disputed that figure.
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March
22, 2021
2 min read
This story originally appeared on Black Enterprise
After Bloomberg initially reported that hip-hop entrepreneur and producer Kanye West had become the richest Black man in America earlier this week with a worth of $6.6 billion, Forbes did a recalculation and determined that Yeezy is actually worth $1.8 billion.
According to Complex, after the Bloomberg story was published, the purported combined value of West’s Yeezy and Yeezy Gap deal was listed at potentially $4.7 billion, added to additional assets he has, led to the revelation of his net worth being estimated at $6.6 billion. That amount would have made him the richest Black person in the United States.
This is when the Forbes article stated that the $6.6 billion figure was disputed because the calculations that Bloomberg gave were theoretical ones. The $1.8 billion that was determined by Forbes is based on current revenues instead.
Related: Startup Success: the Kanye Method vs. the Russ Method
Forbes’ staff writer Madeline Berg wrote, “West’s wildly optimistic approach to his net worth mirrors the approach used by Donald Trump, who insists the value of his name be included in any net worth estimate. Trump, who we value at $2.5, says his brand has an intrinsic value, regardless of actual revenue. West and his camp are making a similar argument for businesses attached to the Yeezy name.”
XXL has reported that Vista Equity’s Robert F. Smith is actually the richest Black person in the United States as his reported net worth has been estimated at $6 billion. Nigeria’s Aliko Dangote is listed as the richest Black person in the world with a reported net worth that amounts to $11.8 billion.
Earlier this month, West released his new Yeezy shoes, the Yeezy 450 in Cloud Whites, and it sold out by 7:01 AM on March 6. The shoes were available on YeezySupply.com and Adidas app. Sources say that the shoes had a retail value of $200. Now, people are selling the shoes for double the retail value.