Kanye West has officially joined the billionaires club.
According to a report by Forbes published on Friday,24 April 2020, Kanye finally shared his financial records, giving the publication an ‘authentic numeric look into Kanye, Inc.’ to prove the title.
The publication notes that his stake in YEEZY indeed makes him a billionaire. “A bit over $1 billion, actually“.
From the report, Forbes valued Kanye’s assets at just over a billion, claiming that he is worth around $1.26 billion after he sent them documents, of which the bulk of that wealth comes from the YEEZY brand that has a revenue worth of around $1.3 billion (around $140 million from sales just last year).
“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,” report says.
“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”.
However, Kanye was not pleased by the Forbes report stating that he believes his net worth to be around $3.3 billion, rather than the $1.26 billion they have estimated.
“It’s not a billion,” West allegedly texted the publication Thursday night. “It’s $3.3 billion since no one at Forbes knows how to count.”
Kanye’s statement of assets supplied by his team lists just $17 million in cash and $35 million in stocks. The largest assets are $81 million in “buildings and improvements” and $21 million in land, including the Hidden Hills mansion he shares with his wife Kim Kardashian and four children, and a pair of $14 million Wyoming ranches. Documents reveal West’s G.O.O.D. Music label, his own recorded music, and publishing rights to be worth at least $90 million. There were also a sizable deduction for $100 million worth of debts, which included mortgages and advances.
Related: Kanye West talks about the ‘Billion-Dollar Yeezy Empire’.
Forbes stressed the lack of independent verification of some of the figures supplied, though the rapper said the outlet had undervalued him. In response, Forbes compared his self-assessment with an informal rule they used to have with valuing now US President Donald Trump; “take whatever the future president insisted he was worth, divide by 3, and start honing from there”.
“All told, our current net worth estimate for Kanye West: $1.3 billion, which he’ll be pleased to note is $300 million more than little sister Kylie,” per the report.
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