Kanye West has dropped out of the exclusive billionaire’s club after German sportswear retailer adidas ended its nine-year business partnership with the rapper and fashion designer over his anti-Semitic remarks, causing his net worth to plummet to $400 million, from $1.9 billion, according to Forbes magazine.
The deal with adidas on West’s Yeezy line of trainers was worth $1.5bn, based on a multiple of annual earnings, the magazine said.
West has full ownership and creative control of the Yeezy trainer brand, which was launched in 2015 with the adidas Yeezy trainer.
The remainder of West’s fortune comes from property, cash, his music catalogue and a 5 per cent stake in ex-wife Kim Kardashian’s unicorn shapewear brand, Skims, Forbes said.
West, 45, who legally changed his name to Ye in 2018, has been in the headlines recently following a string of anti-Semitic remarks made on social media and in media appearances.
Earlier this month, he held a surprise show on the sidelines of Paris Fashion Week, where he wore a T-shirt with “White Lives Matter” printed on it, widely considered a racist response to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Last week, the family of George Floyd said they are suing the rapper for $250m after he claimed Floyd’s death was the result of drug abuse, not from being killed by a police officer.
West has also been suspended from Twitter and Instagram over anti-Semitic posts that the social networks said breached their policies.
Instead, West offered to buy conservative social network Parler, the right-wing social media app that was reportedly used to help to co-ordinate the January 6 riots on the US Capitol last year. The deal amount was undisclosed.
“In a world where conservative opinions are considered to be controversial, we have to make sure we have the right to freely express ourselves,” he said while announcing the plan.
West recently suggested slavery was a choice and called the Covid-19 vaccine the “mark of the beast”, among other comments.
His talent agency, Creative Artists Agency, has also dropped him while the MRC production company announced on Monday that it is shelving a documentary about him.
The Balenciaga fashion house cut ties with West last week and JP Morgan Chase has asked him to choose another banking service by November 21, although the banking break-up was in the works before his anti-Semitic comments.
In September, the Donda hit maker notified fashion brand Gap that he was terminating an agreement to design Yeezy clothing for the high-street retailer for breach of contract.
He signed a 10-year deal with Gap in 2020 and the partnership was expected to bring in $1bn in annual sales through to 2025.
West, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder after being admitted to psychiatric care in 2016, first made the Forbes’ billionaire list in 2020 with an estimated $1bn fortune.
The vast majority of his earnings have come from royalties and other earnings related to his Yeezy brand and adidas partnership, according to Celebrity Net Worth, which tracks the wealth and finances of the rich and famous.
As the sole owner of Yeezy, West pocketed about $150m to $200m in annual royalties from the fashion brand. He earned 15 per cent on the wholesale price of his trainers from adidas.
The Yeezy brand generated $2bn per year in revenue and $250m in profit for adidas. At the peak of West's partnership with adidas, the Yeezy brand was estimated to be worth about $4bn to $5bn on its own, Celebrity Net Worth said.
West has sold more than 35 million albums and clocked up more than 100 million digital downloads of his music.
He became famous after the release of his debut album, The College Dropout, in 2004. Including 2021’s Donda, he has sold more than 140 million albums and/or singles in his career, and his music catalogue is thought to be worth $110m, according to Billboard.
West's team had been quietly shopping his catalogue to potential buyers for a valuation of up to $175m, or 35 times its annual revenue of $5m, Billboard reported.
However, the 24-time Grammy Award winner has denied a potential deal.
He owns property worth $160m, mostly in the US, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Kardashian, 42, and West split in February 2021 when she filed for divorce. They share four children — North, 9, Saint, 6, Chicago, 4, and Psalm, 3.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
World Cup warm up matches
May 24 Pakistan v Afghanistan, Bristol; Sri Lanka v South Africa, Cardiff
May 25 England v Australia, Southampton; India v New Zealand, The Oval
May 26 South Africa v West Indies, Bristol; Pakistan v Bangladesh, Cardiff
May 27 Australia v Sri Lanka, Southampton; England v Afghanistan, The Oval
May 28 West Indies v New Zealand, Bristol; Bangladesh v India, Cardiff
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
The Bio
Name: Lynn Davison
Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi
Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
Favourite holiday destination: Bali
Favourite food: A Sunday roast
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Scorebox
Sharjah Wanderers 20-25 Dubai Tigers (After extra-time)
Wanderers
Tries Gormley, Penalty
Cons Flaherty
Pens Flaherty 2
Tigers
Tries O’Donnell, Gibbons, Kelly
Cons Caldwell 2
Pens Caldwell, Cross
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Gulf Men's League final
Dubai Hurricanes 24-12 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
