Kanye West was one of the world’s most successful and richest musicians. In a few months, however, his entire fortune turned backwards.
From one of the most successful musical artists of the XXI century to social pariah, the story of Kanye West is as fascinating as tragic. West’s net worth used to top $5 billion, and now is but a shadow of what it used to be. How did it come to this?
Kanye West was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1977. He possessed a strong vocation for music from a very early age, dropping out of school at 20 years old to pursue his dream.
Initially, Kanye West proved to be a very successful producer, managing albums of famous artists like Jay-Z, John Legend and Beyoncé. Though very talented, West did not want to stop at producing other artist’s albums and started his own musical career.
West’s first album, The College Dropout , was an incredible success for both critics and public. The album was nominated for 10 Grammy Awards and was certified triple platinum.
Throughout the 2000s, Kanye West kept scoring hit after hit. His most significant successes include Late Registration (2005), My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010) and Yeezus (2013).
After his music career was established, West also turned to fashion design, another passion of his. The rapper was the first non-athlete to sign a deal with Nike, which was followed by a similar one with Adidas.
Later, Kanye West founded Yeezy, a sneaker brand of which he is the sole owner.
Controversial claims and fall from fame
By the end of the 2010s, Kanye West’s net worth amounted to $5 billion. Yeezy was an established brand valued between $2 and $4 billion and his Adidas deal earned him over $250 million yearly. Not to mention, of course, his yearly revenues coming from his very successful music career.
Then, unfortunately, something broke.
On his social accounts, as well as during his public appearances, Kanye West started making insane, extremely controversial comments.
In September 2022, West accused the Jewish community of committing “holocaust” against black people. In October, he made defamatory allegations against the Jewish community on Instagram, resulting in the blocking of his account. A few days later, similar comments cost West his Twitter account as well.
By the end of the month, Adidas, GAP and Balenciaga all cut their ties with Kanye West. In November, his Twitter account was restored but flagged again in December after commenting “I see good things in Hitler” on a popular radio show.
By the end of the year, Kanye West’s net worth had dropped to $400 million. Yeezy shares fell underground and he couldn’t find any producer for his next musical album.
Currently, Kanye West is completely isolated from the public world. His public figure was completely ruined by his comments, and might never rebound back again.
