Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, is having a turbulent October. Not only has he fallen out of favor with those who previously stood by him, but his market value has also severely plummeted now. To say this was well deserved is an understatement because it’s been a long time coming.
Following his recent anti-semitic remarks, among several other controversial statements and stances, the artist and businessman is no longer a billionaire — a title he held over those who challenged him ever since he became one.
In the last few weeks, heavyweight collaborators Balenciaga, GAP and most recently Adidas have cut business ties with the self-proclaimed “genius” after his tone-deaf comments about the Jewish community and his decision to get behind the “White Lives Matter” slogan, which has been linked to the Ku Klux Klan.
On Tuesday, Forbes reported that it had dropped Ye from its list of billionaires. They estimated the Adidas deal accounted for $1.5 billion of his net worth, which has now dropped down to $400 million. What remains is believed to be a tally of Ye’s real estate, cash, music catalog and 5% stake in ex-wife Kim Kardashian’s shapewear firm, Skims. (CNN)
Still, he will most likely continue to refer to himself as a billionaire because his ego rides on that claim but also because he is a spitting image of Donald Trump, the Ye-endorsed former president who still refuses to concede his loss in the 2020 elections. When Forbes listen Ye as a billionaire in 2020, he texted them the following message: “It’s not a billion. It’s $3.3 billion since no one at Forbes knows how to count.”
This year, Ye sent documents to Forbes claiming his Adidas partnership was worth $4.3 billion while claiming elsewhere that his net worth is around $7 billion.