Now worth a whopping $6.6 billion, producer, rapper, and fashion mogul Kanye West is the richest African American in the United States, according to Forbes Magazine.
He is now also the third richest celebrity in the world, behind only Steven Spielberg ($7 billion) and George Lucas ($10 billion).
He is also reportedly the richest Black person in American history.
He jumps from fourth place to first place, surpassing Oprah Winfrey’s $3.5 billion net worth, David Steward’s $3.9 billion net worth and Robert F. Smith’s $6.5 billion. Michael Jordan is now the fifth-richest Black person in the US, with a net worth of $2.2 billion.
Led by his popular Yeezy brand, which has partnered with Adidas and Gap Inc., the brand is now worth between $3.2 billion and $4.7 billion by UBS Group AG.
West has also amassed $122 million in cash, stock and investments in estranged wife Kim Kardashian’s clothing line, SKIMS, as well as $110 million from his music catalogue.
Last year, West claimed that his net worth was more than $3 billion, which is more than billionaires such as Oprah Winfrey, but that report wasn’t accurate. Forbes reported that his net worth at the time was $1.3 billion, but to that, West said, “It’s not a billion. It’s $3.3 billion since no one at Forbes knows how to count.”
West has full control and ownership over the Yeezy brand and has signed a 10-year contract to sell clothing under the YZY/GAP umbrella. Citing the document obtained by their outlet, Bloomberg noted that the new Gap line is expected “to break $150 million in sales in its first full year in 2022.”
