Figuring out the net worth of a celebrity is always a challenging task – most of us have to make smart guesses based solely on publicized pieces of information like how much their latest venture made and how their newly-purchased car or abode is worth. So it’s inevitable for the truth and everyone’s supposition to be, at times, contrasting.
Take for example the case of world-famous rapper, record producer, entrepreneur and the other half of Kim Kardashian, Kanye West: he doesn’t seem to be showing any sign that he’s living on a budget and yet he claimed in February earlier this year that he’s in debt.
The fact that Kanye West’s net worth was estimated to be at $145 million last year into the equation only makes things a lot more complicated-sounding than they already are!
Then came something that made a number of people a bit confused and some stirred: Kanye West was not included in the 2017 list of highest-earning celebrities. Do take note that back in 2014, Kanye West was actually at #20 – his highest ranking ever – on the list annually dished out by the said magazine, which is not just a glossy publication but also a respected authority in the world of business, finance and, of course, wealth.
Your scalp almost bleeding because of all the head scratching that you’ve been doing since you started poring over this article? Just how much money is kanye worth, if anything at all? No matter if you’re a huge Kanye West fan or hater, or you just want to know how much this celebrity is really worth, read on and you be the judge whether he’s really in debt or not quite. Ready or not, let’s investigate and see if we can figure out Kanye net worth.
Net Worth of $145 Million In 2016
Even though it’s true that he was nowhere to be found on last year’s listing of the wealthiest celebrities by Forbes, it was no secret to many that Kanye West’s net worth last year was a whopping $145 million. In order to wind up being $53 million in debt, then he must have lost a little over $200 million in a span of 12 months.
But those who’s been closely following Kanye West can all agree that it’s not quite the case as his music career never really experienced a slump – his stardom headed northward ever since he entered the scene in the early 2000s and it’s still pretty much one of the brightest these days.
Furthermore, Kanye West also started adding feathers to his cap — he also dipped his hands into a bunch of other money-making ventures. They may not be as stellar as the undertakings of his collages (e.g. Dr. Dre winning a multi-billion dollar deal when he sold Beats Electronics to Apple back in 2014 and Sean “Puff” Daddy Combs doing business with well-known liquor companies), but those endeavors were widely successful.
More Than Just a Rapper
If you’re a massive Kanye West fan, then you would know by heart that he has sold more than 21 million albums across the globe. But making and selling chart-topping albums is not the only thing that Kanye West is busy with career-wise, but many other lucrative things, too.
For instance, he signed a jaw-dropping $10 million deal with Adidas, designing shoes that belong to his very own Yeezy Boost line. Doing business with Adidas has increased the popular brand’s sales considerably in the past year, and such rise is christened the “Yeezy Effect” by many sneaker pros.
Oh, and Kanye West has also collaborated with Louis Vuitton in coming up with cutting-edge sneakers, not to mention the limited-time-only “The Life of Pablo” store that opened in New York just recently and raked in tons of profit.
Married to No Other Than Kim Kardashian
It is estimated that Kim Kardashian – the current Mrs. Kanye West, if you didn’t know that because you’ve been living under a rock all this time – has a net worth of $40 million.
That doesn’t really come as a huge surprise, what with her being a star in “Keeping Up with the Kardashians, which is a reality TV show that has remained popular since it debuted in 2007, and her very own profitable app called “Kim Kardashian: Hollywood”. By the way, it is said that Kim Kardashian’s asking price each time she endorses a product on social media is a staggering $10,000!
$40 million – if only that amount money of hers was loaned to Kanye West, which she easily could if she wanted to because she’s married to him, then that could easily pay nearly all of his purported $53-million debt. But his curvaceous wife need not really take care of everything on her own. With the couple’s shared riches amounting to almost $200 million, then it’s truly a complete head scratcher why Kanye West would end up in debt, as he Twitted earlier this year.
Apparently Living the Big Life
Many people are wondering why Kanye West and his wife can still afford to get their hands on cars and houses that most of us can only enjoy in our wildest dreams, despite of Kanye West’s claim of being in a $53-million debt.
Case in point: Kanye West owns a 2017 Mercedes Maybach which is priced at nearly $200,000. Oh, and not to mention that his wife, Kim Kardashian, has a Rolls-Royce which has a price tag of around $300,000. Clearly, no one who’s in debt can afford to drive around in a car whose price tag can feed a small nation.
But then again, Kanye West is known to be a generous individual other than being a talented and innovative musician slash sneaker designer. For instance, he’s known to shower Kim Kardashian with pricey bags and jewelry.
And also, he once bought his daughter, North, a diamond-studded tiara. It’s no secret, too, that Kanye West loves pampering his relatives and friends. All of these things can make it easier to piece together the various things that let slip the fact that Kanye West is not really in debt – or they could they also be the reasons why he is actually in debt as he claims to be?
SO IN CONCLUSION: Figuring out whether Kanye West is in debt or not is a complicated, complicated thing. Until that matter is settled once and for all, determining his net worth is out of the question. What do you think?
Interested in more celebrity worth? Be sure to see what Drakes net worth is by checking out our last featured article on him.