Kanye West has reportedly regained his billionaire status, once again rising to the top of hip-hop’s financial hierarchy and overtaking JAY-Z as the genre’s richest figure.
In a confident Instagram post on Thursday (January 23), the multi-talented rapper and fashion mogul claimed his net worth now stands at $2.77 billion. He cited Eton Venture Services, a business valuation firm, as the source of the estimate. Kanye’s caption simply read, “LAA LA LA LA,” a likely jab at critics and detractors.
Eton Venture Services attributes Kanye’s financial resurgence to the strength of his music portfolio and sole ownership of the Yeezy trademark, a brand that remains synonymous with luxury streetwear.
However, Forbes, widely regarded as the gold standard for celebrity net worths, has yet to verify these claims. As of Friday (January 24), the outlet still lists Kanye’s fortune at $400 million. Should the $2.77 billion valuation prove accurate, West would officially surpass JAY-Z, whose net worth is estimated at $2.5 billion by Forbes.
Kanye and JAY-Z, former collaborators who famously released Watch the Throne, remain the only rappers to have achieved billionaire status. Earlier reports that hip-hop legends Dr. Dre and Diddy had reached this milestone have since been discredited.
50 Cent, however, is positioning himself as the next to join their ranks. The media mogul and entrepreneur stated last year that his ventures in television and the spirits industry have brought him tantalizingly close to billionaire territory.
Kanye’s return to the billionaire club marks a significant turnaround from 2022 when he lost his Adidas partnership following a string of antisemitic remarks. At the time, Forbes reported that Yeezy’s collaboration with the German sportswear giant accounted for $1.5 billion of his estimated $2 billion fortune. After the fallout, Kanye’s net worth reportedly plummeted to $400 million.
In early 2024, Kanye reflected on the financial struggles that followed Adidas’ decision. “I’m gonna be honest with y’all: I was two months from going bankrupt, really,” he admitted to TMZ. “And we survived. We survived through the cancellation.”
Adidas didn’t emerge unscathed either. The company announced it expected a $246 million drop in net income for 2022 after severing ties with West.
Despite the setback, Kanye retained full ownership of the Yeezy brand and successfully pivoted to independence. His latest clothing drop reportedly generated seven-figure revenues within just 24 hours, signaling a strong comeback for the Yeezy empire.
