Kanye Omari West was born in Atlanta, Georgia on June 8, 1977. West went to Chicago, Illinois, with his mother after his parents divorced when he was three years old. After meeting producer/DJ No I.D., who taught him, he began experimenting with music there. In 1997, he was awarded a scholarship at the American Academy of Art, but he switched to Chicago State University to study English. He eventually dropped out of school at the age of 20 to pursue a music career. West began creating beats for local musicians after dropping out of college to perfect his own sound. In 1996, he received his first formal producing credit on Chicago rapper Grave’s debut album, Down to Earth. During this time, he also worked with Foxy Brown, Deric “D-Dot” Angelettie, and Harlem World.
Personal Life
From 2002 until 2008, West had an on-again, off-again romance with designer Alexis Phifer, and from 2008 to 2010, he dated model Amber Rose. In April 2012, he began dating reality star Kim Kardashian, and they married in May 2014. The couple has four children together.
Kanye West owns around $160 million in real estate in the United States (property, buildings, and residences).
The primary house of Kim and Kanye is a sprawling mansion in the Los Angeles neighbourhood of Hidden Hills, California. This estate is made up of many interconnected properties, the first of which was purchased in 2014 in two separate deals for $23 million. The initial version of their property included a newly constructed residence on 4.5 acres. Over the next many years, the couple spent millions of dollars customising, rearranging, and enlarging the property. They enlarged their estate in 2019 with two separate deals for neighbouring homes, resulting in a combined 7.5-acre monster.
The Hidden Hills estate has cost a stunning $28.5 million in real estate transactions alone. Renovations have cost tens of millions of dollars more.
Their Hidden Hills mansion is currently valued at more than $60 million. Kim paid Kanye $23 million in September 2021 to formally transfer the property under her name. Approximately $3 million of the total was spent on the home’s interior furnishings.
Kanye West paid $57.3 million for a Malibu oceanfront mansion in September 2021.
Other real estate assets include:
- A 320-acre estate on Stokes Canyon Road in Calabasas is worth $16 million. This is where his Sunday Services have been held and where he attempted to build a series of domed structures before being shut down by the LA County building commission for permit issues.
- A 6,700-acre ranch called Bighorn Mountain Ranch in Wyoming – $15 million
- A 1,400-acre ranch called The Monster Lake Ranch – $14 million
- A $2 million commercial property in Cody, Wyoming
He owns $150 million in California real estate and $30 million in Wyoming real estate, for a total of $120 million that is publicly available.
Below is the calculation we used to determine Kanye West’s 2019 net worth of $600 million:
Assets:
- Real estate assets = $120 million
- Music catalog including G.O.O.D Music = $80 million
- Value of Yeezy brand = $500 million
- Other assets = $20 million
Total assets = $720 million
Liabilities and other considerations = $100 million
2019 Net Worth = $600 million (with a conservative $20 million error margin)
Career
West’s major break came in 2000 when he began working as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he worked with singers such as Ludacris, Alicia Keys, and Janet Jackson. His work on Jay-Z’s 2001 album The Blueprint sparked significant attention to West’s abilities as a producer. His producing credits during this time period include Jay-Z, Beyoncé, John Legend, Alicia Keys, and Janet Jackson, among others. Despite his success as a producer, West’s first ambition was to become a rapper. After being refused a deal with Capitol Records, he persuaded the chairman of Capitol Records to sign him to Roc-A-Fella Records in 2001.
West was inspired by a catastrophic vehicle accident in October 2002, in which he cracked his jaw, and recorded the song Through the Wire with his mouth still wired shut. This song established the groundwork for his first album The College Dropout, which was leaked months before its August 2003 release date. West took the time to remix, remaster, and edit the album, delaying its release three times. The College Dropout was ultimately published in February 2004 to significant critical acclaim, earning him ten Grammy Award nominations and going triple platinum in the United States.
West committed two million dollars to the creation of his second album, including employing a full-string orchestra. Late Registration was published in August 2005, and by the end of the year, it had sold over 2.3 million units in the United States. Graduation (2007), 808s & Heartbreak (2008), My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010), Watch the Throne (2011), Yeezus (2013), The Life of Pablo (2016), Ye (2018), and Jesus is King (2019) are among his later albums.
In 2013, West released the album Yeezus. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 list, as well as on the US R&B and Rap charts, as well as in four other countries. His 2016 album The Life of Pablo debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 list and #2 on the US Rap and US R&B charts. West’s single “FourFiveSeconds” (with Rihanna and Paul McCartney) debuted at number one on the US R&B chart. He was nominated for six Grammy Awards in 2017. Ye, his next album, was released in June of 2018. Unfortunately, Ye was Kanye’s first album that did not achieve platinum.
West has continued to work as a producer and featured performer for other musicians, including 6ix9ine, XXXTentacion, Lil Pump, Chance the Rapper, Kid Cudi, and Teyana Taylor, in addition to his own albums and projects. Other musical endeavours he has undertaken include his weekly “Sunday Service” orchestration with the Sunday Service Choir, which has been performed every Sunday since January 2019. He also worked on two operas with modern artists Vanessa Beecroft, Nebuchadnezzar and Mary.
West has always exhibited an interest in fashion, and his 2009 Air Yeezys sneaker made him the first non-athlete to have a shoe deal with Nike. He has also collaborated on footwear designs with Louis Vuitton, Bape, and Giuseppe Zanotti. He also debuted two apparel collections during Paris Fashion Week in 2011 and 2012.
Adidas officially unveiled its new sneaker partnership with West in December 2013. The “Light Brown” Yeezy Boost 750 sneaker was initially launched on February 14, 2015, exclusively through the Adidas mobile app to people in New York City, and sold out in 10 minutes. As of December 2017, the Adidas and Yeezy shoe partnership featured a total of 19 colours and 6 styles. West debuted Season 1 of his Yeezy apparel line with Adidas in 2015. Season 2 debuted later that year, and Season 3 debuted in February 2016.
Following the success of his early releases, Adidas confirmed in June 2016 a long-term collaboration with West. Kanye receives a 10% royalty on net Adidas revenues on average. In contrast to Adidas.com, he gets a large royalty on products sold on his own website, YeezySupply.com. His average blended royalty rate is roughly 10%. It should be emphasised that, as of this writing, Kanye owns 100% of the Yeezy garment brand outright.
Kanye established the record label and production firm G.O.O.D Music with Sony BMG in 2004. The term “G.O.O.D” stands for “getting out our dreams.” West, John Legend, Common, Big Sean, Pusha T, Q-Tip, Kacy Hill, and Teyana Taylor are among the artists signed to the company.
He also owns KW Foods LLC, which operates the Fatburger fast-food restaurant franchise in Chicago. West announced the formation of DONDA, a creative content firm named after his late mother Donda West, in January 2012. In addition, West, along with Jay-Z, Rihanna, Madonna, Chris Martin, and Nicki Minaj, is a co-owner of the music streaming service Tidal. The majority of the stakeholders have a 3% equality stake.
His charitable endeavours include the Kanye West Foundation, which supports education for African American and Latino youth, as well as time, skill, and money to Hurricane Katrina relief, World Water Day, and Live Earth, among others.
Net Worth
Kanye West is a producer, rapper, fashion designer, and entrepreneur from the United States. Kanye West’s net worth is $500 million as of this writing. Kanye was one of the three richest self-made black persons in US history when he was a multi-billionaire. Kanye rose to prominence with the publication of his 2004 album The College Dropout. He is now one of the most successful and decorated performers on the globe, having received 21 Grammy nominations and winning 21 of them. In recent years, he has shifted his focus away from music and towards business, generating at least $100 million each year from his different ventures. Royalties and other profits tied to his Yeezy brand and Adidas association have accounted for the great bulk of his earnings.
Kanye completely owns the Yeezy clothing business. During his tenure as an Adidas partner, he received a royalty on every dollar of sales generated. Adidas made $2 billion in revenue and $250 million in profit every year from the Yeezy brand. At the height of his collaboration with Adidas, the Yeezy brand was believed to be valued between $4 and $5 billion on its own. According to a March 2021 UBS estimation, Yeezy adds $3-4 billion to Kanye’s net worth. According to the same study, Kanye’s prior partnership with The Gap increased West’s net worth by $1 billion.
Facts
| Net Worth | $500 Million |
| Date of Birth | Jun 8, 1977 (45 years old) |
| Place of Birth | Atlanta |
| Gender | Male |
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) |
| Profession | Record producer, Songwriter, Singer, Actor, Film Producer, Rapper, Businessperson, Screenwriter, Fashion designer, Music Video Director |
| Nationality | United States of America |
