Kanye West: This is how he made a fortune with Yeezy

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Kanye West is not only a rapper, producer and songwriter, but also an entrepreneur. He became rich through his cooperation with Nike and the popular sneaker brand Yeezy. But the biggest coup was the cooperation with competitor Adidas, which ultimately made him a billionaire with his Yeezy label. These merits have put Kanye West in pole position for an attractive job: it is currently being traded as creative director at Louis Vuitton.

When the surprising death of Louis Vuitton creative director Virgil Abloh became known on November 28, 2021, a famous successor quickly came to the scene: Kanye West. The rapper had a close friendship with the superstar of the fashion industry. In 2009, Kanye West paved the way for the graduate Abloh to become the first African American to take over the management of the French fashion brand.

When Abloh received his cancer diagnosis two years earlier, he is said to have already arranged his successor. Kanye West is sure to be on the list of potential candidates. After all, the rapper has already worked for the label and designed the "Jasper" sneakers for the LVMH brand, which are now sold for 20,000 euros in the virtual shop.

But the bipolar rapper's unstable personality profile is no secret, and poses a significant stumbling block for a potential creative director of an LVMH brand -- all the more so given that it's the flagship brand of the LVMH Group.

Kanye West's first steps on the fashion scene

Kanye West laid the foundation for his breakthrough in the fashion business early on - after all, he never rested on his musical laurels, but instead used his fame to gain a foothold in other industries. When the rapper received the Grammy for his album "The College Drop Out" in 2005, he immediately announced the founding of his fashion brand "GOOD" and his first clothing line "Pastels". But his career as a designer got off to a very slow start.

In order to build up a little more know-how when it comes to fashion, rapper Kanye West even completed internships with famous labels such as GAP and Fendi. He then celebrated his first successes with the aforementioned collaboration with Louis Vuitton. To this day, individual models of the sneakers that arose from this cooperation are traded for 10,000 euros.

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The big deal with your own Yeezy sneaker

The collaboration with Louis Vuitton was the starting point for the great career in the fashion industry. After the first successes with the noble brand, the Nike label enabled the rapper to design his first completely own shoe. Together with Creative Director Mark Smith, Kanye West developed the Nike Air Yeezy. The sneaker first appeared in Zen Gray Colorway and a few months later in Black and Pink. All models were sold out immediately, and ten days before the release, masses of people were already camping out in front of the stores.

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At the same time, the rapper worked with the fashion brand APC and brought out two clothing collections with designer Jean Touitou. These collections were also sold out within a short time.

Problems with Nike and switch to Adidas

While Kanye West was already launching his second APC collection, internal issues with Nike leaked out. Kanye West spoke out in interviews and stated that Nike didn't want to give him any shares in his shoes. In a track called "Facts," Kanye West also musically settled his partnership with Nike.

Subsequently, the star conducted negotiations with other fashion houses. In the end, he decided to go to Adidas with Yeezy. Among other things, the possibility of creating something completely new seemed tempting.

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The new Yeezy era with the fashion label Adidas: The Yeezy Boost

In collaboration with adidas, rapper Kanye West released the Yeezy Season 1, which sold out in ten minutes. With the Yeezy Boost 350, the worldwide Yeezy release was carried out by adidas. The hype surrounding the sneakers increased with each release and the camping sessions in front of the shops took on extreme proportions. Massive security had to be deployed to cope with the onslaught. Everyone wanted to wear the coveted Yeezy sneakers. The resale of a single shoe alone brought in prices of up to 1,000 euros.

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Many fans were frustrated by the unbalanced supply and demand situation. This changed in the following years and with the growing number of collections. The "Triple White" was the biggest release to date with 1 million copies.

So high is the goodwill of "Yeezy"

Yeezy's goodwill is now estimated at $3.1 to $4.7 billion. Kanye West owns all rights and has creative control. One of the latest models is the adidas Yeezy Foam Runner, a comfortable slip-on shoe for at home.

Parallel to his great fashion success, Kanye West, who now only calls himself "Ye" as a rapper, also remains true to his passion for music. He is currently back in the studio working on the recordings for "Donda 2". When the album will be released is still uncertain.

Rapper Kanye West is officially a billionaire as of 2020

Kanye's hard work on all fronts has definitely paid off over the past few years. In April 2020, Forbes magazine officially declared Kanye West a billionaire. The rapper is said to have even made his financial documents available to the magazine. He had already tried to win this "award" last year and accused "Forbes" of having wrongly withheld the title from him. Kanye West's fortune is now estimated at $1.8 billion - over half of which he generates through the Yeezy brand, according to Bloomberg.

Divorce from Kim Kardashian could cost a small fortune

A bulging wallet could also be necessary for Kanye in the near future, because in February 2021 his wife Kim Kardashian (41) officially filed for divorce. Now it not only has to be clarified who will take care of the four children together, but also how the assets will be divided. The lawyers have probably already pulled out their calculators.