Meet The Only Seven Black Billionaires In The United States

Hip-Hop King And Fashion Mogul Kanye West

Wikimedia CommonsKanye West fought with Forbes to put him on their Billionaires List. Documents later showed he had a net worth of $1.3 billion.

Kanye West ranks as the fifth richest Black billionaire in the U.S. with an estimated net worth of $1.3 billion.

Kanye West was born in Atlanta, Georgia, but he grew up in Chicago. He had always been interested in music since he was young and he eventually dropped out of college to pursue his musical ambitions.

After moving to New York City, West found success through his music as, coincidentally, a producer on Jay-Z’s 2001 album The Blueprint. He went on to produce hit songs for other artists like Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, and Ludacris.

Three years later, West brought his talent from behind-the-scenes to the forefront when he struck out on his own as a solo artist with his debut album The College Dropout.

College Dropout was a commercial hit with fans and critics. As a result, Kanye West snagged three Grammys in 2004 for Best Rap Album, Best Rap Song for “Jesus Walks,” and Best R&B Song for “You Don’t Know My Name.”

His follow-up album Late Registration earned him his first No. 1 hit as a lead artist with “Gold Digger.” Before long, the rapper also became known for his controversial reputation and explosive personality.

Nevertheless, he’s racked up 21 Grammys in total throughout his career, making him one of the top Grammy winners in history.

Kanye West’s popular Yeezy sneaker company, which has come to rival the legendary Air Jordans, make up a sizable chunk of his wealth.

Like many artists of the 21st century, West decided to capitalize on his brand. His interest in fashion propelled him to try his hand in shoe design. He secured a partnership with Nike and then later Adidas to produce his own shoe line called Yeezy. It was a natural launching pad, according to him.

“When I was in fourth grade I was drawing [Air] Jordans when my mama couldn’t afford them,” West said. “I was drawing those Jordans. Getting kicked out of class for drawing them.”

Ultimately, Yeezy became a retail success. According to Forbes, West received over $140 million in royalties just from sales of Yeezy shoes alone in 2019. Soon after, he began to inquire about his spot on Forbes’ annual Billionaires List.

Wikimedia CommonsDespite his controversial persona, Kanye West remains one of the most celebrated artists in recent history.

After he was left out of the list yet again in 2020, he publicly chastised the magazine, insinuating that they had deliberately left him out because of his race. To settle the matter, West sent his financial documents compiled by his team to Forbes. He claimed that the numbers would put his net worth at more than $3 billion.

Upon reviewing the documents, Forbes concluded — in a rather snarky feature story — that Kanye West was in fact a billionaire, except their calculations put his net worth lower at $1.3 billion.

Aside from his sneaker empire, Kanye West’s wealth mostly comes from his property assets, including a mansion in Los Angeles and a couple of ranches in Wyoming.

Despite the very public spat between the eccentric musician and the magazine, Forbes praised his sneaker brand’s success, calling it “one of the great retail stories of the century.”

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