Ye’s complex fortune soared thanks to a string of lucrative corporate deals with retail giants like Adidas and Gap.Credit:AP
The one big risk to any net-worth estimate – which is now playing out in real-time – was that he would self-destruct.
Adidas announced it would halt all payments to Ye andstop the Yeezy business immediately after a wave of offensive behaviour,including anti-Semitic comments on social media. The German sports company,already weighed down by the controversy,made the move after weeks of internal deliberations and will absorb a hit to earnings of up to €250 million ($387 million) this year.
While Gap and Balenciaga previously dropped Ye,the largest chunk of his fortune is housed in the Yeezy brand.Credit:AP
After the Adidas announcement,Forbes said Ye would no longer be included on its billionaires list. His net worth was estimated to be around $US2 billion,but the publication is now estimating it has plummeted to around $US400 million following the decision by Adidas.
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While Gap and Balenciaga had already dropped Ye,the largest chunk of his fortune is housed in the Yeezy brand. Bank of America estimated in 2019 that it was on track to generate $US1.3 billion of shoe revenue in 2019,a 50 per cent increase from a year earlier. Ye,45,would earn $US147 million in royalties from those sales,and the preliminary analysis found that the value of future footwear royalties could range from $US1.75 billion to $US3 billion.
Ye said in an interview with Bloomberg last month,before his break-ups with Gap and Adidas,that his royalty rate with Adidas was much higher than his previous deal with Nike a decade ago,but he wasn’t satisfied. He said he wanted to renegotiate to a 20 per cent lifetime agreement.