Kanye West Drops Off Billionaire’s List After Adidas Cuts Ties: Forbes

Kanye West arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Feb. 9, 2020. Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

Kanye West has dropped off the Forbes list of billionaires after Adidas cut ties with the businessman rapper over comments he made on social media that have been called offensive and antisemitic.

West, whose legal name is Ye, had an estimated net worth approaching $2 billion before Adidas announced in a press release it was terminating its partnership with him “immediately.”

“With that gone, Ye is no longer a billionaire,” according to Forbes, which estimated the value of the deal at around $1.5 billion, calculated based on a multiple of annual earnings.

Forbes now says West’s net worth is around $400 million.

Adidas faced pressure to cut ties with West after he made a string of controversial comments on social media.

On Instagram, West shared a screenshot of a text exchange with fellow musician Sean “Diddy” Combs in which he told him: “This ain’t a game. Ima use you as an example to show the Jewish people that told you to call me that no one can threaten or influence me.”

Shortly afterward, West was locked out of his Instagram account. He then took to Twitter, where he posted a controversial message that also got him suspended.

“I’m a bit sleepy tonight, but when I wake up I’m going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE,” West wrote. “The funny thing is I actually can’t be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jews also. You guys have toyed with me and tried to blackball anyone whoever opposes your agenda.”

West appeared to be referring to the U.S. Armed Forces’ heightened readiness status DEFCON 3.

The post was later removed by Twitter for violating its rules, a spokesperson confirmed to multiple outlets, and West is currently unable to access his account.

Around the time of West’s social media lockouts, Adidas said it had put its partnership with Ye under review, amid public pressure.

Then on Oct. 25, Adidas said it was cutting ties with the rapper.

“After a thorough review, the company has taken the decision to terminate the partnership with Ye immediately, end production of Yeezy branded products, and stop all payments to Ye and his companies. Adidas will stop the Adidas Yeezy business with immediate effect,” the company said in a statement.

“Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech,“ Adidas added, calling West’s recent comments ”unacceptable, hateful, and dangerous.”

West has not yet publicly commented on the Adidas breakup but has denied claims of antisemitism.

“You’re saying it’s antisemitic, but I don’t believe in that term. One thing is, Black people are also Jew. I classify as Jew also, so I actually can’t be an antisemite. So the term is actually, it’s not factual,” West said in an Oct. 17 interview on NewsNation.

West’s business relationship with Adidas dates back to 2013, earning the company about $2 billion per year, according to Morningstar analyst David Swartz.

In 2016, the two formed a partnership to manufacture and distribute items from West’s Yeezy clothing line.

Bryan Jung contributed to this report.