'The Lamborghini of shoes': Kanye's Yeezy sneaker empire is worth $1BILLION according to Forbes story on the rapper's comeback from a '$53million debt' - a fortune he's spending on Belgian plaster floors and 'monastic' white walls in his LA home
- Kanye West is featured on the cover of the latest issue of Forbes magazine
- Forbes estimates revenue for his Yeezy sneaker line will top $1.5B in 2019
- West negotiated an unheard-of 15% royalty on wholesale for the shoe
- Forbes pegs his pretax income at $150 million over the past 12 months
- It is a stunning reversal from three years ago when he said he was $53M in debt
- Now he is spending his shoe fortune on special Belgian plaster floors for the Los Angeles mansion he shares with wife Kim Kardashian West and their four kids
Kanye West's sneaker empire is a billion-dollar enterprise, according to a new cover story on the rapper's business endeavors by Forbes magazine.
Revenue for the Yeezy sneaker line, now with Adidas, is set to top $1.5billion in 2019, and West's pretax income over the past 12 months came in at $150million, according to Forbes.
Since moving the Yeezy line from Nike to Adidas in 2013, West has struck what Forbes calls an 'unprecedented deal' for 15 percent royalty on wholesale, plus a marketing fee.
For comparison, Michael Jordan is thought to get royalties around 5 percent on the Air Jordan line, which does annual sales of about $3billion.
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Kanye West is featured on the new cover of Forbes magazine, which chronicles his dramatic financial turnaround due in large part to his Yeezy shoe line
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are seen above in NYC in December 2018 both sporting Yeezy footwear
'The house was all him,' Kardashian West told Forbes. 'I've never seen anyone that pays such attention to detail'
West describes his foot line as 'the Lamborghini of shoes', a nod to the matte-black Lamborghini SUV he owns.
Forbes reports that West appeared for its cover photo shoot not once but twice wearing a black hoodie and that he called the editor to share his concern that the piece would not focus enough on the religious influence on his business.
West's business fortunes mark a stunning reversal from just three years ago in late 2016, when he begged Mark Zuckerberg to invest $1billion in his 'ideas' and claimed to be $53million in debt.
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'I'm just blessed through the grace of God to go from tweeting at Mark Zuckerberg (to now)'.
He added: 'People wondered, 'Why did you tweet at Mark Zuckerberg?' And I was like, 'Hey, I heard he was looking for aliens.''
Soon after, he cancelled the latter half of a lucrative tour and checked himself into a Los Angeles hospital for over a week with symptoms of sleep deprivation and temporary psychosis, only to emerge in a bizarre meeting with Donald Trump, then the president-elect, at Trump Tower.
Keep up with Kim in a dress by Mugler
Kim Kardashian looked nothing short of perfection as she walked the red carpet at the Met Gala this year.
Flaunting her incredible figure in a custom dress by Mugler, the nude number features a belted waist, ruched front and button-down design, and not forgetting those tear drop jewels which create a dripping, waterfall effect. With wet-style hair to match, Kim made sure to stand out from the crowd.
Sadly, her dress is custom-made, which means it can’t be bought but if a ruched mini is what’s missing from your wardrobe, then the edit below is for you.
We have handpicked lookalikes from Pinko, Missguided, Superdown and Revolve that will do just the trick!
Pictured above in April- after five years of construction and renovations, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's sprawling Hidden Hills mansion was complete
West credits his dramatic turnaround to religion - 'being in service to Christ, the radical obedience' he says. He also claims that being bipolar has given him a 'superpower' that unlocks his imagination rather than serving as a hindrance.
'Crazy is a word that's not gonna be used loosely in the future,' West says.
'Understand that this is actually a condition that people can end up in, be born into, driven into and go in and out. And there's a lot of people that have been called that 'C' word that have ended up on this cover,' he told Forbes.
Now he is spending his shoe fortune on special Belgian plaster floors for the Los Angeles mansion he shares with wife Kim Kardashian West and their four children, North, Saint, Chicago and Psalm, according to Forbes.
If scuffed, the plaster can reportedly only be repaired by an elite team of plaster experts flown in from Europe.
Forbes' O'Malley Greenburg detailed in the article how he was given 'little cloth booties,' to put over his shoes to protect the floor.
'The house was all him,' Kardashian West told Forbes. 'I've never seen anyone that pays such attention to detail.'
Taking care: They may have the ability to fly in special European floor repair people
Attention to detail: Forbes' O'Malley Greenburg detailed his excursion to the mansion in his article, writing that a handler gave him 'little cloth booties,' to put over his shoes
In April Kim Kardashian allowed Vogue into the massive Hidden Hills mansion - which was designed by Axel Vervoordt and took years to complete - for its 73 questions interview.
During her chat, the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star played with all three kids on a bed while West served as babysitter in a very intimate look at their life.
Nearly every surface of the property is 'a monastic shade of white', Vogue reported. The living room, which is incredibly sparse, shows off an unbleached Steinway.
She describes her home as 'minimal monastery' and said it was inspired by Axel and Kanye.
Kim walked the Vogue staffer through the foyer and into a minimal bedroom featuring a white king-sized bed and a nightstand that had several books piled up.
There West was seen with North on his shoulders, Chicago playing with the musician and Saint near Kim.
Now he is spending his shoe fortune on special Belgian plaster floors for the Los Angeles mansion, according to Forbes. The interior of the home is seen above
Looking all white: Kim describes her home as 'minimal monastery'
He shares the home with wife Kim Kardashian West and their four children, North, Saint, Chicago and Psalm
West spends his shoe fortune on special Belgian plaster floors for the Los Angeles mansion he shares with wife Kim Kardashian West and their four children. They are seen above during a Vogue interview in April before the birth of Psalm
Next venture: The reality TV star and the Bound 2 hitmaker are now looking into property in the Bahamas or other tropical destinations that their family can enjoy
West first debuted his Yeezy shoes in 2009, after sketching out his ideas on a plane where he happened to be seated next to the CEO of Nike.
'I am a product guy at my core,' West told Forbes. 'To make products that make people feel an immense amount of joy and solve issues and problems in their life, that's the problem-solving that I love to do.'
Crucially, West maintained ownership over the Yeezy brand, allowing him to jump ship for Adidas when, he tells Forbes, Nike refused to pay royalties.
Forbes estimates West's net worth at $240million, but says that he is on track to someday be a billionaire.
Kim Kardashian took to Instagram Stories on Tuesday to say how proud she is of her husband
Of course, part of West's fortune comes from his music, as he is one of the best-selling music artists of all time with over 135 million records sold worldwide.
West is currently working on an album tentatively titled Yandhi, according to Forbes.
Wife Kim Kardashian took to Instagram Stories on Tuesday to say how proud she is of her husband.
She wrote: 'Kanye on the cover of Forbes! So incredibly proud of my husband! I watch everyday how hard he works and how much of his heart and soul he puts into his business, every idea and product that he creates.
'It's of no surprise to anyone who works with or is close to Kanye that he has been able to turn millions of dollars in debt into a billion dollar empire in only 4 years - 100% on his own terms, while owning 100% of his business.
'He inspires me every single day and I'm so happy he's finally getting the recognition and credit that he deserves.'
An example of the Yeezy Boost 350 is seen above. The shoe is now the core of West's Yeezy line and comes in many different colors
West's shoe empire began with the Air Yeezy 1 (above) launched with Nike in 2009
A history of the Yeezy: How did Kanye West build a billionaire dollar shoe empire?
The Yeezy shoe line, which get its moniker from Kanye's nickname, launched in 2009 with Nike, with an average cost of $215 per shoe, they soon became an collectors item due to their limited stock - selling resale at $3000.
While this was the started of the Chicago rapper's empire, it was not his first foray into the fashion industry. Earlier that year, the multiple Grammy-award winning musician, launched three different shoes with luxury retailer Louis Vuitton - all named after people close to him. The shoes retailed at around $1000, but now are available online for up to $40,000.
He stayed with Nike until 2014, releasing two Air Yeezys and the Air Yeezys Two, but left for Adidas when they said they would offer him royalties on the shoes, that Nike wouldn't.
The Yeezy shoe line, which get its moniker from Kanye's nickname, launched in 2009 with Nike, with an average cost of $215 per shoe, they soon became an collectors item due to their limited stock - selling resale at $3000. Pictured: Air Yeezy
Kanye had designed a line for Adidas in 2006, called College Dropout, the same moniker as his debut album, but the shoe was never released.
The deal Kanye got from Adidas was described as ''unprecedented deal' for 15 per cent royalty on wholesale.
Two years after leaving Nike, he released a song called 'Facts' a diss-song with the line 'I ain’t drop an album but the shoes went platinum' suggesting that he'd sold more than a million shoes in 2015 .
He stayed with Nike until 2014, releasing two Air Yeezys and the Air Yeezys Two, but left for Adidas when they said they would offer him royalties on the shoes, that Nike wouldn't. Pictured: Yeezy Boost
It also featured the line 'Tell adidas that we need a million in production. I done told y’all all I needed was the infrastructure' suggesting he wanted to produce more. He also said he 'jumped over the jumpman' suggesting he was outselling Nike's Air Jordan brand, a collaboration with basketball player Micheal Jordan - known as the jumpman.
In 2015, he also launched a Yeezy clothing line, the opening show, Yeezy Season One, saw some of the biggest names in fashion and showbiz in the front row, including Vogue editor Anna Wintour, Beyonce, Diddy, Alexander Wang, Beyonce and his wife Kim Kardashian.
The collection was known for its basic, stripped down, ready-to-wear style which drew influence from flesh coloured tones and military clothing.
With the Kardashian family, some of the most photographed women in the world, walking adverts for the line as they were often spotted in Yeezy clothes and shoes, the line has continued to grow. Pictured from left: Kris Jenner (Kanye's mother-in-law), Khloe Kardashain, Kendall Jenner, Kourtney Kardashian (Kanye's sisters -in-law), Kim Kardashian-West (Kanye's wife), North West (Kanye's daughter), Caitlyn Jenner (Kris Jenner's ex-partner who was a step-parent to Kim), and Kylie Jenner (Kanye's sister-in-law) at the Yeezy Season 3 launch in 2016. They are all wearing clothes and shoes designed by Kanye
With the Kardashian family, some of the most photographed women in the world, walking adverts for the line as they were often spotted in Yeezy clothes and shoes, the line has continued to grow.
Shoes now sell from around $100 to $6350 retail - and up to 10 times more resale.
They've been described as the 'hype sneaker' of the world, and thousands of people queue up to get their hands on the shoe.
The first Adidas Yeezy Boost sold out in 10 minutes in February 2015.
GQ also described them as the 'most influential shoe' of 2016, when hundreds of big name designers took inspiration to make shoes similar to those debuted by Kanye.
