Why Kanye West’s wealth might shoot up again

Kanye West is set to cash in big from Kim Kardashian’s Skims which is now valued at $4 billion thanks to his 5 percent stake in the lucrative shapewear brand. West’s stake in Skims was captured in a report by Forbes in 2022.

The apparel company was co-founded by Kardashian four years ago and has become a unicorn four times over. According to the New York Times, the latest value of the company came after it raised $270 million in a new funding round, that is from the $3.2 billion valuation investors gave the company last year.

“It has grown quickly, and we’re so proud of that,” Kardashian told the Times. “We’ve had a really good flow of product launches.”

When the company first launched in 2019, it recorded sales of $2 million minutes after going public. The brand originally focused on shapewear but has now added swimsuits and loungewear to its collection.

She initially launched the brand under the name Kimono but changed it to Skims within days after fierce protests over the cultural appropriation of the name, which referred to a traditional Japanese style of clothing.

Once a billionaire, West now has a reported net worth of $400 million. His investment in Skims also accounts for his current net worth. The musician, entrepreneur and one of the few richest self-made Blacks in U.S. history, rose to fame in 2004 when he released The College Dropout album. Since then, he has been a celebrated music icon.

His early earnings came from his music, concerts and royalties until he ventured into entrepreneurship. Face2Face Africa previously reported that West has income coming from his $110 million music catalog. His exact net worth became a subject of controversy. While Bloomberg said he has a net worth of $6.6 billion, Forbes put his net worth at $1.6 billion. West, who has legally changed his name to Ye, subsequently dropped from the billionaires’ club after his net worth fell below the $1 billion mark, according to Forbes’ estimates. This was after German sneaker brand Adidas cut ties with him following a series of controversial comments on Twitter.

“Losing Adidas was the final nail in Ye’s net-worth coffin”, says Forbes, adding: “Now the road has ended.”

What remains of the rapper’s financial empire is his “real estate, cash, his music catalogue, and a 5% stake in ex-wife Kim Kardashian’s shapewear firm, Skims.”