Kanye West Net Worth: How Did Kanye Get So Wealthy?

By Willie Neal Last updated Nov 29, 2022

Aside from being a rapper, Kanye West is also a record producer, fashion designer, and sometimes just Ye. West, who was raised in Chicago but was born in Atlanta, became well-known in the early 2000s as a Roc-A-Fella Records producer, producing songs for a range of artists and developing the “chipmunk soul” sampling method.

He released his first studio album, The College Dropout (2004), to critical and commercial acclaim with the goal of building a solo career as a rapper. He later established the record label GOOD Music. He is regarded as one of the greatest hip-hop musicians of all time and one of the most admired figures of his generation.

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Early Life and Career Beginnings of Kanye West

On June 8, 1977, Kanye Omari West was born in Atlanta, Georgia. When West was three years old, his parents split, and he moved with his mother to Chicago, Illinois. He learned there from producer/DJ No I.D., and there he started experimenting with music.

He received a scholarship to the American Academy of Art in 1997, but he transferred to Chicago State University to pursue an English degree. At the age of 20, he eventually left school to pursue a career in music.
After dropping out of college to focus on developing his own sound, West started making beats for nearby musicians. He was given his first official producing credit in 1996 for Chicago rapper Grave’s self-titled first album. He also collaborated with Foxy Brown, Deric “D-Dot” Angelettie, and Harlem World around this time.

In 2022, How Wealthy Will the Rapper Actually Be?

According to sources, Kanye West’s net worth will be $1.8 billion in 2022. And finally, he belongs to the club of three commas.

Following the launch of his Yeezy brand Gap partnership, Forbes confirmed that the rapper’s estimated net worth of $6.6 billion, which was predicted by a number of sources to make him the wealthiest Black person in America by 2021, was overstated.

Nevertheless, with a net worth of $1.8 million, Kanye West is worth about $800 million more than his ex-girlfriend Kim Kardashian, whose worth is anticipated to reach $1 billion by 2022.

When Kanye’s wife filed for divorce in February 2021, many fans began to wonder if the couple had a prenuptial agreement. According to a 2014 story by Radar Online, two months before their May 2014 wedding, Kanye and Kim signed a prenuptial agreement.

In the event of a divorce, Kim will be awarded a lump sum of $10 million plus $1 million for each year she was married to Kanye. Even if they divorce, Kim will continue to be covered by Kanye’s life insurance policy, which is worth $20 million, according to Radar Online. The article claims that there was no custody clause in Kanye and Kim’s prenuptial agreement. When the couple got married, North was the only child they had.

In reference to Kim’s ex-husband Kris Humphries, a source said at the time that “the entire process for Kim and Kanye’s prenuptial agreement has been extremely easy, and quite drama-free.” Kanye was willing to give Kim total authority over all of his financial assets since he didn’t believe a prenuptial agreement was necessary for the marriage.

Yes, he truly loves Kim to that degree. The prenuptial agreement that Kim had with Kris Humphries was very different from this one. It took several months to draught their agreement. It was a drawn-out procedure.

Despite being a billionaire now, Kanye West’s net worth wasn’t always what it is now. After starting his own apparel company, Pastelle, with his own money in 2009, Kanye West claimed on Twitter in 2016 that he owed $53 million.

Following the release of Pastel, Kanye created his own product line under the name G.O.O.D. with the goal of appealing to label followers. But the label (and G.O.O.D.) went out of business seven months after Pastelle made her debut. At the time, Kanye had other businesses besides his failed one. 2011 saw the launch of Kanye West, his upscale women’s clothing line.

How Did Kanye Get So Wealthy?

The majority of West’s wealth—$1.5 billion—comes from his prosperous sneaker business, Yeezy, which he owns outright. More than $100 million of the $160 million in cash and other assets in his bank account comes from real estate holdings in Wyoming and Los Angeles.

Kanye West Properties

Around $160 million worth of property is owned by Kanye West in the United States (land, buildings, and homes).

The main residence of Kim and Kanye is a sizable home in the Hidden Hills section of Los Angeles, California. The first of the several connected properties that make up this estate was bought in 2014 for $23 million in two separate transactions.

Their original property consisted of 4.5 acres and a recently built house. The couple invested millions of dollars in remodeling, redecorating, and expanding the house over the following few years. With two separate transactions for neighboring properties in 2019, they increased the size of their estate, creating a combined 7.5-acre monster.

A staggering $28.5 million has been spent on only real estate transactions for the Hidden Hills estate. Tens of millions of money have been spent on renovations.

Their mansion in Hidden Hills is currently worth more than $60 million. Kim officially transferred ownership of the house into her name by paying Kanye $23 million in September 2021. The interior decoration of the house cost a little over $3 million of that amount.

In September 2021, Kanye West spent $57.3 million on a Malibu beachside house.