From billionaire to millionaire, overnight.
Kanye West's reputation and bank balance are both dropping fast.
Here's the latest.
The fierce blowback from Kanye West's antisemitic remarks has dealt his bank account a major hit.
According to Forbes, it was Adidas' decision to cut ties with Ye that stripped the Yeezy
creator of his billionaire status.
The company said in a press release,
"Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech.
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."
Ye's lucrative partnership with the sportswear brand had boosted his net worth by an estimated
$1.5 billion, and now he's "only" worth a reported $400 million.
Adidas' move came after Ye boasted on the podcast "Drink Champs" that the company would
not end its business deal with him over his antisemitic comments.
"I can say antisemitic things and Adidas can't drop me."
Billboard reports that the podcast interview has since been removed — meeting the same
fate as Yeezy products on Foot Locker shelves.
Meanwhile, luxury fashion label Balenciaga told Women's Wear Daily that it has no plans
to work with West again.
The talent agency CAA dropped him as well, per Deadline, and an insider told Page Six
that both Vogue and editor-in-chief Anna Wintour are severing ties with Ye.
This media firestorm began when West threatened to go, quote, "death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE"
in a tweet that got him suspended from Twitter.
Ari Emanuel, CEO of Endeavor, urged businesses to cut ties with Ye in response.
In a Financial Times op-ed, Emanuel wrote,
"Those who continue to do business with West are giving his misguided hate an audience.
[...] Silence and inaction are not an option."
He also offered to help Ye get educated about the repercussions of his behavior and the
pain he's caused.
On October 27, 2022, Kanye West took to Instagram to address the impact his antisemitism has
had on his finances, but he offered no apologies for his actions and didn't accept Emanuel's
offer for education.
West posted,
"Ari Emanuel, I lost 2 billion dollars in one day and I'm still alive.
This is love speech.
I still love you.
God still loves you.
The money is not who I am.
The people is who I am."
While TMZ reported that Ye made an unannounced (and unwelcome) visit to Skechers headquarters
after Adidas kicked him to the curb, he didn't seem too concerned about staunching his financial
bleeding, hitting Instagram to share a screenshot of a parody headline reading, "Ye has reportedly
cut ties with Kanye West."
So far, there's no word on whether his financial losses have impacted his plans to purchase
the right-wing social media platform Parler.
Following his post addressed to Ari Emanuel, Kanye West uploaded another image to Instagram
— this one apparently a screenshot of a post by 50 Cent with a parody headline reading:
"Curtis Jackson has reportedly cut ties with 50 Cent."
Fifty captioned his post,
"I'm getting rid of anybody who can get me f---ed up like Kanye right now!"
In response, Ye wrote on Instagram,
"We got Donda school designs we need to build with 50 in Houston."
By "Donda," Ye is presumably referring to his Donda Academy, which the rapper has also
lost in the wake of his antisemitic commentary.
According to Pitchfork, the private school "abruptly" closed for the remainder of the
school year, though it will remain open for worship.
The mysterious academy's sudden shuttering comes after one educational consultant resigned
following Ye's "death con" tweet and the school's boys' basketball team was disinvited from
two tournaments.
West may not seem worried about his biggest career blows, but the fallout from his antisemitism
shows no signs of stopping — and neither do the revelations of Ye's allegedly long
history of antisemitic remarks.
CNN has reported that an unnamed business executive who formerly worked with Ye claimed
that the rapper would often praise Adolf Hitler, and even wanted to name an album after the
Nazi leader.
Meanwhile, Texas A&M's football team has announced that it will no longer be playing West's music
during games, a gallery space in Miami is suing the rapper for nonpayment, and a mural
of Ye in Chicago has been painted over.
Even if the rapper's next social media post is a long and heartfelt apology taking accountability
for his antisemitic remarks, it looks like it's already too late to salvage any of his
income or his image.