Kanye West was confirmed a billionaire by Forbes in 2020, the great feat which made him the Hip-Hop second billionaire after Jay-Z. However, it seems there will be a meteoric rise in the rap legend’s financial success following Bloomberg reports that Kanye’s upcoming Yeezy deal with Gap could stretch his billion-dollar net worth to $6.6 billion.
According to the outlet, West’s sneaker and apparel business with adidas AG and Gap Inc., two of the world’s largest outfitters is now valued at $3.2 billion to $4.7 billion by UBS Group AG, according to a private document reviewed by Bloomberg.
The bank document also reveals that the new Gap deal, which is set to hit stores this summer could be worth up to $970 million of that total. Additionally, it shares details of an ideal alliance that aims to emulate the same level of success of the adidas partnership.
In 2020, Kanye, who retains sole proprietorship and creative control of the Yeezy brand signed a 10-year agreement with Gap to design and sell clothes for men, women and kids. The purpose behind the deal was to help revitalize Gap’s brand profile among younger customers, according to Bloomberg reports.
“Without some form of reinvention it will revert to previous struggles, which saw it lose shoppers, market share and sales,” Neil Saunders, an analyst at GlobalData Retail made a remark on Gap’s latest quarterly earnings after the retailer has been reportedly closing stores and investing money into e-commerce and activewear.
Meanwhile, Kanye’s collaborative deal announced last year June sent Gap shares up. The most they have ever been in the last 40 years.
The newly-reported figures indicate that Gap anticipates its upcoming Yeezy line to break $150 million in sales within its first full year in 2022, according to the bank document. Moreover, the document shares that Gap’s overarching goal is to become a billion-dollar revenue brand within eight years, with hopes of sales exceeding $1 billion as soon as 2023.
West’s fortune has continued to grow since his $1.3 billion net worth was reported last year. As reported by Bloomberg, sales for Yeezy’s adidas sneakers has increased by 31% to nearly $1.7 billion in annual revenue last year and netted out to roughly $191 million in royalties.
An unaudited balance sheet of West finances shared with Bloomberg by his lawyer revealed another $122 million in cash and stock and over $1.7 billion in other assets, which include a significant investment in Kim Kardashian’s Skims underwear label as well as West’s entire music catalog now worth $110.5 million, according to a 2020 valuation by Valentiem Group.
His largest asset to date are his adidas sneakers which consistently sell-out with consumers as UBS shares the business has been “growing at a staggering clip.”
