It’s not clear whether Yeezy will soon change his name to “Christian Genius Billionaire Kanye West,” as he’s long wanted to, but he can at least now officially claim part of that moniker. CNN reports the 42-year-old rapper and fashionista is worth $1.3 billion, per the latest number-crunching by Forbes, which finally bestowed the billionaire title Friday on West after “months of requests” for his financial records. The magazine notes West was peeved after appearing on its cover last summer and not receiving the coveted label, which was unable to be given due to a lack of “sufficient documentation”—all Forbes had to go by at that point was “his word and industry guesstimates.”
“That grated on him,” Forbes notes, adding that West launched a public campaign of sorts to lobby for his billionaire status. When the magazine also recently left West off its annual billionaire’s list, he “again reacted with hurt and venom.” “You know what you’re doing,” he texted to the publication. “You’re toying with me.” However, after being given an “authentic numeric look” into West’s finances by his team, Forbes determined he was indeed worth $1.3 billion, thanks to his record label, assets, real estate, and royalties from his Yeezy sneaker venture with Adidas. Which means West should now be tickled pink, right? Not exactly, as he says Forbes got the numbers wrong. “It’s not a billion,” West texted the magazine after hearing the news.
