Kanye West is one of, if not the, biggest stars in the world, but how much is Kanye West’s net worth?
Kanye West Net Worth as of 2019: $180 Million
Kanye West dropped out of college to pursue his career in the music industry, starting out initially as a producer for Roc-A-Fella records. Kanye eventually persuaded label head Jay-Z to sign him on as a rapper. He spent four years honing and perfecting what would become his debut album, “The College Dropout”. West is also a seasoned businessman with a chain of Fatburger restaurants designated for the Chicago area, a line of athletic shoes for Nike and Adidas, and another shoe line with Louis Vuitton. To date, Kanye West has won more than 40 significant music awards, including 21 Grammys, seven BET awards, and two American Music Awards. Kanye is currently married to Kim Kardashian. They have a daughter together named North West, and are expecting another in December of 2015. But how did Kanye West’s net worth get to this point? We take a look back.
2002
October 23, 2002: Kanye West fell asleep at the wheel and was involved in a near-fatal car crash. The crash left him with a shattered jaw, which had to be wired shut in reconstructive surgery. The accident inspired West; two weeks after being admitted to the hospital, he recorded a song at the Record Plant Studios with his jaw still wired shut. The composition, “Through The Wire”, expressed West’s experience after the accident, and helped lay the foundation for his debut album, as according to West “all the better artists have expressed what they were going through”
December 2002: West’s Get Well Soon mixtape is released.
Also in 2002: Kanye West is signed by Jay Z’s record label, Roc-A-Fella Records.
2004
February 10, 2004: Kanye West’s debut studio album, The College Dropout, is released. It was recorded over a period of four years, beginning in 1999. The College Dropout received universal acclaim from music critics and earned West several accolades, including a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. It is West’s best-selling album in the United States, with domestic sales of 3.4 million copies and worldwide sales of over four million copies. It has been named by Time and Rolling Stone as one of the greatest albums of all time and is often listed among the greatest debuts in the entire hip-hop genre.
Also in 2004: Kanye West founded his record label, GOOD Music. The label houses, West, Big Sean, Pusha T, Teyana Taylor, Mos Def, D’banj and John Legend. The label’s producers include Hudson Mohawke, Q-Tip, Travis Scott, No I.D.,Jeff Bhasker and S1.
2005
August 30, 2005: Kanye West’s sophomore studio album, Late Registration, is released. Late Registration debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart. The album has thus far sold over 3.1 million units in the United States and has been certified triple platinum. Upon its release, Late Registrationreceived rave reviews from music critics and earned West several accolades, including a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album and an Album of the Year nomination. It appeared at the top of several publications year-end lists of top albums. Rolling Stone named it the best album of 2005, and included it at number 118 on its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
September 2005: Kanye’s first large-scale controversy came just days following Late Registration ‘ s release, during a benefit concert for Hurricane Katrina victims. In September 2005, NBC broadcast A Concert for Hurricane Relief, and West was a featured speaker. When West was presenting alongside actor Mike Myers, he deviated from the prepared script. Myers spoke next and continued to read the script. Once it was West’s turn to speak again, he said, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.”
2007
September 11, 2007: Kanye West’s third studio album, Graduation, is released. The album’s coinciding release dates of Graduation and rapper 50 Cent‘s Curtis generated much publicity over the idea of a sales competition, resulting in record-breaking sales performances by both albums. Graduation received positive reviews from most critics and earned West several accolades, including his third Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. The album has sold 2,700,000 copies in the US and has been certified double platinum.
2008
November 24, 2008: Kanye West’s fourth studio album, 808’s and Heartbreaks. It featured electropop and R&B music, themes of loss, alienated fame, and heartache, and was primarily sung by West using an Auto-Tune vocal processor. Despite varying responses from music audiences towards West’s stylistic change, the album received positive reviews from most critics and was named one of 2008’s best records in their year-end lists.
2009
September 13, 2009: While Taylor Swift was giving her acceptance speech for Best Female Video “You Belong with Me”, Kanye West got onto the stage and interrupted her; he took her microphone, saying: “Yo, Taylor, I’m really happy for you and I’mma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time. One of the best videos of all time!”
[youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0y2xuQmcAg”]
Also in 2009: West collaborated with Nike to release his own shoe, the Air Yeezys, with a second version released in 2012.
2010
November 22, 2010: Kanye West’s fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, was released. Multiple critics called it West’s best work; its ambitious musical range, opulent production style, and dichotomous themes were all subjects of praise. In year-end lists, a strong majority of critics ranked the album the best of 2010. Since its release, publications have placed My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy on their lists of the greatest albums ever made.
2011
August 8, 2011: A collaborative album with Jay Z, entitled Watch The Throne, is released. Watch the Throne debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 436,000 copies its first week. It received generally positive reviews from music critics, who commended its production and the rappers’ performances, although some criticized its subject matter and cohesiveness. It was also one of the top-ranked albums in year-end lists by critics and publications and earned Jay-Z and West seven Grammy Award nominations.
October 1, 2011: Kanye West premiered his women’s fashion label, DW Kanye West
2012
March 6, 2012: West premiered a second fashion line at Paris Fashion Week
April 2012: Kanye West beings to date reality start and longtime friend Kim Kardashian.
September 14, 2012: Cruel Summer, a compilation album of GOOD Music artists, is released.
2013
June 18, 2013: Kanye West’s sixth studio album, Yeezus, is released. Yeezus received rave reviews from music critics, many of whom named it among West’s best work and commended its brash direction, though public response proved considerably more divided.
December 3, 2013: Adidas officially confirmed a new shoe collaboration deal with West.
2014
May 24, 2014: Kanye West marries Kim Kardashian.
2015
February 28, 2015: The Adidas Yeezy Boosts are released.
March 30, 2015: It was announced that West is a co-owner, with various other music artists, in the music streaming service Tidal.
August 30, 2015: Kanye West announces at the MTV Video Music Awards that he will be running for president in 2015.
2016
On February 13, 2016, Kanye released his 7th studio album, The Life Of Pablo.
On February 14, 2016, less than 24 hours after the release of his latest album The Life of Pablo, Kanye West tweeted that he was in $53 million dollars of personal debt. The tweet read:
I write this to you my brothers while still 53 million dollars in personal debt… Please pray we overcome… This is my true heart…
While Knaye didn’t follow up with a reason for his debt, it is suspected to be caused by previous ventures in fashion—he previously admitted that his Yeezy clothing line had scored him a $16 million loss, and as Consequence of Sound noted, his women’s clothing line put him $30 million back in 2014.
[youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9x92nwGf_M”]
Kanye West is worth around $180 million today. He is at the forefront of music, entertainment, and pop culture, and with his legend only growing, is sure to see a steady increase in both fame and net worth for the foreseeable future.
[youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQzxvS6g1ik”]
2017-2018
Kanye West and Kim Kardashian spent astonishing $20 million on their Hidden Hills estate more or less equal to what they paid for the house in 2014.
2019
Kanye West is expecting his fourth child with his partner, mother of the three Kim Kardashian this year 2019.
