Kanye West Reportedly A Billionaire Again, Surpasses JAY-Z As Richest Rapper Alive

Robin Marchant/Getty Images for Ralph Lauren | Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Kanye West has reportedly rejoined the billionaire boys club, surpassing JAY-Z as the richest rapper alive in the process.

In an Instagram post on Thursday (January 23), the rap icon and fashion designer boasted that his net worth was now $2.77 billion, citing Eton Venture Services, a business valuation company, as his source.

“LAA LA LA LA,” he wrote in the caption, seemingly gloating in the face of his naysayers and enemies.

Kanye’s net worth soaring back into the billions is “based on his music portfolio and his sole ownership of the Yeezy mark,” according to Eton Venture Services.

Forbes, the standard bearer for celebrity net worths, has yet to comment on the figure and still estimates the rapper’s fortune at $400 million as of Friday (January 24).

If his net worth has indeed ballooned to $2.77 billion, Kanye will have eclipsed his former friend and collaborator JAY-Z, who is worth $2.5 billion, according to Forbes.

The Watch the Throne duo are the only rappers to have ever crossed the billion dollar mark. Previous reports that Dr. Dre and Diddy had also reached the milestone have been debunked.

50 Cent appears to be hot on Ye and Jay’s heels, claiming last year that he’s close to becoming a billionaire himself thanks to his growing media and spirits empires.

Kanye West was previously stripped of his billionaire status in 2022 after adidas terminated their lucrative Yeezy partnership over his series of antisemitic remarks.

Forbes estimated that his sneaker and clothing line with the German sportswear giant accounted for $1.5 billion of his net worth, which at the time was said to be around $2 billion. After he was dropped by the company, Ye was reportedly worth closer to $400 million.

The G.O.O.D. Music founder later admitted that the dissolution of his adidas deal left him in dire financial straits.

He said to TMZ in early 2024: “I’m gonna be honest with y’all: I was two months from going bankrupt, really… And we survived. We survived through the cancellation.”

adidas also felt some financial hardship as a result of cutties ties with Kanye and announced at the time that it expected to lose approximately $246 million in net income in 2022.

West retained the rights to the Yeezy brand and has since taken it independent. The company appears to have successfully bounced back, generating 7-figure revenues in just 24 hours from its latest clothing drop.