Yeezy, as he’s also known, becomes the second hip hop star, after Jay Z, to be certified a billionaire by the magazine.
Last year, his 15 percent royalty from his Yeezy footwear sales (in partnership with Adidas) fetched him roughly $140 million.\
“Conservatively, as we typically are with such figures, a 10x multiple, applied to West’s Yeezy cut of $140 million makes his stake worth about $1.4 billion,” Forbes reported.
“But that’s a private, highly-illiquid $1.4 billion – our rule of thumb for private assets like that is to lop off at least 10%. That’s $1.26 billion.”
A breakdown of some of the assets Kanye’s team made available to Forbes showed $81 million in “buildings and improvements,” $21 million in land, $3.8 million for “vehicles,” and $297,050 for “livestock.”
The rapper’s G.O.O.D music label, recorded songs, and publishing rights are estimated at about $90 million.
Apart from the music, half of Kanye’s assets presumably belongs to his equally famous wife, Kim Kardashian West, Forbes said.
“All told, our current net worth estimate for Kanye West: $1.3 billion, which he’ll be pleased to note is $300 million more than little sister Kylie,” the magazine wrote.
Other hip hop stars eyeing the billion-dollar mark, according to Forbes’ rating last year includes Dr Dre, who is estimated to be worth $770 million, and Diddy whose worth is pegged at $825 million.