Forbes: Kanye West not US’ richest black man… he’s worth less than a third of $6.6bn

Forbes magazine has dismissed claims in some quarters that Kanye West is now the richest black man in the United States with an estimated net worth of $6.6 billion.

Reports had swirled on Wednesday that Yeezy, Kanye West’s sneaker business, as well as Yeezy Gap, are now valued at $4.7 billion while his assets are estimated at $1.7 billion.

The reports — which were based on documents cited by Bloomberg — also claimed that the musician is now the richest black man in US history.

But in a blog post on Thursday, Forbes said the “reports that the celebrity is worth nearly $7 billion are based on the magical thinking around sales that don’t exist yet.”

The American business magazine also disclosed that its calculations showed that the ‘Ye’ singer is worth “less than one-third of the $6.6 billion or $1.8 billion.”

“It’s not true, based on our calculations. Forbes estimates he’s worth less than a third of that, or $1.8 billion. That’s a big jump from last May when Forbes first pegged his net worth to be $1.3 billion, but nowhere near as much as the purported $6.6 billion,” it said.

Forbes said Robert Smith, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Vista Equity, is currently the richest black man in the US with an estimated net worth of $6 billion.

It then added that Aliko Dangote, Nigerian businessman, is the richest black man in the world with an estimated $11.8 billion net worth.

“Vista Equity’s Robert F. Smith remains the richest black person in the U.S., worth an estimated $6 billion, while Aliko Dangote of Nigeria, worth $11.8 billion, is the richest Black person in the world,” it wrote.

“The sky high estimate is the latest of West’s attempts to inflate his net worth—in the past he’s said that Forbes was ‘purposely snubbing me.”

Forbes said Bloomberg’s earlier report was based on bank documents which are known for “painting best-possible-scenario future valuations.”

The magazine gave a breakdown of West’s net worth to include: “Yeezy ($1.5 billion), Cash and other assets ($160 million), Music catalogue ($90 million), Skims ($64 million) and Yeezy x Gap ($0).”

This is not the first time the magazine will fault the 43-year-old’s purported net worth.

In April 2020, Forbes reported West’s worth as $1.3 billion after an analysis it conducted but West maintained the figure was much higher, saying: “It’s not a billion. It’s $3.3 billion since no one at Forbes knows how to count.”