According to Forbes on Tuesday 25 October, the 43-year-old rapper was worth $2 billion (R36 billion) but is now worth $400 million (R7.2 billion). Among the controversial statements deemed to be antisemitic that Kanye West has made include writing on Twitter on 8 October that he was “going death con 3 on Jewish people.” Ye also spoke with Chris Cuomo on NewsNation on 18 October, telling the host that he doesn’t “believe in that term [antisemitic].” “One thing is, Black people are also Jew [sic]. I classify as Jew also… So I actually can’t be an antisemite. The term is actually not factual.” During his now-deleted interview on the Drink Champs podcast on 16 October, Kanye West said: “I can say antisemitic s**t and Adidas cannot drop me.”

Following this, the German sports brand said Ye’s comments had been “unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and they violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness”. Adidas said it would take a “short-term” knock of €250m (R4.5 billion) to its income for this year after deciding to stop the brand’s business with immediate effect. The company is to end the production of items under Kanye West’s Yeezy brand and stop all payments to the musician and his companies. According to Bloomberg, the deal brought in nearly $1.7 billion (R30.9 billion) in revenue for Adidas in 2020 and was due to expire in 2026. 

In two weeks, Kanye West has lost his talent representation and connections to major fashion houses such as French fashion label Balenciaga and American retailer Gap. Although Ye’s partnership with Gap was terminated in September, Gap announced on Tuesday that it is removing all Yeezy products from stores following his recent antisemitic remarks. Forbes estimates that the remainder of the Gold Digger hitmaker’s fortune comes from cash, real estate, his music catalogue, and a 5% stake in ex-wife Kim Kardashian’s shapewear firm, Skims.