Kanye West has officially been removed from Forbes Magazine’s Billionaires’ list after his net worth plummeted over the past four weeks. Adidas, along with other top of the line companies, have severed ties with West amidst his antisemitic remarks.
It began on Oct. 3, when West was photographed in a “White Lives Matter’’ t-shirt at Paris Fashion Week. US Magazine published that West mocked Vogue editor, Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, because she criticized his t-shirt.
According to Rolling Stone Magazine, in early October, West explicitly stated that he “can say antisemitic s— and Adidas cannot drop [him]” while on the Drink Champs podcast.
On Oct. 9, Twitter locked West’s account over an antisemitic post he made that violated the company’s guidelines. West made multiple antisemitic posts to Instagram that were later deleted, and eventually, his Instagram account was restricted.
On Oct. 25, Adidas announced that they “do not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech,” as it violates the “company’s values.” The Adidas corporation went on to state they will terminate the distribution and production of West’s designer shoes, Yeezys. The company ended its partnership with West, making him technically no longer a billionaire, considering Yeezys accounted for approximately $1.5 billion of his original $4 billion net worth. As reported by Forbes Magazine, West’s net worth was “obliterated” and he is now worth $400 million.
Multiple people who were once close with West claimed to CNN that the rapper was “obsessed” with Hitler, also saying that he previously wanted to name one of his albums after the Nazi leader. West has also sampled an antisemitic song that dates back nearly 3,000 years ago.
MRC, an entertainment studio, was in the middle of completing a documentary on West around the same time that he posted an antisemitic Tweet. The company decided to shelf the documentary and publicly announced its decision online on Oct. 26.
Adidas is not the only name brand to cut ties with West. As of Oct. 25, Balenciaga, Peloton, TJ Maxx, Gap, The RealReal and Foot Locker have all declared that they will no longer produce and or sell any of West’s products. Other corporations, including JP Morgan Chase Bank and Vogue Magazine, have also severed ties with the rapper. The Creative Artists Agency, the talent agency that West has been with since 2016, has also dropped him.
West’s ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, took to Twitter on Oct. 24, where she spoke out against antisemitism. According to Billboard, Khloé Kardashian, West’s former sister-in-law, reposted an Instagram post from cookbook author Jessica Seinfeld’s Instagram feed that expressed that she “supports the Jewish people.” Other celebrities, such as Ariana Grande, Reese Witherspoon and Jamie Lee Curtis have spoken out against West’s blatant antisemitism.