Adidas announced today it will start selling some of its remaining Yeezy products at the end of this month—one of the final moves in the company’s dissociation with rapper Kanye West following a string of antisemitic comments he made last year.
The split between Kanye and Adidas has been a costly one for both parties.
What We Don’t Know
It is unclear if West will find a different production partner for the Yeezy brand. Adidas still retains the rights to Yeezy product designs—but not the Yeezy name. A spokesperson for Yeezy did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Forbes regarding the future of the brand’s production.
Forbes Valuation
We estimate West’s net worth at $400 million.
Key Background
Adidas terminated its partnership with West last October. Ties were cut after the rapper made antisemitic comments on social media and in multiple interviews—including one with right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones in which West praised Adolf Hitler. Prior to today’s announcement, Adidas once planned to continue selling the Yeezy design stripped of West’s brand name. Adidas finance chief Harm Ohlmeyer said in a November earnings call that the company was the sole owner of the shoe design rights even if it did not own the name. This year, Adidas revealed that the terminated partnership greatly contributed to the $540 million net loss it experienced in the last quarter of 2022. Following the termination, West’s net worth plummeted and resulted in the rapper falling off Forbes’ billionaire list.
This story was first published on forbes.com and all figures are in USD.
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