Kanye West is one of the most promising rap artists in the world of Hip Hop. This year, he ranked fourth in Forbes’ list of richest rappers across the globe. But, before his victorious career, he had to go through a storm...

Rising from the Ashes

Kanye West rose from $53 million worth of debt in just a couple of years

In 2016, the American singer-songwriter confessed that he was $53 million in debt, and tried to catch Mark Zuckerberg’s attention into convincing him to invest a billion dollars in his ideas to help him fund his arrears. Facebook’s CEO may have let him down, but West has proven the whole world that he can rise from the abyss.

Air Yeezy

Kanye West collaborated with Nike to launch his brand, Air Yeezy, in 2009

Ever since winning his Grammys, the rapper has been quite vocal about his plans of entering the world of the fashion industry. He then released a series of his designs under his Pastelle Clothing line, which flourished for four good years before closing down in 2009. After that, he signed a partnership with the multinational company, Nike, and released his shoe collection called Air Yeezys.

With the success of his brand, West launched the second wave of his designs in 2012 and became the very first individual who is not in the sports industry to sign a shoe deal with Nike. He also unveiled his Louis Vuitton shoe line at the 2009 Paris Fashion Week, followed by the release of his masterpieces for Bape and Guiseppe Zanotti.

West was so committed with his shoe-designing career that he even applied for an internship at the Italian fashion company, Fendi. He stayed in Rome in the fall of 2009 to collaborate in creating Fendi’s men’s collection. In addition to his artistry, he teamed up with M/M Paris to work on silk scarves highlighting the work of arts from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.

Adidas Yeezy

Kanye West's financial success mostly came from his partnership with Adidas

But a huge part of West’s success came from his partnership with the sportswear manufacturer, Adidas. On December 3, 2013, the brand officially announced the rapper’s alliance with them. Although it took him two years to debut his Adidas Yeezy, the line was a tremendous success selling out his 2015 Yeezy Boost 750 sneakers in a span of ten minutes with a price tag of $350.

As years went by, he launched the limited edition Yeezy Boost 350, Yeezy 950, and Yeezy Boost 700 ranging from $300 to $585 per pair. Now, his brand is officially worth a billion-dollar putting in millions of dollars in West’s bank account.

Kim Kardashian West couldn’t be more proud of her husband as she witnessed all the hard work West put into his business.