Kanye West Named Billionaire by Forbes with 100% Ownership of Yeezy Brand

Kanye West may not have jumped over Jumpman just yet, but he has joined His Airness in the rarefied air of parlaying superstardom in one arena into a billion-dollar brand.

Forbes officially declared West a billionaire in an article published by Zack O'Malley Greenburg on Friday. Much of his fortune comes from his 100 percent ownership of the Yeezy branding, which he negotiated as part of his wildly lucrative apparel deal with Adidas.

The Yeezy 350 designs have become perhaps the most sought-after shoe on the market, regularly selling out releases in just seconds and selling for two or three times their price on resale websites.

West said he's been a billionaire for more than a year but did not provide any financial books to Forbes to prove his net worth. When Forbes omitted West from their 2020 billionaires list, West was reportedly incensed. 

"You know what you're doing," West texted. "You're toying with me and I'm not finna lye [sic] down and take it anymore in Jesus name."

Kanye's team later provided Forbes with the deepest financial look into his Yeezy Inc. brand, which showed that his net worth is about $1.2 billion—not quite the $3 billion he's claimed but still a sizable chunk nonetheless.

Not bad for a guy who was rapping about drowning in debt less than four years ago on "Saint Pablo."