Photo credits: Robin Marchant/Getty Images for Ralph Lauren

With a net worth of $6.6 billion, Kanye West (pictured) is now the wealthiest-ever Black person in American history.

The music and fashion magnate has leapfrogged from third place to first place–surpassing Oprah Winfrey’s $3.5 billion net worth and Robert F. Smith’s $6.6 billion. Michael Jordan is the fourth-richest Black person in the US, with a net worth of $2.2 billion.

According to a Thursday (March 17) report by Celebrity Net Worth, Kanye West is the third richest celebrity on Earth, behind only Steven Spielberg ($7 billion) and George Lucas ($10 billion). With 22 Grammy wins, 140 million albums/single sales, and countless world tours, Kanye West is undoubtedly one of the best musicians of all time.

West just won a Grammy Award for his first-ever gospel music project titled “Jesus Is King,” which was released in October 2019. However, after diversifying his empire beyond music, his first business, and creative love, the 43-year-old super-producer rocketed to prominence.

With a booming sneaker and apparel business, West is also one of the most successful and wealthy celebrities in the world. With two massive and recent business valuations, the “Barry Bonds” hit maker has a new accolade for his resume. Last April, it was reported for the first time that Kanye West was a billionaire.

That claim, at the time, came after new details about the impressive success of his Yeezy sneaker brand were made public. Actually, not just a billionaire, but a multi-billionaire. At that point, it was conservatively estimated that Kanye West’s net worth was $3.2 billion.

According to new valuations prepared by global investment bank UBS, Kanye’s sneaker/apparel partnership with Adidas is worth between $3.2 billion and $4.7 billion. West owns 100% of the Yeezy brand. Therefore, these new valuations go straight to his bottom line, Celebrity Net Worth reports (Warner, 2021).

It looks like the the self-admitted “College Dropout” has come a very long way since his 2004 debut rap album.

Reference: Warner, B. (2021, March 17) Kanye West’s Net Worth Soars To $6.6 Billion – He Is Now The Richest Black Person In US History. Retrieved from https://www.celebritynetworth.com/articles/billionaire-news/kanye-wests-net-worth-soars-to-6-6-billion-he-is-now-the-richest-black-person-in-us-history/?fbclid=IwAR0OOUD7HT5lWmbrCWBmH2IhZmcAi4Atsbsz_RCLoCq2Ulef3KyASbAotPQ

*BlackThen.com writer/historian Victor Trammell edited and contributed to this report.