Many of you are probably aware of the anti-Semitic comments made by rapper and ex-billionaire Kanye West (who goes by ‘‘Ye’’ now) and their influence on rap and business news. Neo-nazis are using his words as support for their cause (waving anti-Semitic signs on highway bridges as cars pass by) and people are far from entertained by these statements. Some of these people include those within the very businesses that Kanye has partnered with. Gap and Adidas are among these several businesses. They publicly announced their breakup with the star, Adidas more recently than some (which calls into question their intentions), but still broke up nonetheless. This has caused the rapper to be removed from Forbes’ billionaire list, as his net worth has reportedly dropped to a mere $400 million, which is still a significant amount of wealth, but a great drop from being worth over a billion dollars. His wealth is comparable to that of a washed-up movie star (like Jack Nicholson or Tom Hanks) or Barbara Streisand, which with her alone would display how much he has dropped in terms of wealth. Culturally, this is very disappointing for the rapper and businessman, as his fashion business has been one of the most influential in the fashion market of the past decade, leading trends and being one of the most bootlegged brands of shoes…ever.

Adidas has caused much of this loss in wealth, as the immediate end in selling Yeezy shoes has caused stocks in Adidas to drop (in the millions), but not as significantly as how much Kanye’s net worth has dropped. This brings the question of who is to sell Yeezys. Will Kanye retain ownership and creative rights to the company, or will Adidas take the reigns and sell Yeezys on their own? Insider information goes to show that Adidas might sell Yeezy shoes on their own, but according to a CNN article, Kanye may have intellectual property rights over the brand, but the designs for the shoes themselves are owned by Adidas and are able to be reused, simply without name or brand. This will cause a spike in the price of Yeezy shoes sold online by resellers, as these specific shoes with the Yeezy name will not be made anymore.

So if you have Yeezys, hold on to them, polish them up, and save them for years to come. They might be one of your largest investments. Kanye’s recent actions and behavior has shown that he retains little interest in being a part of these brands, even if they have taken a massive impact on his net worth. ‘’Charlemagne The God’’, a popular radio show host for the broadcast ‘‘The Breakfast Club’’ has even spoken on this, stating in a Complex interview ‘‘It’s sad because he’s really moving like a person who doesn’t plan to be here much longer’’. Ignoring some of the acts Charlemange has done recently, he certainly does have a point. One can only hope that Kanye finds the help he so desperately needs soon before any more drastic turns or events take place.