Earlier this year, Kanye West followed in the footsteps of Jay-Z to become hip-hop’s second-ever billionaire. Forbes tallied the rapper’s earnings at $1.3 billion in April, although Kanye claimed it’s actually somewhere in the ballpark of $3.3 billion. Now, Kanye’s nearing the top of yet another one of Forbes‘ lists. The site unveiled the top-paid celebrities of 2020 and Kanye landed in second place. His name follows his sister-in-law Kylie Jenner on this list — but she more than doubled his earnings this year.
According to Forbes, Kanye West earned about $170 million this year. The main bulk of his earnings came from his shoe deal with Adidas as well as his Yeezy brand, which helped solidify his billionaire status. His GOOD Music label imprint and his discography also make up a large portion of his total wealth as they are valued at around $90 million.
Kylie Jenner, on the other hand, far surpassed Kanye’s earnings. At just 23 years old, Jenner raked in $590 million, well over double Kanye’s 2020 earnings. Much of her millions comes from selling a majority stake in her Kylie Cosmetics firm, which saw one of the biggest celebrity buy-outs of all time.
While Kanye and Jenner took home earned a lot this year, Forbes noted that the pandemic greatly impacted overall cash flow. This year’s top ten paid celebrities collectively earned $200 million less than in 2019.
