Kanye West fans launch GoFundMe to 'make him a billionaire again'

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By Phoebe Egoroff

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Fans of Kanye West have launched multiple GoFundMe campaigns in an effort to make him a billionaire once again after the loss of several sponsorships saw him booted off Forbes' billionaire list.

It comes after the business magazine published an article titled: "Billionaire No More: Kanye West’s Antisemitism Obliterates His Net Worth As Adidas Cuts Ties".

West - who now simply goes by Ye - faced a slew of criticism after appearing at Paris Fashion Week sporting a White Lives Matter shirt, before announcing in a Twitter tirade that he would be going "Death Con 3" on Jewish people, and that fellow rapper Diddy was being influenced by Jewish people.

The latter was evidently the final straw, after which, Balenciaga, GAP, Vogue and Anna Wintour, and Adidas all severed ties with the 45-year-old chart-topper.

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Fans of Ye have launched a GoFundMe campaign to make him a billionaire again after the loss of several sponsorships saw him booted off Forbes' billionaire list.Credit: Tribune Content Agency LLC / Alamy

Adidas released a statement following Ye's comments - that many deemed to be antisemitic - stating: "Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech. Ye's recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful, and dangerous, and they violate the company's values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect, and fairness."

"After a thorough review, the company has taken the decision to terminate the partnership with Ye immediately, end production of Yeezy branded products, and stop all payments to Ye and his companies.

"Adidas will stop the Adidas Yeezy business with immediate effect," the statement continued.

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Following Ye's antisemitic comments, Adidas decided to terminate their partnership with the 45-year-old, causing a $1.5 billion dent to his net worth. Credit: MediaPunch Inc / Alamy

It was this partnership with Adidas that caused a significant dent to Ye's fortune, losing him an estimated $1.4 billion of his net worth, CNN Business reported. As a result, Ye's fortune currently stands at $400 million, according to Forbes, effectively removing him from their list of billionaires.

The US business magazine estimated that the remainder of the father-of-four's net worth comes from: "Real estate, cash, his music catalog, and a 5% stake in ex-wife Kim Kardashian's shapewear firm, Skims."

Certain fans of the Atlanta-born rapper seem to believe he suffered an injustice after having his net worth obliterated, and they've even started creating GoFundMe campaigns to reinstate his billionaire status.

All Hip Hop reported that one campaign had made a measly $5, before the platform allegedly had it removed.

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Credit: GoFundMe
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Credit: GoFundMe

Meanwhile, others have set up GoFundMe campaigns to make them a billionaire instead of Ye:

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Credit: GoFundMe

The rapper recently appeared on Piers Morgan's talk show, Piers Morgan Uncensored, where he revealed he "fought fire with fire", but would eventually issue an apology for his tweet.

"I will say I’m sorry for the people I hurt with the 'death con', with the confusion," he said. "I feel like I caused hurt and confusion and I am sorry for the families of the people who had nothing to do with the trauma that I had been through.

"And that I used my platform where you say, I hurt people, and I was hurt."

Featured image credit: Francis Specker / Alamy