'I am a billionaire': Kanye West wins wealth row with Forbes

Washington: Kanye West, the mercurial rapper and fashion mogul, has officially gained the status of "billionaire" following a long and acrimonious dispute over his wealth with Forbes magazine.

The feud began after the august financial publication featured West, 42, on its cover last year, but did not call him a billionaire.

Kanye West, pictured in February at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party, has won his battle with Forbes to be judged a billionaire.Credit: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

West was unhappy and told Forbes so, accusing it of "snubbing" him and being "disrespectful". He complained: "I showed them a $US890 million [$1.4 billion] receipt, and they still didn't say 'billionaire'."

The thorough journalists at Forbes responded that they did not have enough documentation, and could not rely on "industry guesstimates".

This month the row heated up as West was not included on the annual Forbes list of American billionaires, while his sister-in-law Kylie Jenner was. Jenner, 22, has been described by Forbes as the "planet's youngest self-made billionaire" after the extraordinary success of her cosmetics company. West sent a text to Forbes. "You know what you're doing," he wrote. "You're toying with me and I'm not [going to] lye [sic] down and take it anymore in Jesus name."

According to Forbes journalist Zack O'Malley Greenburg: "At one point, he texted that Forbes was 'purposely a part of a group of media' that was trying to suppress his self-made narrative because of his race. That sister-in-law Kylie Jenner did make the list also clearly stuck in his craw."

After "months of requests" from Forbes, West this week directed his team to provide everything their wealth experts needed.

Forbes quickly concluded that West was right. He is a billionaire. Businesses including his Yeezy shoe venture and his G.O.O.D. record label made him worth $US1.3 billion - $US300 million more than Kylie Jenner - Forbes said.

Together with his wife Kim Kardashian, West owns over $US100 million in property, including two ranches in Wyoming covering 4000 hectares. The documents also showed he has nearly $US4 million worth of "vehicles" - including a tank.

West has been supportive of Donald Trump, the US President, visiting him in the Oval Office, and Forbes said one text from the rapper to its chief content officer this week ended with "Trump 2020" and a raised fist emoji.

But after gaining official billionaire status, West was still unhappy. He texted the magazine, saying: "It's not a billion. It's $3.3 billion, since no one at Forbes knows how to count."

The Telegraph, London