There was an organized effort by opportunistic fans to make Kanye West a billionaire again after the embattled rapper’s billionaire status dropped to an estimated net worth of $400 million.
Some of West’s fans want to bring back his fortune after he was canceled for making antisemitic and repeating anti-Black/white supremacy talking points. West lost a number of corporate partnerships, most notable his longterm retail partner Adidas, due to his rants. Several short-lived GoFundMe petitions was created to raise money for West.
Those Behind GoFundMe Campaigns
More than one GoFundMe page was created by different self-professed Kanye fans. One fundraiser that taken down by the site only took in $5. According to the New York Post, several more allegedly remain active.
The DailyMail reports, “Over the past week or so, there have been dozens of pages created which can be found in a search of ‘Kanye billionaire’ on the for-profit crowdfunding platform.”
GoFundMe Policy
The other campaigns will most likely be taken down–if they haven’t already been–as well for violating the site’s policies. GoFundMe permits users to raise money for events ranging from life events to hardship circumstances such as accidents and illnesses.
West has Been Here Before
Back in 2016, Minneapolis-based designer named Jeremy Piatt created the GoFundMe petition called “Get Kanye Out of Debt.”
That year, West claimed to be $53 million in debt, and he publicly asked Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg for a $1 billion investment for his “ideas.”
“It doesn’t look like he’s going to get Mark Zuckerberg’s help that he desperately needs,” Piatt wrote at the time. “Sure he is personally rich and can buy furs and houses for his family, but without our help, the true genius of Kanye West can’t be realized.”
Piatt’s campaign managed to raise $57,398 out of its $53,000,000 goal before the site stopped allowing him to accept the donations.
According to the old page, “Mr. Kanye West’s camp has declined the funds raised by this GoFundMe campaign.” The fundraiser money claimed it would give the funds to musical and educational non-profit called Notes for Notes, which supplies children with free access to instruments and lessons. GoFundMe forced it to cease.
In the end, West’s $53 million debt was rumored to have been paid off by none other than his then-wife Kim Kardashian. She reportedly bailed out West’s debt by transferring $53 million to their joint account. The money came from her successful role-playing mobile game, “Kim Kardashian: Hollywood,” which generated $80 million.
Forget Kanye, Make Me a Billionaire
Other folks decided to see if they could cash in on Kanye’s demise and have started GoMeFund campaigns asking people to donate to help make them a billionaire.
