Adidas Sold €1.4 Billion of Kanye's Shoes. Who Kept the Money?

After Adidas dropped Ye in 2022, it sold about €1.4 billion of his Yeezys. The CEO said every royalty was accrued or paid. So who kept the money? We followed it through Adidas' own reports and the court record. Want the blueprint behind celebrity wealth? New investigative money documentaries every other day. Subscribe here: 👉 Celebrity Investments: https://www.youtube.com/@Celebrity-Investments?sub_confirmation=1 Adidas ended its partnership with Ye on October 25, 2022, stopped all payments and said it was the sole owner of the designs. Then it sold the leftover Yeezys: about €750 million in revenue in 2023 and about €650 million in 2024, adding roughly €500 million to operating profit by its own count. We trace the $75 million a federal judge in New York unfroze, the 2024 settlement with "no money going either way", and the around €100 million in prior-year accruals Adidas released afterwards, offset by provisions for further donations in a similar amount. Then we look at what is documented about Ye's own money since Forbes cut him to $400 million. 📌 CHAPTERS 00:00 Every royalty "accrued or paid" 02:09 The split and the $400 million 06:57 Selling €1.4 billion of Yeezys 09:10 The $75 million freeze and the settlement 15:12 Where Ye's own money went SOURCES Adidas: Termination of the partnership with Ye (Oct 25, 2022): https://www.adidas-group.com/en/investors/statutory-publications/ad-hoc-news/adidas-ag-adidas-terminates-partnership-with-ye-immediately-2022-10-25 Adidas: Results for 2023 (Mar 13, 2024): https://www.adidas-group.com/en/media/press-releases/adidas-performs-better-than-expected-in-transition-year-2023 Adidas: Third quarter 2024 (Oct 29, 2024): https://www.adidas-group.com/en/media/press-releases/adidas-continues-to-grow-double-digits-in-the-third-quarter-of-2024 Adidas: Results for 2024 (Mar 5, 2025): https://www.adidas-group.com/en/media/press-releases/adidas-reports-strong-results-for-2024-and-expects-top-and-bottom-line-momentum-to-continue-in-2025 Complex: Adidas CEO on royalties (Mar 13, 2024): https://www.complex.com/sneakers/a/brendan-dunne/adidas-ceo-on-taylor-swift-yeezy Reuters via Inc.: Adidas settles with Ye (Oct 29, 2024): https://www.inc.com/reuters/adidas-settles-suit-with-rapper-ye/90995993 The Fashion Law: TRO denied, frozen funds: https://www.thefashionlaw.com/adidas-loses-tro-bid-in-yeezy-case-parties-dismiss-claims-over-frozen-funds/ Bloomberg via TIME: The Yeezy marketing fund: https://time.com/6296200/adidas-ye-100-million-marketing-fund/ Forbes: Ye's net worth after Adidas (Oct 25, 2022): https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisettevoytko/2022/10/25/billionaire-no-more-kanye-wests-anti-semitism-obliterates-his-net-worth-as-adidas-cuts-ties/ SEC: Gap 8-K, Yeezy warrants (2020): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/39911/000003991120000071/gps-20200625.htm The Real Deal: Malibu buyer files for bankruptcy: https://therealdeal.com/la/2026/03/20/belwood-investments-files-for-bankruptcy/ FOX 11 LA: Tony Saxon verdict: https://www.foxla.com/news/ye-malibu-mansion-lawsuit-tony-saxon-verdict The Block: Bubblemaps data on YZY: https://www.theblock.co/post/368557/kanye-west-yzy-11-netted-millions Music Week: UK withdraws Ye's ETA: https://www.musicweek.com/live/read/wireless-festival-cancelled-as-home-office-blocks-kanye-west-visa/093882 MORE FROM CELEBRITY INVESTMENTS 🍸 Diddy Made Nearly $1 Billion From Ciroc. He Owned None of It. https://youtu.be/0eDgY7biET8 👟 Adidas Paid Beyonce $80 Million for Fashion. She Left With a $200 Million Hole. https://youtu.be/0mRMPzEdQiY ⚖️ Russell Simmons Moved to Bali. His Money Ended Up in a U.S. Court. https://youtu.be/3eIaQoWS3xU #celebrity #networth #investing #wealth #business #money #hollywood #entrepreneur #finance #kanyewest #yeezy #adidas