TOPLINE
On the heels of his announcement that he is running for president, documents reveal that billionaire Kanye West’s fashion company Yeezy received more than $2 million through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) — he owns 100% of the company which Forbes estimates brought in close to $1.3 billion in 2019.
Kanye West attends the 2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party in February.
KEY FACTS
Yeezy received between $2 million and $5 million through the PPP and said it saved 106 jobs, according to a report disclosed by the U.S. Treasury’s Small Business Administration (SBA) Monday.
The U.S. Treasury released the names of companies that have been given loans above $150,000 as part of the PPP after Democrats, government watchdogs and media organizations demanded more transparency.
The SBA said that loans above $150,000 represent nearly three-fourths of the total loan dollars approved, but that 87% of companies received loans less than that amount and that the average is $107,000.
The PPP has received complaints about banks prioritizing big customers, favoring companies with ties to the Trump Administration and giving money to large companies, some of whom returned it after facing backlash.
West has publicly supported Trump in the past and their October 2018 meeting in the Oval Office raised eyebrows.
Other companies with ties to the Trump Administration got cash this round, including Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao’s family’s business, Foremost Maritime and Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy in New Jersey, which is named after Trump’s son-in-law and advisor Jared Kushner’s grandfather.
key background
The PPP was created as part of the $2.2 trillion CARES Act, signed into law by Trump at the end of March. On Saturday, Trump signed into law a bill to extend the PPP for another five weeks, just three days after it expired.
chief critic
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin implied last month that the Trump Administration would not disclose company names because it considered the loan information to be proprietary and confidential to business owners. The Treasury and SBA later said they would release names and data for companies that took out loans of $150,000 or more.
further reading
Trump Signs PPP Extension Bill — Giving Small Businesses Another 5 Weeks (Forbes)
Elon Musk, Kim Kardashian Endorse Kanye West Running For President (Forbes)
Kanye West Is Now Officially A Billionaire (And He Really Wants The World To Know (Forbes)
Disclosure: Forbes Media LLC confirmed on July 6, 2020 that it received a Paycheck Protection Program loan of $5 million to $10 million on April 15.
