Kanye West's Yeezy Received at Least $2 Million in PPP Loan

Kanye West’s Yeezy received at least $2 million in federal aid in order to weather the coronavirus pandemic.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the billion-dollar fashion brand founded by the hip-hop mogul was granted a loan between $2 million and $5 million through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The company told the Small Business Administration that it saved 160 jobs because of the program.

Passed in May, the PPP was designed to help small businesses with 500 or less employees who are struggling financially during the coronavirus shutdown. The loans cover the cost of eight weeks of payroll and are forgivable if businesses spend the funds on eligible costs. The amount of forgiveness is reduced if a company reduces the amount of full-time employees or cuts pay by more than 25 percent.

The news arrives just as West announced that he was running for president in 2020. “We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future,” he tweeted on Saturday. “I am running for president of the United States.”

In April, Forbes officially declared West a billionaire, estimating his current net worth at $1.3 billion. He recently announced a 10-year partnership between Yeezy and Gap that will launch in 2021.

Other businesses that have received loans of at least $5 million include restaurant chains P.F. Chang’s, Black Angus, Five Guys, Ruby Tuesday, and TGI Fridays. Some including Shake Shack, the fast-food burger chain worth over $1.6 billion, decided to return their $10 million PPP loan.