[US] Kanye West’s Yeezy brand took $2 million+ PPP loan

Billionaire entertainer Kanye West applied for and received a government-backed loan to pay his employees during the COVID-19 crisis, Consequence of Sound reports.

The Small Business Administration (via reporting by The Daily Beast) said Mr West - who has recently courted publicity by presenting himself as a potential 2020 presidential candidate - received between $2 million and $5 million from the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program to support his Yeezy brand. (Links via original reporting)

The Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program was created to give companies with 500 or fewer employees access to loans to cover the cost of eight weeks of payroll - up to two and a half times the company’s average monthly payroll - capped at $10 million in total. 

The implication that Mr West’s “small business” was in dire need of financial support is belied by the considerable personal fortune of its owner, the fact that its expensive shoes regularly sell out and the Gap partnership that recently helped it expand. However, Yeezy LLC contend that the loan saved 160 jobs jeopardised by the economic collapse following the coronavirus pandemic. (Link via original reporting)

Billionaire entertainer Kanye West applied for and received a government-backed loan to pay his employees during the COVID-19 crisis, Consequence of Sound reports.

The Small Business Administration (via reporting by The Daily Beast) said Mr West - who has recently courted publicity by presenting himself as a potential 2020 presidential candidate - received between $2 million and $5 million from the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program to support his Yeezy brand. (Links via original reporting)

The Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program was created to give companies with 500 or fewer employees access to loans to cover the cost of eight weeks of payroll - up to two and a half times the company’s average monthly payroll - capped at $10 million in total. 

The implication that Mr West’s “small business” was in dire need of financial support is belied by the considerable personal fortune of its owner, the fact that its expensive shoes regularly sell out and the Gap partnership that recently helped it expand. However, Yeezy LLC contend that the loan saved 160 jobs jeopardised by the economic collapse following the coronavirus pandemic. (Link via original reporting)