Divorce is bad no matter what, but when there are four kids and almost $2.1 billion worth of assets, it’s even worse. Kim Kardashian filed for divorce from Kanye West February 19th and is seeking joint legal and physical custody of their four children, North, 7, Saint, 5, Chicago, 3, and Psalm West, 21 months.
The split has been, according to reports, a long time coming. Last summer, Kanye tweeted, “I been trying to get divorced since Kim met with Meek at the Warldolf sic for 'prison reform,'” the rapper—maybe serious, maybe not—implying that something untoward was happening between the pair. He also embraced religion and became upset when Kim opted to wear some of her trademark sexy looks. He also ran for president and discussed his desire to abort his eldest daughter, North.
Kim eventually spoke out on social media, telling her 200 million followers that Kanye was having a bipolar episode.
Sources tell People that Kim, 40, was driven to split from the 43-year-old rapper after almost seven years of marriage because of his presidential run and erratic behavior. But sources say she won’t use his mental health struggles against him, and will seek joint custody.
SPLITTING THEIR ASSETS
Ahead of their $2.8 million wedding in Florence, they both were doing well. But since then, their careers have skyrocketed. Their primary home (per momager Kris Jenner) is worth about $60 million alone, and their combined net worth is about $2.1 billion, Forbes reports. They also have two other homes in Hidden Hills, a four bedroom condo in Miami, Kanye’s Monster Lake Ranch and Bighorn Mountain Ranch in Wyoming. They also have $5 million in art, $4 million vehicles, $3.2 million in jewelry and $300K in livestock.
Kim’s KKW Beauty brand was valued at $1 billion last June. Coty bought a 20% stake in KKW for $200 million, bringing her personal assets to $750 million, including $250 million from Keeping Up With the Kardashians, SKIMS and other ventures. Kanye’s net worth is estimated to be about $1.26 billion, but he has said it’s $3.3 billion.
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Branding experts tell E! that the split may actually help Kim’s career. “Any time a vocal pop culture icon doubles up with another icon, all factors immediately zoom to a higher level,” said branding expert Jade Dressler, who explained to E! News that Kanye brought Kim to a new tier of fashion and culture credibility, making her “not just an influencer, she's also a tastemaker.”
Dressler continued, “A split enhances her brand…An empowered woman, especially a celebrity, at the core of any brand is a golden asset.” And in her opinion, Kim showed an impressive side of herself in how she handled the media maelstrom surrounding her problems with, and eventual split from, Kanye.
“If she continues to handle the split with finesse, her brand—character, story and product offerings—will only be enhanced,” Dressler said. “I expect that her latest interests in politics, law and wellness issues open up even more brand opportunities for her.”
Not so with Kanye.
“There are more Kardashians than there are Kanye Wests, and they each have successful business endeavors, and they're not going anywhere,” she says. “If anything, I think Kanye West may suffer a little bit. I think a big part of the Yeezy brand was supported by Kim, and she has a stronger social media following. She has a bigger presence right now, at least than Kanye West. So it will be really interesting to see kind of how active he is, how public he is. And then, what happens with Yeezy from there. “