All eyes on ‘Kimye’ split over fortune worth billions
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West set to have amicable divorce thanks to detailed prenuptial agreement
IN THE world of celebrity divorces, this is the big one. With a joint fortune running into billions, the world is braced for Kim Kardashian and Kanye West to divide up their assets after seven years of high-profile married life.
And what assets. With homes in the LA hills and ranches in Wyoming, not to mention a treasure trove of jewels and a $3.9 million (£2.7m) car collection, it is testament to the joint brand that the reality television star and the rapper built together.
It has emerged that, thanks to a detailed prenuptial agreement that will largely determine the division of assets, the divorce will in all likelihood be amicable, even accounting for West’s frequently erratic behaviour.
Legal experts say the case is likely to have already been negotiated in private mediation between their attorneys, or with a private judge.
In court records lodged in Los Angeles, the couple – who married at a Renaissance fortress in Florence in 2014 – cite irreconcilable differences for their break up, with Kardashian and West seeking joint custody of their four children.
“Both of them want nothing but the best for the kids,” a source said. “The kids will stay with Kim, but Kanye will be able to see them whenever he wants.”
It is being reported that Kardashian has a few concerns about West and the children, believing he needs caretakers and family members on hand to care for them, and should not be around during bipolar episodes.
She has reportedly hired lawyer Laura Wasser, nicknamed “disso queen” due to her work on the divorces of high-profile celebrities.
It all seems fitting for a marriage that was pored over by the media and public and was chronicled by Kardashian herself in her long-running reality show Keeping Up with the Kardashians and through their Instagram and Twitter accounts, followed by millions.
Both Kardashian, 40, and West, 43, were global celebrities before marrying, but as a couple they combined their celebrity star status to reach new levels of wealth. Their brand has come to define the recent phenomenon of social media-driven mega-fame.
According to Forbes magazine, Kardashian is worth $780 million (about £557 million), largely through her cosmetics business, KKW Beauty, while West is said to be worth £1.3 billion through his hugely successful fashion brand, Yeezy. Both will retain control of their respective brand empires.
But as if confirmation were ever needed that money does not necessarily buy you happiness, the wheels started coming off the “Kimye” bandwagon a while ago.
Kanye’s failed presidential bid – he received just 60,000 votes across 12 states – reportedly put a strain on their marriage, not helped by the rapper making a series of wild allegations against Kardashian and her family on Twitter and during a presidential campaign rally in July.
West claimed Kardashian had considered aborting North, their first child, and suggested that divorce had been on the cards since she met Meek Mill, an ex-boyfriend of Nicki Minaj, the singer, at a hotel in 2018. He later issued a public apology to his wife, who defended him and spoke about his struggle with bipolar disorder, saying he was a “brilliant but complicated person” whose “words sometimes do not align with his intentions”.
The rapper has reportedly been living at his ranch in Wyoming while Kardashian has been with the children in Los Angeles, though theirs has lasted a lot longer than her 72-day marriage to Kris Humphries, a basketball player.
Sources in the US suggest West is likely to keep the two ranches in Wyoming, each valued at $14million, while Kardashian will probably keep the couple’s 15,667 sq ft mansion in Hidden Hills, Los Angeles, which they bought in 2014 for $20 million, spending another $20million on renovations.