Kanye West’s Shoes Break World Record With A Major Million Dollar Sale
Lester Cohen/WireImage Reading Time: 3 minutes
A pair of shoes worn by Kanye West just set a world record. The shoes made their big debut at the 2008 Grammy’s, and just sold for $1.8 million. This hefty purchase just set a crazy world record, blowing the minds of sneakerheads all over the planet.
Kanye West’s Shoes Make History With Massive Sale
What makes these Nike Air Yeezy prototype sneakers special is the fact that West wore them during a pivotal time in his life. His 2008 Grammy’s performance was full of raw emotions and heart. His mother Donda died while recovering from plastic surgery procedures in 2007. He honored her during this performance with his songs “Hey Mama” and “Stronger.”
West had the word “Mama” shaved into his hair and owned the night after commanding the stage. He didn’t know it then, but the shoes on his feet would go on to make history. The sneakers were bought by RARES, a sneaker investing platform. This is now the most expensive sneaker sale in recorded history. The sneakers are now being advertised on their home page.
Streetwear collector Ryan Chang first listed the shoes at Sotheby’s and had help from the auction site in this monster sale to RARES. RARES is going to be launching shares of the infamous sneakers on their website on June 16. This will give West’s fans a chance to “own a piece of the world’s most valuable shoe.”
Currently, you have the opportunity to reserve a spot to buy a share of the sneakers. All you have to do is create an account on the RARES website and you will be notified once the shares go on sale.
“Our goal in purchasing such an iconic shoe – and a piece of history – is to increase accessibility and empower the communities that birthed sneaker culture with the tools to gain financial freedom through RARES,” Gerome Sapp, RARES co-founder and CEO said.
Previously, the title of the most expensive shoe sale went to the Nike Air Jordan 1s signed and worn by NBA star Michael Jordan. The sneakers were sold last spring at Sotheby’s for $560,000.
West’s Sneakers are a Contributing Factor in how he Became a Billionaire
Sneakers are a large reason why West was named the wealthiest black man in American history last month. His Yeezy brand was valued at around $3.2 billion to $4.7 billion in private documents shared by Bloomberg. His upcoming collaboration with Gap is expected to be worth $970 million of that sum.
West’s Yeezy brand with Adidas has been booming throughout the pandemic. Sales grew about $1.7 billion in annual revenue in 2020, contributing to his growing net worth of $6.6 billion. West also has investments in Skims, his soon-to-be ex-wife Kim Kardashian’s shapewear line.
The rapper has been noticeably absent from the final season of Keeping Up With The Kardashians amid the divorce. West and Kardashian have remained dedicated to co-parenting their children North, 7, Chicago, 3, Saint, 5, and Psalm, 1 as they navigate their split.
SEE ALSO: KANYE WEST’S HISTORY WITH PUBLIC MENTAL BREAKDOWNS — ARE THEY TRIGGERED BY HIS MOTHER’S DEATH?
