Forbes Magazine is taking a controversial approach to its Forbes 400 list this year. The annual compilation, which helps them rank the richest people in America, just up’d it billionaire cut-off to $2.7 billion. Down from last year’s $2.9 billion cut-off, the lowered standard still means that some of our most beloved celebrities missed the cut. To illustrate just how rich the top 400 people in America are, Forbes opted to show us all the ‘poor’ billionaires left off the list, and the group will astound you.
Oprah Winfrey, easily one of the richest and most recognizable people on the planet, is about $2 million shy of this year’s mega earners list. Oprah reached her first billion back in 2003, when the media mogul’s net worth hit $2 Billon. Despite the massive success of her OWN Network, magazine, and book clubs, Oprah is just not making the cut this year.
Kanye West is also not cutting it for this year’s top 400, either. The music and fashion mogul may be gearing up to lose millions following his controversial “White Lives Matter” t-shirt and public spat with The GAP corporation over their failed partnership, but the former presidential candidate still pocketed enough money in the last year to push his network to $2 billion.
Kanye West’s estranged wife, Kim Kardashian, is making even less than Ye these days. While SKIMS continues to thrive, and she has several lucrative endeavors on the table with everyone from Hulu to her KKW empire, Kimmy is only cutting it at $1.8 billion, despite her companies being valued at $3.2 billion.
Jay-Z continues to be a trailblazer in music. Not only is he the creative force behind the Super Bowl halftime show, but he is still sitting on a very lucrative music career that includes some massive hits. However, Jay is also cut off from the list, only bringing in $1.3 billion in the last year. His wife, Beyonce Knowles-Carter, was not mentioned in the post, but some sites do report her net worth to be around $1.5 billion as of this year.
Forbes released the 400 richest people in America today, but caught alot of backlash after publishing a social media post where they labeled individuals like Jay-Z, Oprah, Kanye West and other, ‘poor billionaries.’ Many people in the comments did not like the wording of the post and how they positioned so many black billionaires with the word “poor.” “Using the statement: billionaires “too poor to…” is ridiculous and grossly off-putting. GTFU Forbes!” said one person. Do you think this list was in “poor” taste?
