Kim Kardashian is often first described as a reality TV star, then as a businesswoman or billionaire. The fact is, even before she made it onto the Forbes billionaire list, Kim showed clear signs that she had what it takes to become one, and sooner rather than later. While most mere mortals get paid for jobs, this enterprising mother of four once got paid for not doing one. Kanye West, back in 2018, gave his then-wife $1 million for turning down a brand deal that “typically knock[s] off” his label, Yeezy.
She revealed this unusual occurrence on Ashley Graham’s podcast, “Pretty Big Deal,” and even found the act cute at the time. Without revealing the name of the fashion brand, the Skims founder stated she was offered an insane amount of money to model their clothes—it was Kanye’s firm belief that the brand copied his work. “He’s like the cutest,” Kim explained. “A brand offered me a million dollars to do a post on some of their clothing, and they typically—I don’t want to say who the brand is—but they typically knock off Yeezy. Kanye said, ‘No, babe. I really don’t want you to do that.’
It sounds like a normal conversation between a couple, but it was hardly just that. A week later, on the occasion of Mother’s Day, he made the mother of his children richer by another million. Kardashian shared, “Mother’s Day comes, and he happened to be recording out of town, and I get my flowers, and then I get an envelope delivered to the door. I opened the envelope, and it was a million-dollar check with a note saying, ‘Thank you for always supporting me and not posting.'”
She continued, “In the rest of the envelope, there was a contract to be an owner of Yeezy—to have my percentage. And that was my Mother’s Day present.” Little did we know about the financial power of a ‘no.’
