Kanye West net worth takes further hit after $2B loss as he's sued for $4.5M by ex-business manager
HIDDEN HILLS, CALIFORNIA: A former business manager of Kanye West is suing him for more than $4 million as his legal woes continue to grow. The rapper was sued by Thomas St John, a celebrity account manager, for allegedly failing to pay a monthly fee that had been agreed upon between the two parties, said a report. St John alleges that Kanye stopped paying his bills and was "aggressive" with him at a recent meeting.
St John claims in the filing that Kanye contacted him earlier this year about offering business management, accounting, and taxation services. The document states that as of March 30, 2022, St John, the CEO of TSJ, had "already been introduced to Yeezy's business associates as 'Ye's business manager, according to court documents acquired by The Blast.
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The filing added, “Mr. St. John had already developed a business strategy for Yeezy’s negotiations with one of (Kanye’s) key business partners. By April 12, 2022, representatives of Mr. West introduced Mr. St. John to business associates as the 'CFO of Donda', another one of Mr. West’s entities.”
The company claims it received a letter permitting them to obtain all of Kanye's financial documents and to start developing a plan for him moving forward. St John claims that he was emphatic with Yeezy at the time about wanting a two-year guarantee before beginning to work for him. It goes without saying that a task like this requires a significant amount of time, effort, and the labor of numerous other people. The company points out that it had to turn down two other opportunities to work for Yeezy.
“In addition to the economic costs and risks associated with committing to Defendants as clients, Plaintiff also needed assurance that Defendants would not simply walk away from the business relationship. Mr. St. John, however, proposed to compromise on an agreement with a minimum term of 18 months,” the lawsuit states. Finally, the business asserts that Kanye consented to the 18 months.
An agreement was made, and the business was retained to serve as Kanye's chief financial officer and "most senior financial advisor." There was a "monthly retainer fee of $300,000" in the deal. Unfortunately, just weeks after the agreement was made, Kanye West allegedly scheduled a meeting to discuss terminating the business relationship.
“At this meeting, Mr. West became heated and aggressive. He screamed at Mr. St. John and made clear he no longer wanted to work with (St. John.) When confronted by the 18-month commitment that had just been made, Mr. West stated words to the effect of 'The 18-month term was bulls–t' and 'You’re insane for even thinking I would stick to it.'"
After the encounter, according to the company, Kanye neglected to make the remaining 15 monthly payments under his contract. According to St John, the rapper only made payments for three months. “As of the filing of this Complaint, Defendants breached the agreement by failing and refusing, despite Plaintiff’s demand, to pay the minimum $300,000 monthly payments for July, August, and September 2022, despite timely receiving invoices. And it is clear based on their statements and conduct that Defendants do not intend to make any further monthly payments,” the lawsuit says.
“As a direct and proximate result of Kanye’s breach, (the company) has been damaged in the amount of the unpaid fee balance of $900,000 as of October 12, 2022. It will continue to be damaged for an additional amount of $3,600,000 for fees owed from October 2022 to November 2023, through the remainder of the minimum 18-month terms of the Agreement,” it added. The total amount of damages sought by the company in its lawsuit against Kanye West is $4,500,000.