Newly-released figures show that Kanye West self-funded the majority of his campaign to run for president, putting in almost R186.6 million of his own money.
The 43-year-old rapper – who ran for office under the Birthday Party – self-funded the majority of his late-entry run for office, attracting just R29.8 million from outside contributors, and, having earned just 66 000 votes across the US, meant each tick in the ballot box cost an average of R2 985 each.
According to a report from the Federal Election Commission (FEC), the majority of Kanye’s R217 040 644 campaign funds paid for “ballot access”, and he was left with R19.4 million at the end of the campaign.
R111.9 million went to ballot access, with R19.1 million of that paid to Atlas Strategy Group, but it seems the investment wasn’t a great success because the ‘Stronger’ hitmaker only made it as a candidate in 12 states.
Other major costs included legal fees, Kanye 2020 apparel and production for online videos used to promote his campaign, though the rapper – who is going through a divorce from wife Kim Kardashian West – and his team opted against purchasing TV, radio or digital advertising, which many experts believed was a mistake.