Recent separate scandals surrounding artist Kanye West, now known as "Ye," and FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried have caused the two to drop off of Forbes' list of billionaires, Business Insider reported Wednesday.
According to the report, the collapse last year of Bankman-Fried's companies FTX and Alameda Research led to the entrepreneur's net worth dropping from $24 billion in 2022 to less than $10 million now.
He is also facing criminal prosecution for the business' failures and is currently under house arrest while awaiting trial.
Investopedia reported in February that FTX faced a "liquidity crisis" in November 2022 after selling off $529 billion in FTT tokens, causing a run on the exchange.
It then tried to get bailout funding from venture capitalists and the cryptocurrency exchange company Binance.
Binance, however, walked away from the deal a few days later after performing "due diligence" regarding the purchase of FTX, the report said.
Bankman-Fried stepped down as CEO of FTX Nov. 11, the same day the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the report said.
On Nov. 16, a class-action lawsuit was filed against Bankman-Fried and a number of celebrities that helped promote the company including Shaquille O’Neal, Steph Curry, Larry David, and others.
Similarly, Ye saw his $2 billion drop to around $400 million after a series of offensive and antisemitic remarks caused many partnering companies to end their relationship with the rapper and businessman, the report said.
The New York Times reported in December 2022 that Ye made statements blaming Jews for a "holocaust" against Black Americans.
Instagram and Twitter both restricted his accounts in early October 2022 for comments against Jewish people, accusing them of controlling other rappers and parts of the entertainment industry.
They were not the only people falling off the Forbes list, the Insider report said.
In 2022, 360 people lost billionaire status, and another 250 were dropped this year including Wayfair founders Niraj Shah and Steve Conine, the report said.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos had the largest financial loss on the list, losing around $57 billion during the year, and businessman Bernard Arnault claimed the top spot on the list with a net worth of $211 billion, according to the report.
Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who purchased the Twitter social media platform for around $44 billion in the fall of 2022, lost an estimated $39 billion last year.
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