As it turns out, it’s actually quite difficult to sell a house with no windows, electricity, or plumbing for $50 million, as Kanye West (now known as Ye) has learned first-hand. As reported by Forbes, West has dropped the asking price of his 4,000-square-foot house in Malibu from $53 million to $39 million after struggling to sell the gutted property.
West originally bought the Tadao Ando-designed home in 2021 for a whopping $57.3 million from bicycle designer Richard Sachs. He subsequently gutted any existing fixtures and furnishing, including removing the windows and doors. The following year, West hired contractors and started prepping for what seemed to be substantial renovations. Within a year, however, construction halted, leaving parts of the structure completely exposed to the elements. According to reports, neither West nor his contractors have been spotted on the property in the time since. Mark it down as yet another unrealized Ye project.
West’s inability to complete his renovations or offload the house aren’t the only troubles the Malibu property has stirred up for the artist. In September 2023, Tony Saxton, a contractor who worked on the home, sued West over dire work conditions, alleging that he was forced to work 16-hour days and sleep on the floor of the partially demolished house. Saxton claims he was ultimately fired after he voiced concerns over the property’s planned electrical system, adding that he is still owed more than $1 million in compensation. The lawsuit has resulted in a lien being placed on the house, meaning it cannot legally be sold without the buyer settling any debts still owed to Saxton.
The Malibu fiasco is the latest in a long, long, long string of West missteps, bizarre behavior, and hateful theatrics. Within the past two years alone, West went on several antisemitic tirades, made Alex Jones play the straight-man, bunged up his most lucrative business dealings, and blew a good chunk of his net worth. As of earlier this month, West is also being sued by a former Yeezy and Donda Academy employee who alleges that the rapper told students he would shave their heads and lock them in cages.
West’s latest album was his collaboration with Ty Dolla $ign, Vultures 1, which Consequence Features Editor Wren Graves called “dead on arrival.” Read the full review here, as well as our thoughts on his lackluster “comeback” performance at Rolling Loud California.