Billionaire Kanye West and Khloe Kardashian among 700,000 business owners who pocketed coronavirus stimulus cash
KANYE West and Khloe Kardashian’s companies were among those that received millions of dollars in the coronavirus bailout program.
Donald Trump’s administration handed out up to $5million to support West’s production company Yeezy which saved 160 jobs, the Treasury revealed on Monday.
Kardashian – West‘s sister-in-law – also received a loan of up to $2million to support her denim brand Good American.
The companies were among around 700,000 businesses and non-profits who were handed cash as part of Trump’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
Firms owned by both West and Kardashian – who are worth $1.3billion and $40 million – said the loans allowed them to save jobs.
Trump rolled out the cash handouts to help inject billions into the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The Small Business Administration introduced the loans to help small and medium-sized companies.
PPP was established by Trump’s $2.2trillion coronavirus rescue package – the CARES Act – and the administration had been under pressure to expose exactly which firms benefited.
It is estimated the loans have helped save up to 51.1million jobs through $521billion worth of taxpayer cash.
Other high profile recipients included the law firm run by Trump’s longtime lawyer Marc Kasowitz, which received up to $10million.
St. Andrew’s Episcopal School attended by the President’s son Barron also received a loan of up to $5million, and Observer Holdings LLC – once headed by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner – also got a loan.
These firms were however among of thousands of other businesses that received cash in the scheme, which has been hailed by the administration as a “wild success”.
Kardashian’s firm defended their use of the scheme, with neither Khloe or co-owner Emma Grede taking paychecks since the pandemic.
It said the government loan managed to save 57 jobs at Good American.
In a statement, the firm said: “Due to the dramatic global impacts of Covid-19, the Good American business took a significant hit.
“We have a large wholesale footprint and all of our partners were forced to close their stores, with many shutting down warehouses and canceling orders.
“Applying for and receiving the PPP loan was a necessary step we had to take to ensure the long-term survival of our brand and business.
“We are incredibly grateful to have received the loan as it has allowed us to maintain our employees’ salaries and support our team.”
The Treasury released the massive data set which broke down businesses into five bands, with the smallest loans being as little as $150,000 and the most being up to $10million.
The exact figures were not revealed the the document.
Other loans of less than $150,000 were also issued, but the administration did not reveal the names of the borrowers.
Data showed more than $67billion was pumped into the healthcare sector, $64billion into construction and $54billion into manufacturing.
However, the US continues to struggle against coronavirus – with total figures continuing to be the highest in the world, with 3,041,035 cases and 132,981 deaths.
It is feared more economic pain could be on the way should the virus continue to spread, with some 50,586 new cases being confirmed on Monday in the US.
As the money from PPP runs out, there could be another round of layoffs, warned Sung Won Sohn, an economist at Loyola Marymount University.
He said: “There will be continuing residual fear and uncertainty.”
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The US economy gained 4.8million jobs in June, with Trump touting it as the “largest jobs gain in the history of our country”.
It came however after some 22million jobs were lost due to the coronavirus pandemic as states had to go into lockdown.
The unemployment rate fell to 11.1 per cent – but still remains higher than in an period since World War 2.
President Trump is running for re-election on a platform of economic recovery, promising to “rebuild” the “greatest economy ever”.