Some of the country's wealthiest received millions of dollars from the government's Payment Protection Program(PPP). According to an analysis of the DailyMailAccording to a DailyMail analysis, in all but one case, the millionaires' companies were exempted from paying the debt.
The PPP cost taxpayers $953 billion . It was created by the federal government to support businesses affected by the covid-19 pandemic. However, the University of Texas estimated that 15% of the applications were fraudulent and, according to the Associated Press, after the first phase of the program, numerous small business owners did not get the loan. However, the celebrities and their companies had no major problems.
Kanye West
The rapper owns California-based Yeezy LLC. It borrowed US$2,363,585, of which US$1,772,689 went to pay the payroll of 106 employees. ProPublica, which has published the amount and status of each federal loan, says the status of Yeezy's loan has not been disclosed, so it is not known whether he has repaid the money or not.
Profits from Yeezy's Adidas sneaker line increased 31% during the pandemic, from $1.3 billion in 2020 to $1.7 billion in 2021. Kanye West has a net worth of about $6.6 billion.
Khloe Kardashian
The television star joined the list of celebrities who asked for help for their businesses. This Kardashian's net worth is estimated to be around $50 million, and her company is worth $12.7 million. Despite this, the Good American LLC denim brand required a loan of $1,245,405, approved on April 14, 2020, primarily intended to pay the payroll of 57 workers. The total amount (including interest) was forgiven.
Jay-Z
The famous rapper is associated with two companies that were approved for a loan. Malibu Entertainment is linked to his streaming platform Tidal and requested $2,106,398 to secure 95 jobs. He got out of returning them.
In addition, Beyoncé's husband owns 50% of the Armand De Brignac Holdings champagne brand. This company borrowed $293,119 to pay payroll. It is not known if the loan was repaid. Jay-Z is among the highest paid celebrities in the world, and is estimated to have a net worth of $1.3 billion.
Francis Ford Coppola
The famed director asked for $7,000,000 to cover the salaries of 469 workers at his company Francis Ford Coppola Presents LLC. The filmmaker was spared from repaying this large sum.
Paul Pelosi
In the political arena, the husband of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosihas an 8.1% share in EDI Associatesa restaurant company that took out two loans for value of US$711,708 and US$996,392. The company did not have to return a single dollar. Las declaraciones financieras muestran que la pareja tiene un patrimonio de entre 43 y 202 millones de dólares.
Two years after federal lawmakers approved the first aid package, it is unclear how much of the funds were properly used.
In a White House statement, President Joe Biden announced the appointment of a chief prosecutor to lead teams of agents specializing in investigating this type of fraud.
