Kanye West on philanthropy: what the evidence says · JRE #1554
SUBJECT: PHILANTHROPY
The short answer
Kanye West claims he personally donated one hundred million dollars to James Turrell's Roden Crater art project. Arizona State University's Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, the project's academic partner, reported in January 2019 that West's gift was ten million dollars, not one hundred million.
Not a true/false call. Every claim is logged with its sources; read the exhibits below.
This is the reason why I donated one hundred million dollars to James Turrell's Roden crater project when I went to this is like the eighth wonder of the world.
What the evidence says 01 / RECORD
Kanye West stated he donated one hundred million dollars to James Turrell's Roden Crater project. Arizona State University's Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, the project's academic partner, reported in January 2019 that West's gift was ten million dollars, not one hundred million. That gift was one contribution to a separate two-hundred-million-dollar capital campaign led by Turrell and ASU to complete the broader Roden Crater site, alongside other donors such as the Annenberg Foundation and Leonard Riggio. No public record, tax filing, or news report corroborates a one-hundred-million-dollar personal donation from West. The claim appears to overstate the documented ten-million-dollar gift by a factor of ten.