The Treasury Department has released the names of everyone who got a loan bigger than $150,000 through the PPP—the Paycheck Protection Program designed to help businesses weather the pandemic. While millions of small companies were helped by the loans, which can be forgiven if the money is used for payroll, some of the recipients were drawing particular attention:
- Billionaires: NBC News lists some of the billionaires whose companies received loans, including Kanye West, whose Yeezy apparel brand took a loan of up to $5 million. West (who swears he's running for president) owns a 100% stake in the company, which is valued at $3 billion. Another billionaire, property developer Joe Farrell, a big GOP fundraiser, received up to $1 million. (Farrell made $2 million renting out his Hamptons mansion amid the pandemic.) Also, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice's family companies got at least $6.3 million.
- Odds and ends: The AP rounds up others getting loans, including sculptor Jeff Koons (up to $2 million); the Girl Scouts (up to $1 million); TGI Fridays (up to $10 million); and PF Chang's China Bistro (up to $10 million). About 600 asset-management companies and private equity firms also got money, though financial firms weren't thought to have been badly hit by the pandemic, and their employees are well paid to start.