When Kim Kardashian released videos of the jet that her husband Kanye West had hired, the internet went absolutely wild.

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Celebrity couple Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are used to the internet discussing their every move. So the way in which people have reacted to videos of a jet that West had hired can’t have come as much of a surprise to the pair. In any case, though, the web went crazy.

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And Kardashian and West are no strangers to public attention, either. After all, they were each famous in their own separate spheres before they married in 2014. But ever since the pair actually became a couple, they have – if anything – earned more column inches and commentary than they otherwise would have done apart.

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Atlanta native West first came to fame as an innovative rapper, although he has since ventured beyond the world of hip-hop into business and fashion. And the star’s music has not only earned him critical praise, but it has also sold incredibly well.

West has shifted more than 120 million records to date, in fact – sales that have undoubtedly helped boost the rapper’s bank balance. As for how much West is actually worth? Well, it’s rumored that he may have a fortune of close to $1 billion. Some of that wealth is down in part to his successful Yeezy brand – a range of shoes and clothing released in collaboration with Adidas.

However, that valuation of West’s worth comes by way of his wife. When asked whether she was a billionaire, Kardashian told Jimmy Kimmel in July 2018, “I would say my husband is. That makes me one, right?” And according to The Blast this may well ring true, since the Yeezy line is potentially worth $1.5 billion.

In any case, Kardashian is a wealthy woman in her own right, with her businesses, TV spots and sponsorships having seen her rake in a reported $350 million. She is not, however, the richest of the Kardashian clan; sister Kylie Jenner tops that particular list, with a net worth of around $900 million.

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And although Kardashian is today probably best known as a member of the family that came to fame in E!’s Keeping Up with the Kardashians, she had nevertheless caught the public’s eye before that show ever came to air. Her friendship with Paris Hilton had been noticed, for one, as had the sex tape that she had made with a former boyfriend.

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When Keeping Up with the Kardashians hit the small screen in 2007, however, it made stars out of the Kardashian and Jenner clan. The show even led to spin-offs that featured Kardashian and her sister Kourtney. And West’s future wife didn’t just stick to TV, either. After her rise to fame, she featured in a nude spread for Playboy; she also took a role in 2008 comedy film Disaster Movie.

And more TV credits and successful business forays followed before Kardashian began to date West in 2012. At the time, she was separated from her second spouse, basketballer Kris Humphries, although West and Kardashian had previously known each other for nearly a decade without becoming romantically involved.

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Not that West wasn’t interested – to the contrary, in fact. “I just knew I wanted [Kardashian] to be my girl for a long time,” he shared with Ryan Seacrest in 2013. Furthermore, it has been claimed that in 2009 the rapper wrote a lyric directed at Kardashian, urging her to “leave [her] boyfriend now.”

And in his 2012 song “Cold,” West raps, “I had fell in love with Kim around the same time she had fell in love with him,” referring in this case to Humphries. Clearly the attraction was mutual, too, as the two ultimately became a couple. West then wed Kardashian in May 2014.

By that point the pair had also started a family, with daughter North nearly a year old. West and Kardashian have since added to their brood with siblings Saint and Chicago; a fourth child, who is arriving through a surrogate, is expected in 2019.

And although Kardashian and West have reportedly cut back on making flash purchases, they are nevertheless renowned for loving luxury. Expensive holidays, fancy automobiles and, of course, clothes to die for have marked their life together. West has a bit of a reputation for making lavish romantic gestures, too.

You see, when West proposed to Kardashian, he didn’t just go down on one knee. No, for the rap superstar, nothing short of a public announcement would do. As a result, then, he hired out San Francisco’s Oracle Park so that he could pop the question using one of its big screens. An orchestra also made sweet music during the moment.

Of course, Kardashian said yes, with the reality star going on to flash a diamond ring worth roughly $3 million. And her fiancé followed that up with roses on Valentine’s Day – not a mere dozen flowers, however, but a thousand of the blooms. Then, a few years later, he surpassed even that with a massive gift of orchids and roses.

However, West went a step further for Christmas in 2018. And Kardashian’s present certainly would not have fit into her stocking, either, since her husband had splashed out on a huge gift: a new four-bed home in Miami. Festive generosity is nothing new for the hip-hop star, though, as in 2015 he had sprung for no fewer than 150 presents for his wife – including some choice designer clothes.

And it seems that it’s not just splurges on presents that makes Christmas such an extravagant time for the Kardashian-Wests. In December 2018 the pair spent what the Daily Mail suggested may be as much as $500,000 on a bash the night before the big day. Reportedly, the money mostly went on making their home into a wintery fantasy land.

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Perhaps in part to fund these spending sprees, West continues to build his Yeezy brand. Indeed, in an April 2018 tweet, the star himself even went so far as to claim that Yeezy is “the second-fastest growing company in history.” And he’s not stopping at a $1 billion valuation. Instead, West has claimed that he’s aiming to build Yeezy into what Silicon Valley calls a “decacorn” – a $10-billion company.

To that end, West has worked to create a buzz for Yeezy on the internet. Photos of Kardashian in Yeezy gear have certainly attracted attention, as have efforts to get a bunch of other social media personalities to dress in the same way and be photographed. And as this promotional effort boosted searches for Yeezy on fashion search engine Lyst by 45 percent, it seems as though West’s strategy paid off.

But in spite of the success of Yeezy, West may have surprised even Kardashian when he told her of his plans for a new office. That’s because he was going to use a Boeing 747 airplane for a place to conduct his business dealings. According to Kardashian, Adidas had arranged the plane for West to use in connection with his Yeezy subsidiary.

However, Adidas has not commented outright about the use of the plane, exactly who hired it or where it was going. It’s not even certain exactly where West had acquired the craft, although either Aura Jets or Atlantic Aviation is thought to have provided it.

The Boeing 747 is not your ordinary private jet, either, since it can carry up to 660 people in its usual role as a passenger airliner. And even West may blanch at the cost of purchasing a brand-new 747 outright: as much as $215 million. Indeed, in November 2018 a source told People that the musician had only borrowed the one he had been using as an office.

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It should be noted, though, that Kardashian and West are not the only people to enjoy the luxury of a private 747 jet. The president of the United States has the use of two much-altered versions of the 747, after all, with these crafts better known by their call sign of Air Force One.

Be that as it may, having a private 747 is still out of the ordinary for everyday citizens. And it seems that even Kardashian was taken aback by the plane. She was so thrilled by the experience, in fact, that she released videos to Instagram showing off the jet.

Kardashian also seemed to be aware that the hire was a definite extravagance for just the couple and their entourage. And certainly the plane wouldn’t have come cheap. An Atlantic Aviation spokesperson told the Daily Mail, for example, that renting such a craft would come in at around $300,000, depending on how far you traveled in it.

So it’s perhaps no wonder that Kardashian wanted to show off her husband’s latest indulgence. She is heard saying in a video posted to Instagram in November 2018, “No big deal – just taking a private 747. This is how [West] does it now. Only 747s. Private.” And she also expressed how this was new even to her. She adds in the footage, “I’ve never even heard of this, but whatever!”

What’s more, Kardashian captured exactly what the 747 was like inside. Her video continues by taking in a large bedroom with a double bed and a marble en-suite area; the reality star says in response, “So, you know, just our room for the long flight.”

Next, Kardashian shows us an empty lounge area along with rows of seats that are unoccupied. She adds, “So this is what a private 747 is like, you guys. I’ve never been on one before, so I’m like, ‘Oh my god.’ This is pretty crazy.”

But that isn’t all, as Kardashian explains in a second video that Mel, her trainer, has come on the trip. And the star apparently won’t be idle on the plane, either; it turns out that Mel has put together a gym there, using a bedroom as the site for workouts.

Kardashian seemingly puts the equipment to good use, too. During the footage, she is seen lifting some weights; and there is what seems to be a clip of the superstar’s trainer exercising in the plane’s corridor. The reality queen further explains that there will be a lengthy flight, and so she will be working out to while away some of the time.

After that, we are shown the upper level of the plane. And it seems that it’s laid out in part as a dining area, as Kardashian notes, “How cute; there’s even a dining table.” She can’t help sounding impressed, either. “You guys, this is insane,” she adds.

Certainly, the videos of Kardashian and West’s trip have attracted considerable attention on Instagram. It’s perhaps to be expected, though, that not everyone who has seen the footage has been as happy to see the plane as the stars themselves.

One Twitter commenter blasted the couple for the plane’s potential impact on the environment, for example. They wrote, “[Kardashian and West] renting an entire 747 for themselves is so unbelievably wasteful it makes me sick. [They’re] leaving a much larger carbon footprint than they need to.” The individual then addressed the pair directly, saying, “You have the power and wealth to travel sustainably, and instead you do the opposite.”

Another commenter seemingly had similar thoughts on their mind, as they wrote to Kardashian and West, “How much did [the plane] cost you? $2-3 million? Maybe it would be fair if you donated an equivalent amount to help the climate recover from the several hundred tons of CO2 you just caused.”

And yet another Twitter user has criticized the couple for their choice. They wrote, “All I’m thinking is what a waste of jet fuel, resources, environmental harm, etc. etc. etc. Obnoxious and unnecessary.” However, not everyone shared that view.

Indeed, some people had more complimentary things to say. One wrote, for instance, “Kanye West always ahead of time for using a 747 as his private jet.” Another commented on the joy that is audible in Kardashian’s commentary, seeing it as a sign of the love that she has for West.

Meanwhile, one supporter simply wrote, “[West] renting an entire private 747 is a whole mood.” Kardashian herself was apparently unmoved by the rage that had been vented online, however, and hasn’t apologized for her use of the private plane.

Indeed, in November 2018 a source told People, “[Kardashian] realizes [that the plane is] seen as something unnecessary and extravagant, but she isn’t making any excuses. They have a different lifestyle and she doesn’t expect other people to understand.” In fact, Kardashian had aimed to back West, the insider explained.

The individual said to People, “[West] feels very inspired and creative at the moment, so [Kardashian] wants to be supportive.” After all, they continued, “it wasn’t her idea” to hire the 747. And the genuine surprise in her voice in the videos seems to bear the truth of that.

Still, a lavish lifestyle will always have critics. And one Twitter user summed up why. They wrote, “Kim Kardashian’s Insta story of that private 747 plane is absolutely obscene… like, that’s money movement my average life is [never] going to get anywhere near.”