Kylie Jenner: From the Billionaire Club to a Millionaire's Reality

In May 2021, Forbes stated that Kylie Jenner is no longer a self-made billionaire. Forbes claims that Kylie inflated the sales figures of Kylie Cosmetics, accusing her team of forging tax returns to boost her net worth and thus revoking her billionaire status. Kylie Jenner sold her company 51% to Coty in a deal valued at $1.2 billion. Her income after-tax estimation was $340 million. After analyzing, Forbes reported that Kylie Jenner is "not a billionaire".

Forbes previously released the annual World’s Billionaires list and Kylie was the world’s youngest self-made billionaire in 2020, just before CVID-19. Yes, the youngest self-made billionaire, she didn’t inherit her business; she built it herself. Kylie was a billionaire with a net worth of $1 billion. Yet, the Kardashian-Jenner sister’s ‘self-made’ status has attracted a degree of controversy, considering the wealthy, reality TV famed background from which she descends.

Kylie Jenner - Biography

Kylie Jenner - Early Life
Kylie Jenner - Career
How Did Kylie Become a Billionaire?
Kylie Jenner - Philanthropic Work
Kylie Jenner - Quotes

Kylie Jenner - Early Life

Kylie Kristen Jenner was born on August 10, 1997, in Los Angeles, California to parents Kris and former Olympic gold medalist Bruce Jenner. Kylie has an elder sister, Kendall Jenner. Kylie has three half-sisters - Kourtney, Khloé, and Kim Kardashian and half-brothers - Brandon, Brody Jenner and Robert Kardashian. Kylie has been in the news since childhood, thanks to the paparazzi being crazy for her family.

Kylie grew up in the spotlight among her famous siblings in the reality series, Keeping Up With The Kardashians. Jenner attended the private Sierra Canyon School and earned her high school diploma from Lauren Springs High School in California. Additionally, she’s amassed a mega social media following and in 2015 was named one of Time magazine’s Most Influential Teens.

Kylie Jenner - Career

The Kardashians are one of the most widely followed families today when it comes to entertainment. Every member of the Kardashian clan is wildly popular for their controversial and non-controversial antics. For a long time, Kim Kardashian stole the limelight.

Kim was at the fore of her celeb family when it came to coverage in tabloids and magazines. However, the last two or three years have seen another Kardashian member take Kim’s place—Kylie Jenner. She’s harnessed her family's fame to launch her business ventures including a successful cosmetics line.

Kylie Jenner started her on-screen career in 2007, appearing as a main cast in the family's popular reality television series 'Keeping Up with the Kardashians'. She has also appeared in many of the spin-off shows focused on her sisters, Kourtney and Khloé. In 2011, she, following Kendall, earned a huge sum of money endorsing two nail lacquers from the Nicole by OPI brand, named "Rainbow in the S-kylie" and "Wear Something Spar-Kylie". Kylie and Kendall launched 'The Kendall & Kylie Collection' with PacSun in February 2013.

Taking advantage of such a massive following and appreciable looks, Kylie launched the ‘Metal Haven by Kendall & Kylie’ clothing & jewelry line with her sister in June 2013 followed by a collaboration with Steve Madden for shoes and handbag collection. The reception was overwhelming. The succeeding fame got her in music videos.

The collective result was a soaring presence on all major social media platforms, particularly Instagram and Snapchat. Top celebrities admired her, she hosted shows and appeared on several media channels all of which added to her growth. This combined with exposure and famous background allowed her to cash in and become a hit with commercial audiences.

List of Brands Endorsed By Kylie Jenner

Kylie Jenner is an American model and businesswoman who is also the founder of kylie cosmetics. Here are the list of brands endorsed by Kylie Jenner.

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How Did Kylie Become a Billionaire?

In 2015, Kylie individually launched her hair extension line, 'Kylie Hair Kouture' with Bellami Hair. She became the second ambassador ever for the skincare line 'Nip + Fab' in March 2015. She became the face of PUMA in the fall of 2016. She again teamed up with her sister Kendall to launch their clothing line ‘Kendall & Kylie’ with Topshop, a British fashion retailer in June 2015. She launched her website and a paid lifestyle app in September 2015, along with her lipstick line 'Kylie Lip Kit'.

It was taken to the next level when she started her full-fledged cosmetic line - Kylie Cosmetics. In 2018, she invested $250,000 of her own money from modeling gigs in 2015 for the first batch of 15,000 lipsticks.

Kylie Jenner stated, “I said, ‘I’m ready to put up my own money. I don’t want to do it with anyone else.”

The product sold out in seconds with her media presence being a pivotal factor. The millions of fans who revered Kylie through social media were an easy target audience.

Kris Jenner, her mom, supported Kylie in this initiative by pitching in with the appropriate strategies and tactics. The mom-daughter duo sold 500,000 kits in no time. There was no looking back and sales blew through the roof. She further included many beauty products in her brand. Jenner’s business was immediately promising.

She further cemented her spot in November when she agreed to sell 51% of her Kylie Cosmetics to beauty giant Coty Inc., an American multinational beauty company, for $600 million. The deal, which closed in January 2019, valued her business at about $1.2 billion. Cash from the sale and her remaining 49% share of the company make Jenner one of just 2,095 people in the world with a ten-digit fortune.

In March 2019, Jenner was highlighted by Forbes as the youngest-ever self-made billionaire as part of its annual ranking of the planet's richest people. With her net worth up to $1 billion, the then-21-year-old became the youngest member of the billionaires' club and the youngest-ever self-made billionaire. She surpassed the benchmark once set by 23-year-old Mark Zuckerberg.

Showing no signs of slowing down, she went on to launch her Kylie Skin skincare line in May 2019.

In April 2020, the makeup mogul, Kylie Jenner made into Forbes’ 2020 World’s Youngest Billionaires list for the second year in a row. With her billion-strong wealth, Jenner became ‘one of just 2,095 people in the world with a ten-digit fortune’.

After analyzing filings of the deal with beauty giant Coty Inc., it was revealed that Kylie Jenner inflated the sales values to boost her valuation. Later Forbes removed her from the list and stated that Kylie Jenner was no more a billionaire.

Kylie Jenner - Philanthropic Work

Kylie Jenner has come forward to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Kylie has donated $1 million to buy protective equipment including face shields and masks for the first responders. In mid-March, after being requested by the surgeon general of the United States to do so, she issued an Instagram plea to follow social distancing instructions. She asked her approximately then 169 million followers on Instagram to just stay home for the sake of safety.

Not only this, Kylie Jenner and her mom, Kris Jenner, announced that they would make a mass hand sanitizer donation to hospitals in southern California. At the same time, their custom product, a joint effort with Coty Inc., will be “dedicated to first responders working to support our communities” during the coronavirus pandemic. Coty, a major stakeholder in Kylie Skin and Kylie Cosmetics, will be making Kylie’s hand sanitizer in its factories as many medical professionals currently facing severe shortages.

Apart from this, Kylie Jenner has been involved with several charities over the years. In 2013, she and her sisters raised money for the Children's Hospital Los Angeles by auctioning old clothes on eBay.

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Kylie Jenner - Quotes

Conclusion

While she was the youngest, there were nine other billionaires under the age of 30, including Snapchat co-founder Evan Spiegel, 29, with a net worth of $1.9 billion, and digital payment app Stripe co-founder John Collison, 29, with a net worth of $3.2 billion at that time. Yet, this social media star cum entrepreneur, Kylie has carved a special place for herself in the digital segment. She is the epitome of social platform influencers and has become an inspiration for many millennials. Above all, she was the youngest billionaire ever!

FAQs

What is the net worth of Kylie Jenner?

The net worth of Kylie Jenner is $$710 million as of May 2024.

Is Kylie Jenner a billionaire?

Kylie Jenner was declared a billionaire by Forbes in March 2019, largely due to the success of her cosmetics company, Kylie Cosmetics. However, in 2020, Forbes revised this assessment, stating that she was not, in fact, a billionaire.

How did Kylie Jenner become a billionaire?

Kylie Jenner became a billionaire through her cosmetics company, Kylie Cosmetics, utilizing her massive social media following, and selling a 51% stake to Coty Inc. for $600 million, valuing the company at $1.2 billion.