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How rich is Kylie Jenner – the world’s youngest billionaire? How Instagram’s 2nd most-followed woman spends her fortune

Keeping up with Kylie Jenner, who has just turned 23, is a full-time job for many. Photo: @kyliejenner/Instagram
Kylie Jenner, the ever-controversial reality star, just turned 23 years old. She most likely spent it in style – last year, she rented a US$200 million superyacht to celebrate. 
Forbes declared Jenner the world’s youngest “self-made” billionaire at age 21, thanks to her make-up company, Kylie Cosmetics. But in a May investigation, Forbes went on to report that Jenner is not, in fact, a billionaire. The magazine said that Jenner has exaggerated the size and profitability of her business and misled Forbes and other publications since 2016.
Despite her disputed billionaire status, Jenner has amassed a cosmetics empire, starred alongside her family in Keeping Up with the Kardashians as well as in her own spin-off show Life of Kylie, started a clothing line with her sister and made millions promoting products on Instagram – where with 190 million followers she is currently the fourth most followied person (and second most-followed woman behind Ariana Grande).

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Here are all the ways Jenner has made her millions.

Forbes magazine, which once declared Jenner a billionaire on its cover, says she no longer deserves the title if she ever did, but Jenner is pushing back. Photo: AP

In March 2019, Forbes dubbed Kylie Jenner, then 21, the world’s youngest self-made billionaire

At the time, Forbes estimated that Jenner’s company, Kylie Cosmetics, was worth US$900 million.

That plus her personal earnings from the company brought her net worth to more than US$1 billion, Forbes said.

Many criticised Forbes’ decision to call Jenner “self-made,” saying she was born into wealth and privilege. Jenner responded to the backlash in an interview with Paper magazine, saying, “The self-made thing is true,” and adding that her parents “cut her off at the age of 15.”

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Kylie Jenner has built up her celebrity brand through TV, social media and make-up. Photo: Reuters

A recent Forbes investigation called Jenner’s billionaire status into question

While Forbes reported that Jenner was still the youngest “self-made” billionaire in the world on April 7, a more recent Forbes report released in May contended that the 22-year-old is not, in fact, a billionaire. According to Forbes’ new investigation, Jenner and her mother and marketing manager, Kris Jenner, have exaggerated the size and profitability of her business and misled Forbes and other publications since 2016.

But Forbes concedes that Jenner is still a multimillionaire, now pegging her true net worth at US$900 million.

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At the time, Jenner took to Twitter to slam Forbes’ report. “I thought this was a reputable site … all I see are a number of inaccurate statements and unproven assumptions lol. I’ve never asked for any title or tried to lie my way there EVER. period,” she tweeted, also questioning Forbes’ “proof” of the claim that tax returns “were likely forged.”

“I can name a list of 100 things more important right now than fixating on how much money I have,” Jenner tweeted.

Kylie in Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Photo: E! Entertainment

Like the rest of the clan, she started on TV

Jenner’s first job was on reality TV show Keeping Up with the Kardashians. She was nine years old when the first episode aired and the show is now airing its 18th season.

People reported in 2017 that the family collectively earns about US$30 million per season of the show, according to their most recent contract, but it’s unclear exactly how much each family member makes.

Jenner also briefly starred in her own spin-off show, Life of Kylie, in 2017.

Then there was the spin off, Life of Kylie. Photo: E! Entertainment

In 2013, when Jenner was 15, she and her sister, Kendall, launched a clothing line called Kendall + Kylie for PacSun

Kylie and Kendall launched a clothing line. Photo: PacSun

The brand has since expanded to be sold wholesale to 390 locations in the US, including Nordstrom, Topshop, Amazon and Bloomingdale’s and 975 worldwide.

Jenner has made the bulk of her fortune through her make-up company, Kylie Cosmetics

Jenner has made the bulk of her fortune from make-up. Photo: Kylie Cosmetics

The company originally launched as Kylie Lip Kits, not long after Jenner admitted to getting “temporary lip fillers,” in 2015.

The company claimed to have sold more than US$630 million worth of make-up in its first two years, including an estimated US$330 million in 2017.

The manufacturing, packaging and sales of Kylie Cosmetics products are all outsourced to private companies, including Seed Beauty and Shopify, while the financial and public relations aspects of the brand are handled by Kardashian-Jenner matriarch and Kylie’s mother, Kris Jenner, in exchange for a 10 per cent management fee.

Kris, Kendall and Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian at Peachy’s. Photo: @kimkardashian/Instagram

In 2018, Jenner claimed that Kylie Cosmetics was on track to bring in more than US$300 million in revenue, partially thanks to an exclusive distribution detail with beauty retailer Ulta. Forbes now says that in reality, financial documents show that the company sold closer to US$125 million.

In November 2019, Jenner sold a majority stake in Kylie Cosmetics to Coty for US$600 million, giving the company a US$1.2 billion valuation.

Jenner announced at the time that Christoph Honnefelder would assume the role of CEO of Kylie Cosmetics and Kylie Skin. Jenner was previously CEO.

According to Coty’s press release announcing the deal, Jenner and her team would continue to lead “all creative efforts in terms of product and communications initiatives,” while Coty would lead the portfolio’s “overall” development.

 

Much of Jenner’s work on Kylie Cosmetics takes place on social media. She frequently promotes the brand on her personal Instagram account.

“Social media is an amazing platform,” Jenner, who has more than 189 million followers on Instagram, told Forbes last year. “I have such easy access to my fans and my customers.”

Jenner also has lucrative endorsement deals with Puma and other brands. She often endorses products on Instagram from brands including Fashion Nova, Adidas and SugarBearHair vitamins.

 

A 2018 report from social media insights firm D’Marie Analytics found that a single Instagram post by Jenner was worth US$1 million in advertising.

Although she has since shut it down, Jenner previously made money from her personal app, which launched in 2015 and made US$105,170 on its first day.

The app offered “an exclusive mix of free and premium paid content from Kylie’s world, bringing you closer to her than ever before,” according to its description.

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But at the end of 2018, Jenner announced she would stop posting to the app in 2019.

Despite agreeing to sell the majority of the company last year, Jenner told Forbes back in 2018 that she envisioned herself working there “forever”.

 

She told the magazine she would perhaps pass the business on to her daughter, Stormi, one day.

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This article originally appeared on Business Insider. 

The Kardashian-Jenner clan’s most-followed member just turned 23 years old, but how did she end up fighting her claim to being the youngest billionaire in the world, and what are her plans for her most epic fortune?