Kylie Jenner may not be the world’s youngest “self-made” billionaire—at least according to a detailed new report by Forbes.
The wealth-tracking financial magazine published a scathing story about Jenner, 22, titled “Inside Kylie Jenner’s Web of Lies — and “Why She’s No Longer a Billionaire” on May 29 that claims the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star’s finances apparently fall short of billionaire status after all.
“Kylie’s business is significantly smaller, and less profitable, than the family has spent years leading the cosmetics industry and media outlets, including Forbes, to believe,” Forbes reports, charging that Jenner fudged company figures and tax returns to “look even richer.”
Jenner launched her hugely popular Kylie Cosmetics in 2015, when she was just 18. In 2019, Forbes included her in its billionaires list, and honored her again with the billionaire title in 2020. In November 2019, Jenner reportedly sold 51 percent of her cosmetics brand to beauty company Coty for $600 million, pushing the value of Kylie Cosmetics to approximately $1.2 billion.
But according to Forbes, they are now rescinding Jenner’s billionaire status, saying those sales were “significantly smaller than people have been led to believe.”
Forbes reports:
Revenues over a 12-month period preceding the deal: $177 million according to the Coty presentation—far lower than the published estimates at the time. More problematic, Coty said that sales were up 40 percent from 2018, meaning the business only generated about $125 million that year, nowhere near the $360 million the Jenners had led Forbes to believe.
The business publication adds, “Taking all this new information into account and factoring in the pandemic, Forbes has recalculated Kylie’s net worth and concluded that she is not a billionaire.”
Forbes, which said Jenner stopped responding to their requests for comment, concludes Jenner’s personal fortune is estimated at just under $900 million, with more than a third of her earnings coming from the Coty sale. Which, if true, still sounds incredibly impressive for a 22-year-old who never went to college.
Later on Friday, Jenner appeared to laugh off the report in a response on Twitter.
what am i even waking up to. 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
— Kylie Jenner (@KylieJenner) May 29, 2020
“what am i even waking up to. i thought this was a reputable site..” Jenner tweeted to her 33.7 million followers, referring to the Forbes report challenging how rich she is.
“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.”