Note: This post has been moved from Latest Picks.
And on the day Forbes unveiled its annual billionaires list that also saw it reported Fidiotbook’s bottom lip pouting Zuck lose $9billion as Facebook’s value plummets (thetimes.co.uk):
Kylie Jenner, 21, overtakes Mark Zuckerberg to become the youngest self-made billionaire of all time (dailymail.co.uk).
Kylie Jenner is officially the youngest self-made billionaire of all time, snatching the title from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
Jenner, 21, was finally given the title after months of speculation on Tuesday by Forbes as it unveiled its annual billionaires list.
Her wildly successful Kylie Cosmetics range of which she owns a 100 percent stake founded in 2015 sold and marketed online with only roving pop-up shops making her the youngest self-made billionaire, beating Zuck by two years and the eighth richest person in the world with a fortune of $62.3billion and making her the ultimate financial success story of the Insta-girls in the Insta-era:
She credits her success to her enormous social media following which ensured her customer base before she made her first product.
‘It’s the power of social media. I had such a strong reach before I was able to start anything,’ she said, adding that she sees the company going ‘very far’.
Although some of the Mail’s aging demographic are seemingly not quite Insta-ready in the comments section:
Indeed, those being the knock-off rather than the real thing to put on pouting lips. And of course, with the usual Kardie-Jenner vitriol to follow:
![“Empty dimwitted waxdoll Kylie Kris s [sic.] most lucrative invention so far.”](/blog/images/mb/2019/03/empty-dimwitted-waxdoll.png "“Empty dimwitted waxdoll Kylie Kris s [sic.] most lucrative invention so far.”")
Now, of course, some take issue with degree of how much she is “self-made” with regards the marketing power of the family brand but, not bad for the one who didn’t seem to have a particular thing to tout unlike her modelling slightly older sis Kendall when the Jenner girls came of age.
Updated 22nd March 2019
Kylie Jenner speaks out on ‘self-made billionaire’ status following online backlash (capitalxtra.com).
Saying her success is more a case of knowing her platform than having created one like former youngest self-made billionaire Zuckerberg:
“There’s really no other word to use other than self-made because that is the truth,” she said. “That is the category that I fall under.”
“I am a special case because before I started Kylie Cosmetics, I had a huge platform and lots of fans,”
And that:
“I did not get money from my parents past the age of 15. I used 100 percent of my own money to start the company, not a dime in my bank account is inherited… and I am very proud of that.”
It being much publicised that momager Kris had indeed cut her off financially at the age of 14 to encourage her to bankroll her own lifestyle (news.com.au, Jun. 2015). It’s undeniable that the family branding did assist her “special case” but then so did Zuckerberg’s parents resources providing private tuition and then networking via attendance at Harvard University where he launched Facebook (quora.com).
But as with her looks and body modifications, opinion on forums and plonker-pulling chat sites regarding her merit will inevitably remain presupposition regardless of anything she or any one else says.
Updated 29th May 2020
But after Kylie sold a 51% stake in her company to struggling French beauty giant Coty, owner of 77 brands including Covergirl, Max Factor and and Rimmel, for $600m in November last year some irregularities had come to light which have had Forbes change its mind on her billionaire status:
Kylie Jenner: Forbes drops celebrity from billionaire list (bbc.co.uk).
Forbes magazine has struck reality TV star and entrepreneur Kylie Jenner from its list of billionaires, and accused her family of inflating the value of her cosmetics business.
Saying that the family had gone to “unusual lengths” to present her company as more profitable with some alleged cooking of the books, and with seemingly with momager Kris having more of a hand in running.
Forbes said the family's accountant had provided it with tax returns that suggested the firm had done more than $300m in sales in 2016 and that publicists claimed sales of $330m the following year.
But information shared by Coty, which is publicly traded, showed Jenner's firm is "significantly smaller and less profitable than the family has spent years leading the cosmetics industry and media outlets, including Forbes, to believe", Forbes said.
But with Kylie refuting on social media:
In tweets, Jenner dismissed the article as "inaccurate statements and unproven assumptions lol".
"I've never asked for any title or tried to lie my way there," she wrote.
"I can name a list of 100 things more important right now than fixating on how much money I have," she added.
Inside Kylie Jenner’s web of lies—and why she’s no longer a billionaire (forbes.com).
“Kylie is a modern-day icon, with an incredible sense of the beauty consumer,” Coty chairman Peter Harf gushed when announcing the acquisition in November.
But in the deal’s fine print, a less flattering truth emerged. Filings released by publicly traded Coty over the past six months lay bare one of the family’s best-kept secrets: 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.
Allegedly Kylie Cosmetics and Kylie Skin having using some some creativity in the company’s draft tax returns and Coty’s share price falling more than 60% since the deal and tumbling further following Forbes’ allegations.
Updated 30th May 2020
Kylie Jenner’s lawyer demands retraction from Forbes over ‘false billionaire’ story (mirror.co.uk).
Lawyer Michael Kump said in a statement: "We have reviewed Forbes’ article accusing Kylie of engaging in deceit and a ‘web of lies’ to inflate her net worth. The article is filled with outright lie.
"Forbes’ accusation that Kylie and her accountants ‘forged tax returns’ is unequivocally false and we are demanding that Forbes immediately and publicly retract that and other statements."
But with a fraud legal beagle rolled out by the red-top suggesting she could be in hot water if any tax return creativity could be proved:
Kylie Jenner ‘could face jail over billionaire business lies’ (mirror.co.uk).
Now top financial fraud lawyer Jan Handzlik has suggested that Kylie could potentially be subject to a criminal investigation and even jail, should allegations of tax report fiddling prove true, and predicts the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) will spin into action soon.
Updated 31st May 2020
As to the case of who was responsible for ordering any tax return creativity:
Kylie Jenner ‘is refusing to answer calls from her momager Kris after Forbes claimed she faked her way to billionaire status’ (dailymail.co.uk).
A source said: 'Kris – who reportedly gets ten per cent of Kylie’s deals – is in panic mode.
'Kylie won’t answer the phone to Kris and is at a loss over who to trust. Kris is petrified Kylie could sack her or cut her off so tensions are at an all-time high.'
With MailOnline as eager as ever to see if it can get a reaction by contacting the mother-and-daughter who are said to be “freaking out” and fearing the scandal will not only hurt the brand but possibly have one or the other or both in an influencer inmate orange jumpsuit.
Updated 6th June 2020
And even if not actually a billionaire:
Kylie Jenner is officially Forbes’ highest-paid celebrity of 2020, despite recent questions (usatoday.com).
Despite the recent squabble, the "Kylie Cosmetics" founder was still named the highest-paid celebrity, who ranked second on last year's list. According to Forbes, Jenner made the bulk of her earnings after selling 51% of her beauty company to Coty, Inc., and has an estimated net worth of $900 million.
While Coty has has good news too, with those stocks in free fall surging after buyout firm KKR brought a stake (nypost.com).
Next page: Famed step-sisterly rivalry no doubt not helped as Kim Kardashian becomes a billionaire after selling her own company to Coty for $200 million and Seed Beauty sues Kylie over fears her deal with Coty will give their valuable tricks of the trade to their competitor.