- Kylie Jenner has been exposed by the very company that afforded her billionaire status.
- The star made waves when she was hailed as the youngest “self-made” billionaire in 2019, but Forbes says it was all a lie.
- Jenner allegedly fudged the figures to get into the coveted club.
Cast your mind back to 2019. It was a simpler time when humanity’s greatest threat was a possible second term in office for Donald Trump. And Kylie Jenner was riding high on the wave of success as Forbes’ new woman of the hour.
The company crowned her the youngest self-made billionaire of all-time. Many of us balked at the term “self-made,” but little did we know that as laughable as it was then, it would be even more hilarious now.
Kylie is a self-made billionaire, alright, but not in the way you think.
In an explosive new article, Forbes says that the youngest Jenner purposely fabricated her income to get to billionaire status. Kylie didn’t just inflate her lips to build her brand. She inflated her bank balance, too.
According to the magazine, Kylie’s business isn’t the behemoth that she led people to believe. It’s all come to light after she sold 51% of Kylie Cosmetics to Coty at the start of 2020.
At the time, it was estimated to be a deal worth $1.2 billion. I don’t want to bore you with too much number talk, but basically, Coty’s reported figures aren’t anywhere near the figures Kylie presented to Forbes.
Forbes: Kylie Jenner Straight-Up Lied
Forbes has gone straight for the jugular on this one, publishing an in-depth expose detailing the discrepancies they found.
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% from 2018, meaning the business only generated about $125 million that year, nowhere near the $360 million the Jenners had led Forbes to believe.
It doesn’t just stop with Kylie Cosmetics, either.
Kylie made a big song and dance about her new skincare line, imaginatively called Kylie Skin.
The new range was released to great fanfare in 2019, but Jenner didn’t just get creative in the board room. She got creative with the figures, too:
Kylie’s skincare line, which launched in May 2019, did $100 million in revenues in its first month and a half, Kylie’s reps told us. The filings show the line was actually “on track” to finish the year with just $25 million in sales.
When all’s said and done, Forbes believes that the influencer is actually worth around $900 million.
Somewhere in Palo Alto, Mark Zuckerberg is doing a happy dance and waiting to receive confirmation that yes, he’s the youngest self-made billionaire once more.
For her part, Kylie claims she didn’t do a thing wrong:
Kylie Won’t Recover From This
Some people may throw their hands up and say, “Hey, what’s $100 million between billionaires?” But let’s not forget the immense publicity that reaching billionaire status gave to Jenner.
Not only did it seem to legitimize her business, but it also helped propel the Kardashian media machine even further. This is a family that feeds off of their infamous reputation for being filthy rich.
These falsified accounts just go one step further to prove that it’s all a bunch of vapid nonsense. While it doesn’t discount what Kylie has done with her business, it does demonstrate that they’re avid social climbers willing to defraud one of the biggest publications in the industry.
This tea is so hot that even the Kardashians might not be able to put a spin on this one.
They’ve managed to navigate gender transitions, infidelity, and armed robbery. But can they really pull the wool over people’s eyes with this clanger?
Kylie might think she can fool us all into believing that her ample bosom is the result of hormones and not silicone, but Forbes has got her with her back against the wall.
She’s going to need more than a D-cup to bounce back from this accusation.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of CCN.com.
This article was edited by Josiah Wilmoth.
