At 21, mum-of-one Kylie Jenner is now world’s youngest self-made billionaire
The latest feather in Kylie Jenner’s cap is a controversial and pretty epic one. She’s been declared the youngest EVER self-made billionaire.
Ka-ching Kylie!
The protests at this title began immediately as people were quick to point out that Kylie had the Kardashian influence on her side. Many felt this meant she was not “self-made”.
You may remember that last year she was deemed to be an almost-billionaire and that’s when people began refuting the self-made claim.
Now Forbes has made things officially official, citing a Kylie Cosmetics expansion from purely online to bricks-and-mortar retail outlets as the catalyst for getting Kylie over the billionaire line.
Kylie launched her make-up line in late 2015. It was originally called Kylie Lip Kits and product literally sold out within minutes online. Spurred on by this success, the business expanded and by 2016 had been renamed Kylie Cosmetics and was turning over hundreds of millions of dollars in sales.
Read more stories about Kylie Jenner:
- Kylie Jenner quickly redesigned her house when she found out she was pregnant
- Kylie Jenner threw Stormi THE most bonkers first birthday party EVER
- New mum Kylie Jenner spent $10k on meal deliveries last year – and we get it
According to Forbes, her overall net worth is almost triple that of her more famous older sister, Kim Kardashian. Her business revenue is more than triple Kim’s KKW Beauty brand.
That said, the sisters appear to support and promote one another, rather than compete. Kim was quick to congratulate Kylie on her billionaire status earlier today and the pair have collaborated on crossover ranges together, sharing their customer base between them too.
??????♥️♥️♥️ https://t.co/N3WDqinfHx
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) March 5, 2019
“First selfie-made billionaire”
“She’s the youngest-ever self-made billionaire,” Forbes writes today. “Reaching a ten-figure fortune at a younger age than even Mark Zuckerberg (who was 23 when he hit that mark).” #GirlPower
“I didn’t expect anything. I did not foresee the future,” Kylie admits. “But [the recognition] feels really good. That’s a nice pat on the back.”
Kylie’s not only built a leading beauty brand over the last few years. She also became a mum at just 20 years of age and has starred in her own TV show (The Life of Kylie), appeared on countless magazine covers, popped up in high profile campaigns for big brands AND made time to appear on the family’s reality show Keeping Up With The Kardashians.
Basically she’s no slouch.
Keeping Up With Kylie
Kylie agrees much of her success is down to her huge following on the socials – over 175 million people follow her across Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
“It’s the power of social media,” she told Forbes. “I had such a strong reach before I was able to start anything.”
Forbes also notes that she’s “the first selfie-made billionaire” which might be true, but also seems a little dismissive.
You don’t build a billion dollar beauty brand without some serious commitment, hard work and a brilliant supportive team behind you. It’s clear that Kylie’s set on building an empire for herself and her toddler daughter Stormi, following in the footsteps of her Momager Kris Jenner.
#GoKylie
