In 2019, Forbes named Kylie Jenner (the youngest of the Kardashian) the youngest self-made billionaire. The reality TV star sold 51% of Kylie Cosmetics to publicly traded Coty, inc. in November 2019 for $600 million; she pocketed $540 million, pretax. Jenner first appeared on Forbes Billionaires list in March 2019 at age 21; she is now worth roughly $900 million.
Due to Forbes’ reporting, Jenner likely never was. Now she is closer to $900 millionaire and not $1,000,000,000, she and her team led the world to believe. How did Forbes, the same magazine that initially declared Jenner a self-made billionaire discover that she wasn’t?
Forbes said the family’s accountant had provided it with tax returns that suggested the firm had done more than $300 million in sales in 2016 and that publicists claimed sales of $330 million 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.
Coty’s presentation to investors about the business suggested the firm did only $125 million in sales in 2018.
Forbes asked in the article, “If Kylie cosmetic did $125 million in sales in 2018, how could it have done $307 million in 2016 (as the company’s supposed tax return state) or $330 million in 2017”
Despite the magazine’s downgrade, Jenner is hardly hurting. The article led to a response from Jenner, who tweeted “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”