In March 2019, Forbes named Kylie Jenner as the youngest self-made billionaire ever, but how did she accumulate this wealth?
Kylie Jenner, the youngest of the Kardashian-Jenner family gained her wealth from her TV career on Keeping Up With The Kardashians, her Kylie Cosmetics make-up brand, and her social media career. Her estimated worth as of 2019 was $1 billion.
Looking at everything from her early TV career to her $900 million cosmetics business, we explore how Kylie Jenner was rich even before the age of 20.
TV Career
Kylie Jenner, daughter of Kris Jenner and Caitlyn Jenner, and youngest half-sister to the Kardashian siblings starred on the E! reality TV series Keeping Up With The Kardashians (KUWTK) since 2007.
It is thought that, if the profits were split evenly, the early seasons of KUWTK would have seen each member of the family possibly taking home around $500,000 per episode. This was estimated to have risen to around $900,000 in the later seasons.
With over 200 episodes and over 15 seasons, there’s no doubt that the young Jenner would have made a substantial amount from her appearances.
Solo Projects & Collaborations
In 2012, at age 14, Kylie and her sister, Kendall, collaborated with the clothing brand PacSun and created their ‘Kendall & Kylie’ line. Then in 2013, Jenner signed a $100,000 endorsement with the Nicole by OPI nail brand, creating two of her own nail lacquers.
In March 2015, Jenner became the ambassador for the skincare brand, Nip+Fab, and soon after she launched her own lipstick line called Kylie Lip Kit. In the same year, Kylie and Kendall launched their own clothing line, Kendall + Kylie, with British fashion retailer, Topshop.
A few months later, Kylie launched her own personalized website and mobile app. Although the app has now been shut down, it reportedly made $105,170 on its first day.
In February 2016, Jenner’s $29 lip kits were sold out within 10 minutes of going on sale. In that same month, she renamed the brand to Kylie Cosmetics and the number of kits produced increased from 15,000 to 50,000.
In late 2016, Jenner then became the new face of PUMA sports brand, which she later quit for Adidas in 2018. In 2017, she launched her spin-off TV show, Life of Kylie.
In April 2019, Jenner collaborated with her older half-sister, Kim Kardashian, to launch a fragrance. Very soon after, Jenner launched her own skincare brand, Kylie Skin.
Kylie Cosmetics has sold more than $630 million worth of makeup in the first two years. In 2018, the brand brought in around $125 million in revenue due to an exclusive distribution deal with beauty retailer, Ulta.
In November 2019, the Kylie Cosmetics brand was valued at $1.2 billion when Jenner sold a majority stake to Coty Inc. for $600 million, with Christoph Honnefelder becoming the new CEO.
Social Media Presence
Jenner often endorses big brands on her Instagram, including Adidas, Sugar Bear Hair, and Fashion Nova. According to D’Marie Analytics, just one of Jenner’s Instagram posts is worth around $1 million in advertising, making her the highest-paid Instagram influencer of 2019.
With over 200 million followers across her social media platforms, Jenner also conducts most of her Kylie Cosmetics and Kylie Skin business through her Instagram posts.
According to sources, in 2018, Jenner, who is typically a huge advocate of Snapchat, tweeted about how she doesn’t use the platform anymore. Shares in the platform dropped by 6% that day, with an estimated loss between $1.3 billion and $1.6 billion.
In February 2018, Jenner gave birth to her daughter, Stormi, with whom she co-parents with rapper, Travis Scott. Her announcement of the birth reportedly broke the Instagram record for most ‘likes’ on a baby announcement.
Keeping Up With Kylie
Despite already being a part of a privileged and elite world, it was not until Jenner’s reality show appearances alongside her siblings, when she began to enjoy the hefty paychecks.
Since then, Jenner’s staggering wealth can no doubt be attributed to her cosmetics and skincare empire, as well as her various collaborations and endorsements with globally recognized brands. Her record-breaking presence on social media also ensures that she is regularly paid in the millions.