Kylie Jenner is No Longer a Billionaire

Social Media went on a brief frenzy when Forbes published an article telling the world that Kylie Jenner is no longer a billionaire. The crazy part here is that some suggest that she may never have been a billionaire in the first place. 

Laying Down the Facts

If you remember in 2019, Forbes dubbed Jenner as the “Youngest Self-Made Billionaire Ever”. In November last year, Jenner sold 51% of her brand to Coty for $600 Million. This means Kylie Cosmetics is valued at $1.2 Billion. Forbes went on to call this one of the biggest celebrity cashouts ever. 

Contrary to what the Jenners believe in, some speculate that the $600 Million price tag paid by was far from what it is really worth. According to some of Forbes’ editors, the Jenners have “inflated” their wealth in the documents provided. They believe that due to the whole COVID-19 situation and the new information on hand, Kylie Jenner may really not be a billionaire. 

Kylie Cosmetics started in November 2015 with 15,000 lip kits. Using clever Instagram marketing, the kits were gone in less than a minute. The brand states that in the first 18 months, they made a whopping $400 million. Which in Forbes’ words was “Hard to believe”.

In 2017, the Jenners succeeded in getting the word out that their business is worth $420 Million in its first 18 months. This figure was published in WWD (sometimes called the bible of fashion). This caused the number to gain traction, effectively changing the opinions of the doubtful. Later that year, Kris Jenner provided Forbes some information on the brand. She said that their sales for 2017 went up by 7%. Kylie appeared on the cover of Forbes’ July 2018 issue. 

Coty’s Presentation Was All it Took

Coty presented the financial statement of Kylie’s brand for the past year before the deal. It stated that the sales for 2018 went up by 40% or $125 Milion. Kylie’s skincare line, released in May 2019 was said to have made $100 Million in its first two and a half months. This proved to be false, too. According to Coty’s report, the skincare brand is on track to finish the year with a measly $25 Million in sales. 

Forbes offered a quick answer as to why there is a disparity between the numbers: Kylie’s brand could have fallen by more than half. Rakuten states that if this were true, then there’s a 62% decline between 2016 and 2018. 

In the purchase agreement between Kylie and Coty, there is a clause saying “ KMJ 2018 Irrevocable Trust”. This means that upon the sale, the trust would get some sort of capital or ownership interest. Long story short: Kylie owns 44.1% of Kylie Cosmetics, less than the 4(% reported. 

Recalculating Kylie Jenner’s Net Worth

Forbes adjusted their calculations based on her “more realistic” accounting of her personal finances. This time, Forbes states that her worth is just below $900 Million. More than a third of that amount is from the $340 Million she would pocket from the deal. The rest is composed of her revised earnings, a more conservative prediction of her profitability, and the value of her remaining shares in Kylie Cosmetics. 

Upon the publication of Forbes’ article, the Jenners’ representatives sent a letter to Forbes. The statement denied the accusations of providing falsified numbers in the documents given to Forbes.