If the American business tycoon’s greatest talent is the ability to turn a negative into a positive and a want into a need, then Kylie Jenner is the living embodiment of the entrepreneurial spirit.
Kylie proved that she has a firm understanding of how the rich stay rich when she looked at the online commentary about her sizable lips (much of it mocking) and recognized a market niche.
These days Kylie’s cosmetics line is worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
The most valuable part of the business, of course, is not the makeup itself, but Kylie’s name.
Kylie covers the new issue of Forbes magazine as a symbol of the era of “extreme fame leverage.”
Some might say her success is built on a shaky foundation, as young people and social media audiences are notoriously fickle.
But the thing about Kylie is, she’s in on the joke — and she’s laughing all the way to the bank:
Kylie Covers Forbes
Kylie covers the new issue of Forbes, a major honor for the young mogul. The magazine touts her cosmetics brand as being worth $800 million.
What’s She Worth?
According to Forbes, Kylie is a soon-to-be billionaire — but she’s not quite there yet. Fortunately, she’s not entirely dependent on the popularity of her lip kits to reach that goal. As her fans know, that’s just one of many revenue streams for Kylizzle.
Insta-bucks
An independent market research firm recently concluded that Kylie pulls in roughly a million dollars every time she posts sponsored content on her Instagram page. And if you follow her on the ‘Gram, you know that’s quite often.
The Family Business
And of course, there’s the reality show that started it all. Unlike her sisters, Kylie isn’t a producer on Keeping Up With the Kardashian, but she still rakes in a massive salary as one of the stars of the show.
Sibling Rivalry
It’s long been rumored that Kylie has eclipsed Kim as the family’s top earner, and Forbes confirms this fact in the magazine’s lengthy profile of the cosmetics mogul.
In the Driver’s Seat
“Like Kardashian West, [Kylie] has leveraged her assets to gain both fame and money,” Forbes writes. “But while her sister is best-known for the former, Jenner has proved adept at the latter. In historic fashion.”
The Beginning
It all started with those lips — and the $29 lip kit that Kylie obsessives shelled out for in droves.
Major Growth
Kylie’s brand took off like a rocket, with earnings of roughly $330 million in 2017 alone. And it only got bigger from there.
On Her Grind
As Forbes notes, the Kylie brand has since expanded in a major way, adding eye shadow and concealer to its product line. They now estimate the company to be worth roughly $800 million.
The Boss
Forbes notes that Kylie owns 100% of the company.
The Breakdown
As for Kylie’s other earnings, the magazine cites lucrative endorsement deals with companies like Puma and PacSun among her many revenue streams.
The Big Bucks
According to Forbes, Kylie has taken $60 million in estimated after-tax dividend, bringing her total net worth to roughly $900 million.
Not Too Shabby
With that impressive total in mind, the magazine has officially declared Kylie “the youngest person on the fourth annual ranking of America’s Richest Self-Made Women.”
For Reference
For the sake of comparison, Forbes notes that Kim Kardashian is worth about $350 million. Not too shabby … but not Kylie-level cash.
Not Slowing Down
The magazine points out that in just one year’s time, Kylie could become the youngest billionaire ever, edging out Mark Zuckerberg, who reached that milestone at the ripe old age of 23.
How Does She Do It?
So perhaps it’s fitting that the young mother has a Zuckerberg brand to thank for her incredible success.
Thanks, Instagram!
“Social media is an amazing platform,” Jenner tells Forbes. “I have such easy access to my fans and my customers.”
Follow the Leader
The most-oft cited evidence of Kylie’s social media popularity is her 110 million Instagram followers. But it’s worth noting that 16 million follow her company directly, and another 25 million follow Kylie on Twitter. Unless you buy ad time on the Super Bowl, you just can’t reach an audience that size in 2018.
Big Things
Obviously, the future looks bright for Kylie. And those who know her best say she hasn’t let her tremendous success distract from her duties as a mom. Who would’ve thought we’d see the day when Kylie would become one of her generation’s most worthy role models?