Kylie Jenner has claimed her fortune is 100 per cent self-made, saying she hasn’t inherited any of her money.
I know, don’t even get me started.I mean, if I was born into a multi-million dollar family and became a reality TV star when I was 10 years old, I guess I wouldn’t consider myself to have inherited anything either…
Kylie made the bold claim in a recent interview, defending her title as Forbes‘ next youngest-ever self-made billionaire – which she’s soon set to become.
The reality TV star spoke about her wealth in an interview for Paper magazine’s ‘Transformation’ issue, stating she ‘really spent every last dime’ she had starting Kylie Cosmetics – a company which is now worth an estimated $900 million.
The 21-year-old said:
I really spent every last dime that I had starting it, not even knowing if it would be successful.
Which is fair enough, and it’s a huge achievement she’s created an almost billion dollar company in just a few short years – but I’m sorry, it’s just a tad much to say she’s self-made.
If I were to ‘spend every last dime’ I had starting a company, I’d be able to put maybe £1000 into it maximum – and that’s at a push. Kylie, on the other hand, was able to put 250 times more than that into Kylie Cosmetics, using $250,000 of her earnings from modelling and endorsements, Forbes reports.
Kylie did acknowledge her position in the Kardashian/Jenner family meant she had privileges other business owners did not, which might have given Kylie Cosmetics an edge:
I had such a huge platform, I had so many followers already and I had so many people watching me.
However, the 21-year-old was adamant the ‘self-made thing is true’, stating her parents ‘cut her off’ at the age of 15 and told her to start making her own way. Since then, Kylie says she hasn’t received any money from her parents, explaining:
My parents told me I needed to make my own money, it’s time to learn how to save and spend your own money, stuff like that. What I’m trying to say is I did have a platform, but none of my money is inherited.
Again with the big claims: ‘none of my money is inherited’. Wow. I think I need a moment just to take that in. Right, okay, I’m good.
Technically, she’s right in saying she’s self-made if Forbes‘ definition is anything to go by. After the actual dictionary threw some shade at Forbes for the sweeping generalisation, the magazine was forced to clarify their use of ‘self-made’ to mean someone who didn’t inherit a business.
There’s a scoring system too, to address the obvious advantage enjoyed by someone like Kylie Jenner, who scores a seven out of 10; someone who ‘inherited everything’ is scored just one, whereas 10 is awarded to ‘someone who not only grew up poor but also experienced substantial hardships – like Oprah Winfrey’.
Either way, it’s hard to ignore Kylie’s privilege here. Without her family fortune, she’d never have had such a huge platform, so her business would probably never have had the success it currently does.
Kudos to her for creating a successful business but c’mon, it’s time to acknowledge what really happened here.
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).