The youngest sister of the Kardashian-Jenner clan, Kylie Jenner is now a billionaire, with an estimated fortune of $1 billion, according to Forbes magazine.
The magazine on Tuesday released its annual ranking of the planet’s richest people for 2019, announcing that Jenner not only made the billionaires’ list for the first time but is the world’s youngest billionaire as well.
Kylie Jenner is the youngest-ever self-made billionaire, reaching a 10-figure fortune at a younger age than even Mark Zuckerberg https://t.co/P18m2ldrQk #ForbesBillionaires pic.twitter.com/RrenNvGbbE
— Forbes (@Forbes) March 5, 2019
Forbes credited Jenner’s billionaire status to the success of her makeup company, Kylie Cosmetics, which she founded in 2015 with the sale of the wildly popular lip kits – a set which included liquid lipsticks and matching lip liner.
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Jenner expanded the line to include a range of cosmetics such as blush, highlighter, concealers, and eyeshadow palettes. She also launched makeup collaborations with her sisters Khloe Kardashian and Kim Kardashian West, whose net worth is $350 million, according to a 2018 ranking by Forbes.
‘I didn’t expect anything. I did not foresee the future,’ Jenner told the magazine. ‘But [the recognition] feels really good. That’s a nice pat on the back.’
She attributed the success of her business to her millions of followers and ‘power of social media.’ She announces product launches, previews new items and announces the Kylie Cosmetics shades she’s wearing directly to the 175 million-plus who follow her across Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
‘I had such a strong reach before I was able to start anything,’ Jenner said.
Many Twitter users are outraged at the distinction of ‘self-made’ woman that Forbes awarded the celebrity.
Haven’t we gone over this?
Self-made: Having succeeded in life unaided.https://t.co/g0ZHDSkVfu https://t.co/3O48zKsInN
— Dictionary.com (@Dictionarycom) March 5, 2019
To explain Forbes’ distinction, Luisa Kroll of Forbes wrote that the magazine defines their ‘self-made’ title as someone who didn’t inherit wealth.
‘We consider any person who built her own fortune, and didn’t inherit the money, to be self-made,’ Kroll said.’“So top executives at tech firms who are compensated for helping significantly grow companies make the ranks but not second generation women running family businesses.’