Forbes crowned Kylie Jenner the youngest 'self-made' billionaire, and it's sparked an outcry online
- Kylie Jenner, 21, is the youngest self-made billionaire, Forbes reported on Tuesday.
- Forbes estimated that Kylie Cosmetics, the company she runs and owns, is worth $900 million. That and the cash she has already pulled in from the business brings her to billionaire status, Forbes said.
- Some have taken issue with Forbes describing Jenner, whose ritzy upbringing was documented on "Keeping Up With the Kardashians," as "self-made."
Kylie Jenner was officially crowned the youngest self-made billionaire this week, and it has sparked an outcry online.
After saying last year that Jenner was on her way to becoming a billionaire, Forbes reported on Tuesday that the 21 year old had finally achieved billionaire status thanks to 9% revenue growth in her $900 million business, Kylie Cosmetics, in 2018, fueled by a partnership with Ulta that brought her products to its more than 1,000 US stores.
"Add in the cash Jenner has already pulled from the profitable business, and the 21-year-old is now a billionaire, with an estimated fortune of $1 billion," the Forbes reporter Natalie Robehmed wrote. "She's the youngest-ever self-made billionaire, reaching a ten-figure fortune at a younger age than even Mark Zuckerberg (who was 23 when he hit that mark)."
Some people have taken issue with Jenner being described as "self-made," however, given her glitzy upbringing.
Jenner is the daughter of Kris Jenner - who was previously married to the prominent lawyer Robert Kardashian - and the famed Olympian Caitlyn Jenner. Her upbringing was documented in the reality TV show, "Keeping Up With the Kardashians."
However, at this point, Kylie Jenner's net worth far exceeds that of anyone else in her family, including her sister Kim Kardashian West.
The 21-year-old's net worth has skyrocketed thanks to the success of Kylie Cosmetics. Forbes conservatively valued the company at $900 million, with an estimated $360 million in sales last year. Jenner is both the face of the company and the sole owner.
Further, Forbes' "self-made" designation is not a value judgment, but a way to distinguish between extremely rich people who inherited wealth and those whose fortune was made primarily in other ways.
"We consider any person who built her own fortune, and didn't inherit the money, to be self-made," Forbes previously said of its methodology. "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."
