How Kim Kardashian West built her $780 million empire

Rachel AskinasiOct 17, 2020, 03:43 IST

Kim Kardashian West has had a career spanning multiple industries, and she's eager to add law to her list.Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

Kim Kardashian West's net worth is reportedly $780 million, according to Forbes.
You may have seen her on E!'s "Keeping Up With the Kardashians," making a cameo during sitcoms like "Last Man Standing" and "30 Rock," or in movies like "Ocean's Eight."
She told Oprah in an interview that she admits a sex tape "introduced" her to the entertainment world, but she's become known for a lot more since then.
From founding KKW Beauty and clothing lines to pursuing a career as a lawyer, here's a look at the career of Kim Kardashian West.

While Kim Kardashian came from a family made famous by her well-known father, she had a few of her own breakout moments along the way.

Defense attorney for O.J. Simpson, Robert Kardashian sits in a court in Los Angeles Friday, June 9, 1995. AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian, Pool

Her skills as a stylist landed her a spot on TV's "The Simple Life."

Kim Kardashian West (left) and Paris Hilton (right). Stephen Shugerman/Getty Images

Kim told Variety that her career as a businesswoman actually dates back to before she appeared on TV.

Kim Kardashian West has 114 million Instagram followers. David Livingston/GettyImages

She said she developed a love of shopping while working in her father's office.

Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for The Girls' Lounge

She said that she saw the opportunity to make money and capitalized on it.

REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Kim eventually channeled her love for reselling to help build a retail business model.

Chris Polk/Contributor/Getty Images

In the following decade, the sisters opened more locations including one in Miami and one in the Soho neighborhood of New York City.

DASH Miami opened in May of 2009. Gustavo Caballero/Contributor/Getty Images

Kim said her original idea for the reality show, "Keeping Up with the Kardashians," was to bring attention to the DASH brand.

Bauer-Griffin/Contributor/Getty Images

It turned into a larger phenomenon than Kardashian imagined it would.

Philip Ramey Photography, LLC/Contributor/Getty Images

It was so successful, that several spinoffs happened down the line.

Ray Tamarra/Contributor/Getty Images

The Miami-based series lasted for three seasons.

"Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami"/E!

But before all the spinoffs came "Keeping Up With The Kardashians."

E! via UniversalPlaybackTV/YouTube

Shortly before the first episode of the family's original reality show, "Keeping Up With the Kardashians," aired in October 2007, Kim became the center of a scandal that some say catapulted her career.

Patrick McMullan/Contributor/Getty Images

Shortly before the first episode of the family's original reality show, "Keeping Up With the Kardashians," aired in October 2007, Kim became the center of a scandal that some say catapulted her career.

While the tape wasn't technically part of her career path, she did tell Oprah she's "not naive to the fact" that it helped launch her into fame.

Neilson Barnard/Getty Images

At the end of 2007, Kim posed for Playboy, and the shoot was captured on the first season of "Keeping Up With The Kardashians."

Rob Loud/Contributor/Getty Images

In 2008, E! gave fans of the reality show a second season.

In 2009, Kim released a three-DVD workout plan called "Fit in Your Jeans by Friday."

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

Also in 2009, Kim appeared in the movie, "Deep in the Valley."

"Deep in the Valley"/Persistent Entertainment

In April 2010, Kardashian Glamour Tan was released onto the beauty market.

Amazon

In 2011 reality TV viewers got to watch what happened as Kourtney and Kim opened their third DASH retail store in Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood.

E! Entertainment/YouTube

The pair lived in a suite at the Gansevoort Hotel with Kourtney, her then-boyfriend Scott Disick, and their son Mason Disick.

Jason Merritt/Getty Images

Their wedding was broadcast into the homes of people all over the US as "Kim's Fairytale Wedding: A Kardashian Event."

In 2011, Kim debuted a music video at the TAO nightclub New Years party for her song "Jam (Turn it Up)."

Ethan Miller/Getty

She told Andy Cohen she gave herself a hard time about the decision to do a music video for a long time.

"Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen"/Bravo TV/YouTube

Also in 2011, the sisters released a clothing line with retailer Sears aptly dubbed Kardashian Kollection.

Jason Merritt/TERM/Staff/Getty Images

In 2013, the brand was said to be "flopping big-time."

Stuart C. Wilson/Stringer/Getty Images

But of course, that wasn't the only thing Kim had going on at the time.

Amazon

And her third fragrance, "Kim Kardashian Love," was released for her wedding to Kris Humphries in 2011.

E! Entertainment/YouTube

In the summer of 2012 Kim launched her fourth fragrance, "True Reflection."

Amazon

In November 2012, Kim and her sisters launched Khroma Beauty — a full range of cosmetics products.

Kim Kardashian and friends pose in the lobby during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2007 February 6, 2007 in New York City Katy Winn/Getty Images

The line didn't last, and a former employee of the family said the real problem was likely the lack of involvement.

Jamie McCarthy/Staff/Getty Images

In 2014, Kim released her iPhone and Android game "Kim Kardashian: Hollywood."

Glu Mobile

Kim covered Paper Magazine in November 2014.

Paper Magazine

In 2015 Kim published a book titled "Selfish."

Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

The launch of Kimojis for iOS in December 2015 was huge for Apple's App Store.

App Store

On the day of the launch, Apple's App Store reportedly crashed.

In May Kim tweeted about her new children's clothing line with husband Kanye West called TheKidsSupply.

Getty

Also in 2015, Kim made $500,000 for one sponsored Instagram post about a morning sickness pill.

Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

Kim got back into the beauty business with KKW Beauty in 2017.

kimkardashian/Instagram

She went on to produce more products for the line, including a fragrance that made $10 million in one day.

Presley Ann/Getty Images

Her minimalist approach to the marketing process worked in her favor.

KKW Beauty

Kim also employed similar marketing tactics when she launched her shapewear line, SKIMS Solutionwear, in 2019.

SKIMS launched with its new name in September 2019. Vanessa Beecroft

In January 2020, Kim announced that the line would be sold at Nordstrom beginning in February.

Scott Olson/Getty Images

For the past few years, Kim has also been speaking at and even headlining conferences.

Vivien Killilea/Getty Images

Kardashian had a hand in a wide variety of businesses and continues to build out her brands — both personal and professional.

Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

In 2019, Kim announced that she's studying up for the 2022 bar exam.

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

Kardashian told Vogue that she was inspired to study law after she helped Alice Marie Johnson get released from prison in 2018.

Kim Kardashian and Alice Marie Johnson. NBC

Prison reform has been a cause that Kardashian continues to champion.

Kim Kardashian West leaves the West Wing after meetings at the White House in 2018. Carlos Barria/Reuters

She spoke at The New York Times DealBook conference about how she uses paid social media posts to support the cause.

Michael Cohen/Stringer/Getty Images

Kardashian has reportedly been apprenticing at a San Francisco law firm.

POOL / Getty

Cookies on the Business Insider India website

How Kim Kardashian West built her $780 million empire

While Kim Kardashian came from a family made famous by her well-known father, she had a few of her own breakout moments along the way.

Her skills as a stylist landed her a spot on TV's "The Simple Life."

Kim told Variety that her career as a businesswoman actually dates back to before she appeared on TV.

She said she developed a love of shopping while working in her father's office.

She said that she saw the opportunity to make money and capitalized on it.

Kim eventually channeled her love for reselling to help build a retail business model.

In the following decade, the sisters opened more locations including one in Miami and one in the Soho neighborhood of New York City.

Kim said her original idea for the reality show, "Keeping Up with the Kardashians," was to bring attention to the DASH brand.

It turned into a larger phenomenon than Kardashian imagined it would.

It was so successful, that several spinoffs happened down the line.

The Miami-based series lasted for three seasons.

But before all the spinoffs came "Keeping Up With The Kardashians."

Shortly before the first episode of the family's original reality show, "Keeping Up With the Kardashians," aired in October 2007, Kim became the center of a scandal that some say catapulted her career.

While the tape wasn't technically part of her career path, she did tell Oprah she's "not naive to the fact" that it helped launch her into fame.

At the end of 2007, Kim posed for Playboy, and the shoot was captured on the first season of "Keeping Up With The Kardashians."

In 2008, E! gave fans of the reality show a second season.

In 2009, Kim released a three-DVD workout plan called "Fit in Your Jeans by Friday."

Also in 2009, Kim appeared in the movie, "Deep in the Valley."

In April 2010, Kardashian Glamour Tan was released onto the beauty market.

In 2011 reality TV viewers got to watch what happened as Kourtney and Kim opened their third DASH retail store in Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood.

The pair lived in a suite at the Gansevoort Hotel with Kourtney, her then-boyfriend Scott Disick, and their son Mason Disick.

Their wedding was broadcast into the homes of people all over the US as "Kim's Fairytale Wedding: A Kardashian Event."

In 2011, Kim debuted a music video at the TAO nightclub New Years party for her song "Jam (Turn it Up)."

She told Andy Cohen she gave herself a hard time about the decision to do a music video for a long time.

Also in 2011, the sisters released a clothing line with retailer Sears aptly dubbed Kardashian Kollection.

In 2013, the brand was said to be "flopping big-time."

But of course, that wasn't the only thing Kim had going on at the time.

And her third fragrance, "Kim Kardashian Love," was released for her wedding to Kris Humphries in 2011.

In the summer of 2012 Kim launched her fourth fragrance, "True Reflection."

In November 2012, Kim and her sisters launched Khroma Beauty — a full range of cosmetics products.

The line didn't last, and a former employee of the family said the real problem was likely the lack of involvement.

In 2014, Kim released her iPhone and Android game "Kim Kardashian: Hollywood."

Kim covered Paper Magazine in November 2014.

In 2015 Kim published a book titled "Selfish."

The launch of Kimojis for iOS in December 2015 was huge for Apple's App Store.

On the day of the launch, Apple's App Store reportedly crashed.

In May Kim tweeted about her new children's clothing line with husband Kanye West called TheKidsSupply.

Also in 2015, Kim made $500,000 for one sponsored Instagram post about a morning sickness pill.

Kim got back into the beauty business with KKW Beauty in 2017.

She went on to produce more products for the line, including a fragrance that made $10 million in one day.

Her minimalist approach to the marketing process worked in her favor.

Kim also employed similar marketing tactics when she launched her shapewear line, SKIMS Solutionwear, in 2019.

In January 2020, Kim announced that the line would be sold at Nordstrom beginning in February.

For the past few years, Kim has also been speaking at and even headlining conferences.

Kardashian had a hand in a wide variety of businesses and continues to build out her brands — both personal and professional.

In 2019, Kim announced that she's studying up for the 2022 bar exam.

Kardashian told Vogue that she was inspired to study law after she helped Alice Marie Johnson get released from prison in 2018.

Prison reform has been a cause that Kardashian continues to champion.

She spoke at The New York Times DealBook conference about how she uses paid social media posts to support the cause.

Kardashian has reportedly been apprenticing at a San Francisco law firm.