Kylie Jenner has officially been named the youngest self-made billionaire of all time, at the tender age of 21.
Today, Forbes released its 33rd annual ranking of the world’s billionaires, which includes 2,153 people.
As predicted by the magazine last year, Kylie has landed on the 2019 Forbes Billionaires list for the first time, making her the youngest billionaire in the world – AND the youngest self-made billionaire of all time.
In a press release, Forbes wrote: “Jenner owns 100% of Kylie Cosmetics, the three-year-old beauty business that did an estimated $360 million in sales last year.”
“Most of the company’s revenue comes from e-commerce, but the company also has a new deal with Ulta that put its goods in all the makeup retailer’s 1,163 U.S. stores. Jenner was ranked at number 2,057 on this year’s list.”
The total combined net worth of this year’s billionaires is $8.7 trillion, and of the total, 1,450 members are self-made.
Luisa Kroll, Assistant Managing Editor of Wealth, Forbes, said, “The billionaire ranks prove that even the world’s richest are not immune to economic forces and the volatility of world markets. Yet, even with strong headwinds, resourceful and relentless entrepreneurs find new ways to get rich.”
The news comes after Forbes faced serious backlash last year, after they reported that Kylie was on track to become the youngest-ever self-made billionaire.
The mother-of-one, who turned 21 last August, graced the front cover of Forbes for their America’s Women Billionaires issue in July 2018.
Alongside a powerful image of Kylie, the front cover declared, “At 21, she’s set to be the youngest-ever self-made billionaire. Welcome to the era of extreme fame leverage.”
After the cover appeared online, critics immediately took to social media to call out Forbes’ definition of “self-made”.
One person tweeted, “‘Self-made’? Really? It’s easy to become a billionaire when you’re parents are millionaires…It’s called generational wealth + nepotism. Try Oprah Winfrey, who was raised on a small Mississippi farm by her grandmother, for self-made.”
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Another wrote, “Calling Kylie Jenner a ‘self-made billionaire’ is like claiming you made soup from scratch because you opened a can and reheated it.”
A third person commented, “Calling Kylie Jenner self-made without acknowledging anywhere the incredible headstart she had is what allows people to turn around and look at poor people and ask them why they haven’t become billionaires yet. Her story is not inspiring or motivating for anyone.”
Whether you agree with the term “self-made” or not, Kylie’s beauty brand Kylie Cosmetics has raked in $630million since it launched in 2015.
Forbes wrote, “Even using a conservative multiple, and applying our standard 20% discount, Forbes values her company, which has since added other cosmetics like eye shadow and concealer, at nearly $800 million. Jenner owns 100% of it.”
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“Add to that the millions she’s earned from TV programs and endorsing products like Puma shoes and PacSun clothing, and $60 million in estimated after-tax dividends she’s taken from her company, and she’s conservatively worth $900 million, which along with her age makes her the youngest person on the fourth annual ranking of America’s Richest Self-Made Women.”
The 20-year-old employs seven full-time and five part-time employees at her company, outsourcing production and sales.
A lot has changed for the reality star in the last year, as she welcomed her first child Stormi with boyfriend Travis Scott in February 2018.
And luckily for Stormi, Kylie wants her five-month-old daughter to inherit her business one day.
She told Forbes, “Maybe one day [I’ll] pass this on to Stormi. If she’s into it.”
While Kylie wants to keep her Kylie Cosmetics brand “forever”, momager Kris wants to keep their options open, as the 62-year-old said selling the company is “always something that we’re willing to explore.”
As with all of her kids, Kris pockets 10 per cent of Kylie’s earnings – which means last year alone, Kylie paid her mum a whopping $17million.
