Kylie Jenner is incredibly wealthy and her business is thriving, but she’s been less than honest about the extent of her success. There’s a lot of speculation that the tax returns the Jenners used were fake, and while we can’t prove it for certain, the signs are pretty convincing. Kylie Cosmetics isn’t as big or successful as they led us—and Forbes—to believe. Kylie Jenner is no longer a billionaire.
The reality is that Kylie Cosmetics was built on a mix of exaggeration and falsehoods, with the goal of making Kylie the first billionaire sister. Even though Forbes called out the Jenners for providing misleading tax documents and inflating their revenue by hundreds of millions, Kylie and Kris Jenner continue to claim they did nothing wrong. So, let’s dive into the details.
Kris and the rest of the Kardashians know very well that Kylie isn’t their first self-made billionaire—because she’s not a billionaire at all. They’ve used this narrative to boost Kylie’s profile and attract attention, despite it being based on false information. Kylie launched her cosmetics line in 2014, turning her huge social media following into a dedicated customer base. In the beginning, Kylie Cosmetics did incredibly well; her $29 lipstick kits sold out almost instantly—15,000 kits in just a minute. I remember refreshing the website right at 9:00 AM and seeing it immediately marked as “sold out.” It was quite the achievement.
Kylie Cosmetics wasn’t a game-changer because of the lipstick itself—even though it was a bit different from other products out there. What really made it stand out was Kylie’s marketing strategy. She managed to create a huge buzz without spending much on social media posts, and that translated into big sales. A lot of people were checking out her social media and then heading to her website. While Kris Jenner handled the financial side, Kylie did most of the promoting on her own. I find it interesting how the term “hawk” is used here to describe Kylie pushing her products—it really highlights her active role.
Kylie sold her products exclusively on her own website until late 2018, when she signed a deal with Ulta for distribution. One of our subscribers sent me some research on this, so a big thanks to them! By late September, Kylie had also branched out into skincare and personal fragrances. Then in November, Coty bought 51% of her brand, giving them majority control. Kylie kept 49%, and with Coty’s $600 million investment, the company’s value jumped to over a billion dollars. This deal pushed Kylie’s net worth past the billion-dollar mark.
This brings us to the headline that made waves: Kylie being labeled the first self-made billionaire. While she definitely did some impressive business, the term “self-made” can be a bit misleading given her background. When Forbes put her on the cover of their richest self-made women issue at just 21, they picked her to represent all the wealthy self-made women out there.
Forbes did their homework before making such claims. They reported that the family’s accountant showed tax returns indicating the company made over $300 million in 2016, with sales rising to $330 million the following year. The family enjoyed the spotlight, with Kylie thanking Forbes and Kris showing pride, though it’s clear Kris played a big role in orchestrating this publicity. Kylie’s 21st birthday bash in West Hollywood celebrated her financial success, with bartenders wearing T-shirts featuring her Forbes cover. Travis Scott, her then-partner, even gave a nod to this achievement in his song “Sicko Mode” with the line, “Baby mama cover Forbes, got these other b**ches shook.”
In 2020, Forbes uncovered that the Coty deal had exposed a significant gap between Kylie Jenner’s reported business profits and reality. The revised estimate of her net worth fell to $900 million, stripping her of her billionaire status. Although $900 million is still an impressive figure, it highlights how much her public persona and financial reality diverged. This situation reflects the pressures and inflated egos that come with maintaining such high standards.
According to Forbes, Coty, which bought a 51% share of Kylie Jenner’s business in November 2019, revealed financial data showing that her business was much smaller and less profitable than previously claimed. This raises concerns about the accuracy of the information shared with Forbes and whether there might have been any illegal activity involved in misrepresenting the business’s value.
While Kylie Jenner is undeniably wealthy and her business is successful, it seems she may have overstated her financial success. With Coty holding the majority stake, they had access to the actual financials, which showed revenues of $177 million over the past year—less than the $300 million that had been reported. Additionally, Coty’s figures indicated a 40% sales increase from 2018, revealing that the business only made around $125 million that year, far short of the $360 million claimed by the Jenners.
Kylie Jenner’s skincare line, which debuted in May 2019, was said to have made $100 million in revenue within its first month and a half, according to her team. However, official filings reveal that it was actually on track to earn only $25 million by year-end. This discrepancy raises questions about the authenticity of those figures. Was Kris Jenner inflating the numbers to make the brand appear far more valuable in negotiations? It’s hard to believe they wouldn’t anticipate being found out, and Coty might eventually realize they overpaid for the brand. If I were Coty, I’d be asking for a refund.
Tax returns signed by Kylie, along with confirmation from analysts and industry experts, suggest that her business was genuinely making around $300 million a year. While we can’t conclusively prove the tax returns are fake, there’s a strong suspicion they might be. Regardless, it’s clear that the Jenners have been misleading the public for years. For example, if Kylie Cosmetics made $125 million in 2018, how could it have generated $307 million in 2016 and $330 million in 2017? A drop like that is hard to explain.
There’s also the issue of profit margins. Forbes had estimated that Kylie’s business was achieving a 44% net margin, but Coty’s filings suggest the real margin is closer to 25%, indicating higher expenses than originally claimed. This shows a significant difference between what was presented to the public and what was actually true.
The sale has exposed a major secret: Kylie Cosmetics isn’t as big or successful as the Jenners led everyone to believe. They used their media influence to shape Kylie’s image and boost the business’s perceived value, leading to a $600 million deal. Even though they still have media power, it was especially potent at the time, allowing them to create an image that drove up the brand’s valuation.
Kylie Jenner’s team initially claimed that her business made $360 million in revenue in 2018. In reality, the figure was only $125 million. They also reported that her skincare line pulled in $100 million in its first month and a half, but it was actually on track to make just $25 million that year. These discrepancies suggest some serious exaggeration and possible fraud.
Forbes had previously said Kylie’s business earned over $300 million in 2016 and $330 million in 2017. However, filings from Coty showed these numbers were much lower, confirming that the Jenners were not entirely truthful. Kylie’s business isn’t as successful or valuable as it was made out to be, and she’s no longer a billionaire. The Jenners misled the public, creating a false narrative about Kylie’s success.
Moreover, if Kris Jenner controls the trust, Kylie actually owns around 44.1% of Kylie Cosmetics, not 49%. This changes the narrative about her billionaire status, which went largely unnoticed when it was lost. Despite news about the Cody deal that seemed to confirm her billionaire status, Forbes later adjusted her net worth to just under $900 million. This includes $340 million from the Cody deal, showing that Kylie sold a majority of her company and inflated her billionaire status. Now, with a net worth close to $900 million, it’s clear that much of this is due to the inflated claims about her earlier success.
Cody thought they were getting a great deal, so an investigative reporter decided to dig deeper into the claim that Cody was a billionaire. They reached out to former employees, visited labs, and managed to get their hands on some documents. The details of how they got the documents aren’t clear, but the reporter stressed that having verified documents is crucial. The documents they got seemed to pass the test—they showed impressively high numbers and looked pretty legitimate. This raises a question: if those documents were fake, wouldn’t Cody have a case for suing, especially since it involves the IRS?
Every year, there’s a back-and-forth with Kylie’s team about her billionaire status and her spot on the Celebrity 100 list. The Jenners care a lot about these rankings, but when Forbes started probing into discrepancies and lies, they suddenly stopped answering questions. Forbes didn’t back down, though. They kept digging and eventually realized they’d been misled.
People were outraged when Forbes called Kylie a self-made billionaire, and even Dictionary.com got involved. They updated their definition of “self-made” to mean “having succeeded in life,” using Kylie Jenner as an example. The reaction suggests that many, including Dictionary.com, didn’t take the claim seriously because it didn’t stand up to scrutiny.
After Forbes exposed some financial inconsistencies and faced backlash for labeling Kylie Jenner a “self-made billionaire,” they quickly distanced themselves from her. They published a scathing article titled “Kylie’s Web of Lies,” stripping her of her billionaire title. It’s pretty shocking, especially given Kris Jenner’s tight relationships with media outlets. Forbes put Kylie on their cover as a self-made billionaire and then turned around and criticized her so harshly. That’s a major about-face, and it definitely raises questions about Forbes’ credibility. Kylie responded on Twitter, saying, “What am I even waking up to? I thought this was a reputable site. All I see are a number of inaccurate statements and unproven assumptions. LOL. I’ve never asked for any title or tried to lie my way there. Ever. Period.”
I’m not sure what to make of Kylie’s defense. Maybe she’s right, but I have doubts about Kris Jenner. After the Forbes article dropped, Kylie and Kris’s reps fired back with a letter disputing the claims and insisting their tax returns were accurate. It might not have been a formal cease and desist, but it was definitely a strong response. What’s wild to me is how quickly Forbes flipped from celebrating Kylie to tearing her down. It makes me question their reliability. They’re clearly more interested in maintaining their own reputation than sticking by their previous claims.
In other news, Cody’s stock price has fallen over 60%. That’s a huge drop and shows that Wall Street thinks Cody may have overpaid and that Kylie’s net worth might not be as high as claimed. Kylie’s businesses seem to have plateaued, and it looks like Kim Kardashian, with her Skims line and acting career, might be closer to reaching true billionaire status. Paris Hilton is also in the running, but hasn’t hit that mark yet either. Given all this, it’s hard to take Kylie’s billionaire claim seriously. Kylie Cosmetics was a big hit at first, but the numbers just don’t add up. What do you think? Let me know in the comments below.