HOT TOPIC Forbes article: How 20-Year-Old Kylie Jenner Built A $900 Million Fortune In Less Than 3 Years

[Andy Black]

Incredible story and numbers.

How 20-Year-Old Kylie Jenner Built A $900 Million Fortune In Less Than 3 Years

And in 2019:

Forbes named Kylie Jenner the youngest self-made billionaire ever. Haters disagree.

What's your biggest takeaway?

For me it's how big the numbers can be when you affect millions, and how business minded that family is.

 

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[1Ivanov1]

Awesome...


~Stivan

 

[Timmy C]

Incredible story and numbers.

How 20-Year-Old Kylie Jenner Built A $900 Million Fortune In Less Than 3 Years


What's your biggest takeaway?

For me it's how big the numbers can be when you affect millions, and how business minded that family is.

She has been spoon fed through life...

not that impressive.

 

[Ronak]

Incredible story and numbers.

How 20-Year-Old Kylie Jenner Built A $900 Million Fortune In Less Than 3 Years


What's your biggest takeaway?

For me it's how big the numbers can be when you affect millions, and how business minded that family is.

1) The world of business is getting more and more "lean" and efficient. In the past, celebrities would just license their name for a small cut, now it's easier to build your own audience, outsource everything, and capture a bulk of the profits. Similar to manufacturers being able to sell direct via online channels. Opportunities for middlemen are decreasing.

2) Flash in the pan can be huge. My thoughts whenever I read something like this is, "yeah, but it won't last". But when you're operating at such a big scale, you could have a fad/seasonal thing that can make millions in a short time. I'm still not entirely comfortable with it, but it's true.

 

[GSF]

Incredible story and numbers.

How 20-Year-Old Kylie Jenner Built A $900 Million Fortune In Less Than 3 Years


What's your biggest takeaway?

For me it's how big the numbers can be when you affect millions, and how business minded that family is.

step 1 get famous celebrity family, step 2 get 100m followers, step 3 build shopify store, step 4 make billions

seriously though mind blowing numbers there especially considering its outsourced and efficiently run, I imagined there'd be a big bloated operation behind it. Plus no customer acquisition costs that most other ecom businesses have to pay = easier to scale and higher profits.

 

[Vigilante]

Step 1. Have your sister release a sex tape.

Step 2. Get your family picked up by reality television in the United States.

Step 3. Lambo

Lightning is not going to strike like this very often.

The people buying her shit are celebrity star gazers who think if they carry the same thing she tweets they will be like her. It's a unique moment in time, predicated less on value and more on celebrity. Granted, she and her extended family have leveraged that well into the $000's (and great for them!) but none of their stuff is predicated on value.

I find her success more of a sad commentary on slow lane America than I do on her business prowess.

 

[IGP]

The mom is an absolute beast of a business woman, Kylie and all the others have her to thank.

 

[Fox]

Fair play - she didn't get to choose to be born into that family and could have done nothing and been set for life. Instead she is worth three times as Kim and could be the youngest billionaire ever.

Huge lesson here is that social media done right is directly linked to profits. With a following of over 100 million it puts every follower worth around $10-20 each. I have seen similar figures thrown around on YouTube where millionare channels have broken down their income per subscriber.

You could argue that this sort of influence is insane but its really similar to the mega corporations of the 40-60s. They could create any sort of product + advertisement, mass market it, and in come the dollars. This was like the golden days of radio and TV advertising. Articles like this show that we are entering the golden age of social media advertising - if you can build the audience you can monitize it.

I think a lot of people on this forum face a similar dilemma - making the most of social media for their business while also avoiding all the personal downsides to using it excessively.

 

[Andy Black]

Huge lesson here is that social media done right is directly linked to profits.

we are entering the golden age of social media advertising - if you can build the audience you can monitize it.

^^^ This.

Although not everyone has the street-smarts to monetise it.

 

[papi016]

Kylie Jenner Is Not a "Self-Made" Billionaire — Kylie Jenner Net Worth and Privilege

 

[Waspy]

Another poster girl for essentially (in the mind of a side walker):

1. Get (insta)famous
2. Get paid

Then cry when they realise there is so much more to it than that.

These kind of stories are a terrible influence on the masses.

 

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[Arun Siva]

The people buying her sh*t are celebrity star gazers who think if they carry the same thing she tweets they will be like her. It's a unique moment in time, predicated less on value and more on celebrity. Granted, she and her extended family have leveraged that well into the $000's (and great for them!) but none of their stuff is predicated on value.

THis.

THe dumbing down of America has been completed through her vile morally bankrupt family. Surprisingly the daughter of an Esquire that was also quite shady (yet crafty)

Couldnt agree more with you @Vigilante , the youth and the acquirers of her product and fans of her vile and scummy family are the norm folks. Better to learn how to cater to them because they are your quintessential PROLES.

I am by no means a hater. In fact, if I was somewhat morally bankrupt I may have embarked on a similar journey or path to fame and fortune like this scummy family, however I am on a higher medium and aspire to not relegate myself with these types. i believe from a strictly business perspective however, we can learn from this how the market is, where its going and what type of consumer allows for such marvelous figures to be garnered by Kylie K (or whomever for that matter)

 

[Fox]

Kylie Jenner Is Not a "Self-Made" Billionaire — Kylie Jenner Net Worth and Privilege

As much as that family is trash she worked with what she had and made it better. She could have been a drugged up celebrity daughter who did nothing.

"Privilege" is the new shame word for those who use the natural advantages they have in life. We aren't all born equal - get over it.

People seem to think that because someone is a celebrity that somehow its super easy to make money. There are 1000s of examples of celebrities that go broke, fade out into nothing, burn out etc. She is competing against 10,000 other celebrities who want this exact same thing. If a celebrity is making huge money then there is real work and effort gone into that. She owns 100% of this (even if its done by a fulfilment business).

Also if you got a market of 110 million you are going to have mass appeal. We (this forums typical user) are not their audience so we aren't going to resinate with it. The way these people act and carry themselves is meant to appeal to the masses. Im sure they are aware of that and its careful planned.

Kind of a rant but I don't get the celebrity hate sometimes. It isn't something any of us will use to go Fastlane (or even want to) but these people do use what advantages they have to do the best they can.

 

[msufan]

Step 1. Have your sister release a sex tape.

Step 2. Get your family picked up by reality television in the United States.

Step 3. Lambo

Lightning is not going to strike like this very often.

The people buying her sh*t are celebrity star gazers who think if they carry the same thing she tweets they will be like her. It's a unique moment in time, predicated less on value and more on celebrity. Granted, she and her extended family have leveraged that well into the $000's (and great for them!) but none of their stuff is predicated on value.

I find her success more of a sad commentary on slow lane America than I do on her business prowess.

Exactly. Fair play to her, but this is not the model for the rest of us to attempt to follow.

 

[Red]

The people buying her sh*t are celebrity star gazers who think if they carry the same thing she tweets they will be like her.

TIL I'm a celebrity star gazer... huh.

She actually found a need in the market & filled it. This approach should sound familiar. Before her & Huda, higher quality lip products were harder to find. She upped the game in a market with already huge competitors (think Mac, L'Oreal, etc) & stomped them into the F*cking ground in this niche. She leveraged her audience, tried creative ways to keep overhead low (think pop-up store locations that are temporary) & marketed like a mad woman.

Sure, her family's circumstance she was born into played a part, but so does everyone else's. I mean, I was born in the US vs some third world country where I could be married off for cattle. I don't think that alone is enough to diminish what she's worked for, no matter what you think of her families "status"...

Do I agree with our country's obsession with that family? It's not for me, personally, but I'm obviously not in the majority here. But I don't think that's a reason to take away from her success. We all gotta learn somewhere & we all do what we can with what we have. She did nothing less than work her a$$ off when she could have ridden on the coattails of her family & probably glided through the rest of her life relatively easily. But she didn't. And for that, I have respect for her.


*edited for clarification

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Big respect for her entrepreneurial savvy, but I wouldn't go to the extreme of calling her "self-made."

Self made implies you're a nobody and living in obscurity, then rise into the mainstream.

Self-made means you don't start with an audience of 20,000,000 people unto which you can push products onto. You start with an audience of ZERO.

She's privileged and monetized it fantastically. Good for her.

That said, all of us are privileged in some respect, from living in the right country and having access to info/knowledge (like me), to having the right parents, i.e., Trump, Lebron's son, etc. Question is, what do we do with it... do we make the right choices? Or the wrong ones?

Thread featured.

 

[Vigilante]

We checked into Kim Kardashian tweeting out one of our products. not sure what the current rate is but at that time a little over a year ago it was a half a million dollars for one tweet.

 

[ProblemOd]

"Privilege" is the new shame word for those who use the natural advantages they have in life. We aren't all born equal - get over it

That said, all of us are privileged in some respect, from living in the right country and having access to info/knowledge (like me), to having the right parents, i.e., Trump, Lebron's son, etc. Question is, what do we do with it... do we make the right choices? Or the wrong ones?

This should be a PSA for all "millennials".

 

[Merging Left]

We checked into Kim Kardashian tweeting out one of our products. not sure what the current rate is but at that time a little over a year ago it was a half a million dollars for one tweet.

That's crazy to think about, but if your product fits her audience, it's also crazy to think that your half-a-mil expense could have a 3-digit ROI.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

We checked into Kim Kardashian tweeting out one of our products. Not sure what the current rate is but at that time a little over a year ago it was a half a million dollars for one tweet.

And that's why calling her "self-made" is ridiculous. If Kim K tweeted TMF and said, "OMG, what a great book" I'd be sitting on Oprah's stage right now.



"Membership" has its privileges. Some of us start at the 50 yard line, but you still got to grind your way to a touchdown.

 

[YoungPadawan]

It makes me wonder how a person could build a large audience like that through social media from scratch.

It might be beneficial to analyse her tweets and Instagram to see what we could emulate from her to our own businesses.

 

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[Merging Left]

It makes me wonder how a person could build such a large audience like that through social media from scratch.

It might be beneficial to analyse her tweets and Instagram to see what we could emulate from her to our own businesses.

"Kimberly Kardashian West[1] (born October 21, 1980) is an American reality television personality and socialite. Kardashian first gained media attention as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but received wider notice after a 2003 sex tape with her former boyfriend Ray J was leaked in 2007."

She's literally famous for having a leaked sex tape and being friends with another celebrity (who also happens to be "famous for being famous"). The entire family just parlayed it incredibly well into a cult following and TV show, and it's been snowballing since.

Kylie's initial publicity came from her last name. She didn't do anything remarkable. The business came after the celebrity status, and the celebrity status came from birth.

Note that I'm not knocking her success (maybe just a bit), but just pointing out that her success really isn't replicable. You can't do it the way she did it, because you're not already famous.

 

[GSF]

It makes me wonder how a person could build such a large audience like that through social media from scratch.

It might be beneficial to analyse her tweets and Instagram to see what we could emulate from her to our own businesses.

Step 1: get famous celebrity family, step 2 ..........

 

[YoungPadawan]

"Kimberly Kardashian West[1] (born October 21, 1980) is an American reality television personality and socialite. Kardashian first gained media attention as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but received wider notice after a 2003 sex tape with her former boyfriend Ray J was leaked in 2007."

She's literally famous for having a leaked sex tape and being friends with another celebrity (who also happens to be "famous for being famous"). The entire family just parlayed it incredibly well into a cult following and TV show, and it's been snowballing since.

Kylie's initial publicity came from her last name. She didn't do anything remarkable. The business came after the celebrity status, and the celebrity status came from birth.

Note that I'm not knocking her success (maybe just a bit), but just pointing out that her success really isn't replicable. You can't do it the way she did it, because you're not already famous.

Yes, I know who the Kardashians are. What I meant, is to analyze the psychology behind the tweets and posts. What gets the people going? What types of posts get shared more? Stuff like that.

Step 1: get famous celebrity family, step 2 ..........

Well, I'm famous in my own mind.

 

[Andy Black]

Step 1: get famous celebrity family, step 2 ..........

I wonder what famous celebrities who aren't on Instagram are now suddenly considering it?

I wonder if any could be approached so that "Step 1: get famous celebrity family" is a stepping stone instead of a hurdle?

 

[Merging Left]

Actors have talent managers. Athletes have sports managers. Do all celebrities have personal brand managers? I bet very few actually have professional, fully dedicated, personal brand managers/ambassadors. Nike and Under Armor will license an athlete's name to promote a line of clothing, but Kylie Jenner is highlighting that the celebrity no longer needs Nike and Under Armor for that.

I bet there are at least a few celebrities looking at this situation, thinking to themselves, "People love me. I wish I had a good idea of a product to sell, but I don't even know where to start!"

Imagine how wealthy Michael Jordan would be if he created the Air Jordan's himself instead of Nike.

Sounds like a need to me.

 

[Bearcorp]

You don't need a celebrity family to grow a social media following, or to sell products to that following. To make a billion in a few years maybe you do though

The family name/brand is a powerhouse. If what is said is to be believed the mum is behind it all and a very savvy woman.

 

[luniac]

im entirely not interested in her success because its easier to make money when u have money.
If i had millions i could stick it in vanguard and make tons more. if my family is already famous, then im famous by default and can be mentored by my own family.

I'm not hating at all, we all know the world aint fair and you'll have extremes of good fortune and terrible misfortune.

"Self Made" stories will forever hold more stock with me, because i can relate.
There's something magical about starting from nothing and making something.

I know my first million will have more emotional impact on me then kylie jenners 1 billion.
Kylie Jenner will never experience what it's like to be self made, maybe the world is not so unfair after all

 

[TheOrchestrator]

Well, she leveraged her advantages, right? Sure, her advantages were pretty much handed to her with a pink bow on it, but what she was given, she leveraged effectively. It's useless information when you compare it to our lives, but when you compare it to the lives of the other sisters who are pretty much just riding the wave with little-to-know effort, and then see how much more she was able to generate than them, it's still a solid lesson. She clearly took after her parents.

 

[Blackadder]

“Some people are born on third base and go through life thinking they hit a triple.”

Barry Switzer.


Self-made is totally wrong....but good on her for getting to "home" and to "almost" billionaire status.