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

[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.

 

[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.

 

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[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.

 

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[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.

 

[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

 

[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.

 

[IGP]

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

 

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[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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[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.

 

[lowtek]

Surprised at all the jealous hate in here, even from respected members. I can see that the script still has you.

Let's look at this objectively, shall we?

With respect to "privilege", it's a given she has celebrity due to her family name, however, how many people come from famous families and join the billi club in less than 5 years? It's exceedingly rare.

Let's subtract the "privilege". Of the people who make it out of poverty and into tens of millions, say by joining a sports ball league, how many end up bankrupt within a matter of years of retiring? A significant portion. So much so that it is a trope (see: East Bound and Down).

What you identify as "privilege" is in fact often an albatross around the neck of those who grow up in the shadow of their wealthy family. The lack of a struggle for resources often leads to the degradation of one's character, and this shows itself in the lack of work ethic, ambition, and persistence. Precisely the qualities one needs to succeed, even with a head start.

That's not even taking into account the parasites that such "privilege" attracts. People who will manipulate and tempt the young and wealthy into self destructive behaviors, for various reasons. Resisting the peer pressure to pop bottles and snort rails when you've grown up with everything handed to you on a silver platter is the very definition of character. Or are you going to argue that a good portion of youthful celebrities do not in fact end up drug addicted and ruined later in life?

Looking at it scientifically, this is a multivariate problem. If it's celebrity that is the determining factor, then why is Kim not approaching the billi club, despite being in the limelight for a longer period of time? Why do the other siblings not have anywhere near the level of success?

Clearly, something else is at play.

For those who think "oh it's easier to make money if you're already rich". If MJ dropped by and gave you $10,000 today - right this moment - could you turn it into $1m within a few years? Forgive me if I'm skeptical.

While I honestly wish the whole family would disappear from the public eye, and I agree that they represent much of what is wrong with the modern mindless consumer culture, I will not allow that to blind me to the fact that this young woman has something I do not.

And it's not her privilege.

 

[Red]

(it's an indication of the further decline of American/Western culture)

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

THe dumbing down of America has been completed

Every. Single. Generation. has said this about our country. Every aging generation bags on the following, younger ones.


You know what's also a commentary on the state of American culture? We give. We donate, now more than ever, to charitable causes & non-profits working around the world to help those in need. When a disaster happens in another part of the world, we take action. We do what we can, with the resources we have. More people than ever give, despite having "less" compared to previous generations.

This country is more accepting, loving, inclusive & considerate than it was when I was growing up in the 90's. Holy shit, so much more. Whether it's the LGBT community, animal welfare or environmental conservation, our youngest generations best understand we're all in this together & we need to take care of ourselves & our resources.


That is the state of this country & our culture. Yeah, we still have our issues but it doesn't negate that human beings are better now than ever before. We all see what we choose to see, myself included. But that's what I see.

 

[Kak]

She has been spoon fed through life...

not that impressive.

She's worth more than the rest of the idiots that spoon fed her combined now... Good for her making the most out of her situation. I see no issue with her success.

 

[luniac]

I don't even bother with these type of debates anymore because in the end the jokes on the debaters.

For every moment us poor folks argue whether she's self made or not, she get to enjoy another moment in life as a billionaire.

So there's no point in debating, its just mental diarrhea, and a complete waste of time to everyone involved.


Same thing with athletes, when lebron james got a torrent of hate for switching teams from cavaliers to the heat, all he said was, and im paraphrasing, "At the end of the day, I get to live my life and the regular folks who are hating gonna live theirs"

HA I FOUND IT:
Tell me this ain't savage simple reply from a successful man:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXFotffi8A0

 

[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.

 

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[Kak]

Self made means something different to everyone... Why does anyone even care? She can't control the circumstances of "privilege" she was born into.

She still made the most of it... She also did a LOT better than the rest of her family.

Good for her! No hate from me at all! The world needs more popular billionaires.

 

[Envision]

Are we not going to talk about how she only has 5 employees? And the whole brand is private labeled and managed by her mom for a 10% fee?

You can hate all you want but that 21 year old is clearing nine figures/year in net income. That's incredible, famous or not.

 

[PizzaOnTheRoof]

I don't get the hate from this forum. Who cares if she was "privileged" or had a head start? How does that help YOU?

You don't become Kardashian level of fame and success by doing F*ck all with your life.

You don't trip and fall into a billion dollar net worth, even if you start with a huge audience.

It's hilarious to see people with <100 followers/subs complain about the Kardashians...yet go on to post "How To Increase Your Online Presence" videos.

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Bump! She lands in the history books! Some might say with an asterisk as there seems to be a big discussion on what entails "self-made", a bit similar to the convos we've had here. No matter which, it's quite the accomplishment.

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

 

[Zcott]

Everything I know about the Kardashians I learnt against my will.

 

[ApparentHorizon]

The brains behind the operation is a savage. (In a good way)

Hard to find anything not dumbed down in relation to biz, but interesting nonetheless:

THE INCREDIBLE EVOLUTION OF KRIS JENNER: From stay-at-home mom to megamillionaire manager

And who says you need a website?: HOME
@Andy Black

 

[B. Cole]

And here I am screwing with a product that I hope to make several mil from over the next few years.

What am I doing with my life.

 

[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.

 

[Niptuck MD]

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)

 

[samuraijack]

"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]

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.

 

[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

 

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[rpeck90]

Great for her, I read the article - and several others - when it hit.

The big thing I would say is that she's not worth anywhere near a billion dollars. Her company may have lifetime revenues of $600m+, but that's not profit.

Spatz - the main company behind the operation (who design, create & package the products) - are taking a massive chunk of every sale (some thinking 50%), with Kylie's mother taking another 10% "management fee" on her remaining profits.

Even at a 50% margin, it's still a decent operation... but not sustainable in my eyes:

• The *sole* method of customer acquisition is Kylie's instagram profile
• She has no "pedigree" in the beauty business (an "economic moat" as Buffet would call it)
• The majority of her sales are from the "selfie generation" (IE the same people buying "Jake Paul" merch)
• Sales growth is slowing. Whether that negatively affects the top line is yet to be seen
• If Spatz are as integral as I think they are, she's not really building her own business, but theirs. You might throw the "Apple/Foxconn" argument out here, but Spatz actually seem to develop the products (which means they own the IP for all the formulas etc).

My analysis was very similar to everyone else's (it's an indication of the further decline of American/Western culture) - but from a business perspective, it also has a number of flaws.

I would peg her net worth solely to her Instagram account. 110m followers is monumental; what's she's really done is find a product many of them will hand over money for (which is very good). Without that (IE if her products were up against L'Oreal, Mac or VS in a retail setting), I think she'd lose.

My perception is that her "lip kits" are a nice "filler" for a market constantly looking for the next thing. "Overlining" has been a thing for a while as have lip fillers... once this "trend" becomes unfashionable, I think her revenue will shrink with it.
-
What would impress me would be if she worked on the underlying formulas for the products, and if she used this as a means to lower production costs & develop genuinely valuable IP of her own. She could then use that to build a brand independent of her name/face, which would justify a higher valuation.

But - like many of the "dropship" idiots I see on a daily basis - her lack of real business experience prevents her seeing the bigger opportunity. I believe her to be worth between $20m and $60m.