Kim Kardashian’s beauty brand has been valued at a billion dollars, with the mogul now overtaking the wealth of her younger sister Kylie Jenner.
The mogul, 39, has just inked a deal with Coty Inc. to sell a 20 per cent stake in the company, which sells make-up and fragrances, for $200million.
The deal is for a ‘long-term strategic partnership to launch products in new beauty categories and expand across the globe from top to bottom’, TMZ reports.
Now Kim’s a BILLIONAIRE! Coty Inc has splashed out $200m on 20 per cent of Kardashian’s beauty empire as she overtakes sister Kylie Jenner in the wealth stakes (stock image)
Sources have also told the site that Coty acts as a licensee for skin, hair, personal and nail products.
If the company have paid $200million for one fifth of the brand, that means they value the whole company at a billion dollars.
This means that Kim has overtaken her sister Kylie, 22, in the wealth stakes as her wealth is thought to be at $900-950million.
She had been listed as a ‘self-made billionaire’ by Forbes, but they denounced her title, angering her by accusing her of inflating figures and ‘forging’ tax returns for the makeup mogul’s cosmetics company.
Not happy: The latest news comes after Kylie’s wealth was estimated at around $900-950million as Forbes stripped her of her ‘self-made billionaire’ title
Coty bought a majority stake in Kylie’s beauty company, (51 per cent) in 2019, for $600million, whereas Kim will still be in charge of her company.
TMZ also reported that Kim and her team have been working out the deal with Coty for months.
Kim said: ‘This relationship will allow me to focus on the creative elements that I’m so passionate about while benefiting from the incredible resources of Coty, and launching my products around the world.’
Kim’s beauty company was recently sued by Seeds Beauty because they were reportedly worried she would spill trade secrets to Coty.
Something to say: Kylie recently hit back at Forbes after it published a report on Friday claiming that the Jenners and their PR team inflated figures for Kylie Cosmetics
Last month, Kylie slammed Forbes after it published a bombshell report accusing her of inflating figures and ‘forging’ tax returns for the makeup mogul’s cosmetics company.
It appears the reality star was taken by surprise at the article, which claims Kylie Cosmetics is not doing as well as the Jenners want people to think – and that the Lip Kit creator is not actually a billionaire.
Forbes named Kylie the world’s youngest self-made billionaire in 2019 and again in 2020, and of her surprise over their latest article she wrote on Twitter: ‘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’
‘Inaccurate statements’: Kylie appeared shocked by the Forbes article that claimed her family created a ‘web of lies’ so she could be crowned the youngest billionaire
She followed up with a quote from the Forbes report that accused the Jenners and their accountant of producing false tax returns.
‘“Even creating tax returns that were likely forged” that’s your proof? so you just THOUGHT they were forged? like actually what am i reading.’ Kylie tweeted incredulously.
She followed up with another post focusing on the positive, ‘but okay i am blessed beyond my years, i have a beautiful daughter, and a successful business and i’m doing perfectly fine.’
Report: Kylie is not a billionaire, Forbes claimed. They accused the ‘self-made’ makeup mogul, 22, of spinning ‘a web of lies’ about company figures and ‘forging tax returns’
The publication accused Kylie of ‘lying about company figures and forging tax returns’ to be dubbed a billionaire.
Based on filings from beauty giant Coty, which acquired a 51 percent stake of Kylie’s makeup company in January at a valuation of $1.2 billion, Kylie Cosmetics generated revenues and profits that were far lower that the figures touted for years by the Jenner-Kardashian clan.
These shock claims come after Forbes put Kylie on the cover and hailed her the youngest self-made billionaire ever two years running.
Forbes explained that it had been shown 2016 tax returns indicating revenue far higher than the numbers revealed by Coty’s filing, and that there were only two explanations: Kylie Cosmetics’ sales had utterly collapsed in the two years before the acquisition, or the tax returns were fabricated.
Not worried: Kylie reacted to a tweet that questioned why she cared about it with so much going on in the news
Reaction: Another fan asked her to use her platform to speak out about George Floyd, the man who was killed by a police officer in Minnesota
Forbes now think that Kylie, even after pocketing an estimated $340 million after tax from the sale, is not a billionaire.
The magazine claimed that filings released by publicly traded Coty over the past six months reveal Kylie’s business is significantly smaller than people have been led to believe.
They wrote: ‘Revenues over a 12-month period preceding the deal: $177million according to the Coty presentation, far lower than the published estimates at the time.
‘More problematic, Coty said that sales were up 40% from 2018, meaning the business only generated about $125 million that year, nowhere near the $360 million the Jenners had led Forbes to believe.
‘Kylie’s skincare line, which launched in May 2019, did $100 million in revenues in its first month and a half, Kylie’s reps told us. The filings show the line was actually “on track” to finish the year with just $25 million in sales.’
They add that there was no way the numbers the Jenners were offering in earlier years could be true.
If Kylie Cosmetics did $125 million in sales in 2018, how could it have done $307 million in 2016 as their supposed tax returns state or $330 million in 2017?
Forbes claimed that their new calculations put Kylie’s personal fortune at just under $900million.
‘I can’t believe it’: Kylie shared a picture of the cover and wrote this post back in 2018
Kylie’s lawyer Michael Kump told TMZ: ‘We have reviewed Forbes’ article accusing Kylie of engaging in deceit and a ‘web of lies’ to inflate her net worth.
‘The article is filled with outright lies. Forbes’ accusation that Kylie and her accountants ‘forged tax returns’ is unequivocally false and we are demanding that Forbes immediately and publicly retract that and other statements.’
He added, ‘It is sad that, of all things, Forbes has devoted 3 reporters to investigate the effect of the coronavirus crisis on Kylie’s net worth. We would not expect that from a supermarket tabloid, much less from Forbes.’
In 2019, the star unseated Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, then 35, as the youngest-ever self-made billionaire – he was 23 when he made his first billion 11 years ago in 2008.
Forbes has addressed the controversy that surrounds the title ‘self-made’ as last year people were up in arms that Kylie came from an already privileged background.
They penned: ‘ Yes, self-made (despite a lot of help from her famous family, she didn’t inherit her business—she built it). And yes, billionaire (she’s worth $1 billion).’
The site also claimed that money from Kylie’s Coty sale meant she was one of just 2,095 people in the world with a fortune of ten digits.
Defense: At the time, Forbes addressed the controversy that surrounds the title ‘self-made’ as people were up in arms that Kylie came from an already privileged background (pictured in February)
Kylie previously told Forbes: ‘I didn’t expect anything. I did not foresee the future. But [the recognition] feels really good. That’s a nice pat on the back.’
Jenner, who is the youngest and richest of the entire Kardashian-Jenner family, started her make up line in 2015 by selling $29 lipstick kits.
The kits sold out within minutes of launching – an early sign of the power of her now 270 million-plus social media following.
Jenner’s products were only sold online when it was first launched but in 2018, the brand struck a deal to sell its goods in 1,100 Ulta Beauty stores across the U.S.
She expanded her empire earlier this year with Kylie Skin – a line of moisturizers, under eye creams and facial scrubs.
Incredible: Jenner, the youngest sibling of the Kardashian family, started her make up line with lipstick kits in 2015. Kylie Cosmetics signed a deal with Ulta Beauty Inc to put her products in all of the retailer’s 1,163 U.S. stores (above)
Jenner brought in sales of an estimated $360 million in 2018.
Forbes itself put Kylie on the cover in March 2019, hailing her as the youngest ever self-made billionaire.
The move appeared to anger her brother-in-law Kanye West, whom Forbes did not declare a billionaire until April of this year.
The magazine reported that West ‘reacted with hurt and venom’ after he was not included in its billionaires list earlier this year.
‘You know what you’re doing,’ he texted a Forbes reporter. ‘You’re toying with me and I’m not finna lye [sic] down and take it anymore in Jesus name.’
After he was finally added to the list, West disputed Forbes’ evaluation of his net worth at $1.26 billion.
All change: Coty, which has been struggling with falling sales, saw a share increase of 5 percent following the Jenner announcement last year
Credit due: In April, the publication valued Kylie’s brother-in-law Kanye West’s assets at around $1.26 billion – the rapper had claimed that the figure was around $3 billion
‘It’s not a billion,’ West texted the magazine. ‘It’s $3.3 billion since no one at Forbes knows how to count.’
Forbes relies on a team of researchers as well as public and private financial documents to arrive at its estimates of net worth for the world’s richest people, rather than taking their claims at face value.
Per the report, West’s team provided statements that showed the rapper has $17 million in cash, $35 million in stocks, $81 million in ‘buildings and improvements’ and $21 million in land.
Adidas Yeezy, the fashion collaboration between the rapper and the German sportswear brand, has a revenue worth of around $1.3 billion – making West around $140 million from sales just last year.
Iconic: In 2016, Kim Kardashian appeared on the cover of Forbes and was listed at no. 42 on their ‘100 highest paid celebrities’ after netting $51 million the year before – she now has a net worth of $370million
The article suggests West has been eager to prove his financial status for some time, noting that he had previously claimed to be a billionaire during an appearance at the 2019 Fast Company Innovation Festival.
‘When I did Forbes, I showed them a $890 million receipt and they still didn’t say ‘billionaire,” dad-of-four Kanye told the audience.
In 2016, Kim Kardashian (Kylie’s half-sister and Kanye’s wife) appeared on the cover of Forbes and was listed at no. 42 on their ‘ 100 highest paid celebrities after netting $51 million the year before.
Kim couldn’t contain her excitement as she shared the Forbes image on Instagram on Monday and wrote: ‘Such a tremendous honor to be on the cover of @forbes!
‘I never dreamed this would happen and know my Dad would be so proud. #NotBadForAGirlWithNoTalent’
Kim now has a net worth of $370million.