Kim Kardashian West is joining the ranks of Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and other moguls: She is officially a billionaire, according to Forbes.
Forbes released its annual “World’s Billionaire List” Tueday, which placed West on the elite list for the first time. The magazine said West’s booming businesses, KKW Beauty and Skims, helped put her over the top to achieve the billionaire benchmark when added to her television show and endorsement deals.
Kardashian West launched KKW Beauty in 2017, and Coty (COTY) acquired a 20% stake in the cosmetics line in a deal last year that valued the business at $1 billion. Forbes said her remaining stake in the business is worth about $500 million.
There’s also her other business: Skims, a collection of figure-hugging shapewear and bodysuits. Forbes said she has a majority stake in the private business, which hasn’t disclosed revenue — but a source told the magazine the company is valued “north of $500 million.” That means her stake is possibly worth $225 million, which is “enough to lift her fortune to $1 billion,” per Forbes.
Forbes estimates that Kardashian West is now worth $1 billion, up from $780 million in October, thanks to two lucrative businesses—KKW Beauty and Skims—as well as cash from reality television and endorsement deals, and a number of smaller investments.
She borrowed from Kylie’s playbook, using a similar direct-to-consumer model that relies heavily on social media marketing. Her first launch, 300,000 contour kits, sold out within two hours. By 2018, the business had expanded into eyeshadows, concealers, lipsticks and fragrances, and was bringing in about $100 million in revenue.
But it’s the companies that she has launched herself, and grown with the typical Kardashian flare for self-promotion, that land her on the World’s Billionaires list. As she tweeted the day she made the cover of Forbes, mocking the criticism she’s received for years: “Not bad for a girl with no talent.”
Forbes