Kylie Jenner Slammed Forbes' Claims She Lied About Her Billionaire Status
Kylie Jenner's billionaire status has long been fraught with controversy, but Forbes' latest article may have started a brand new debate about her net worth. After the magazine published a piece examining the reality star's financial status, Kylie Jenner slammed Forbes' claims she lied about her fortune in a series of posts on Twitter.
The magazine named Jenner — who was 21 at the time — the youngest self-made billionaire in March 2019, thanks to her Kylie Cosmetics empire, but they stripped her of that status on Friday, May 29, after publishing an piece claiming that Jenner and her team lied about her wealth. In the article, Forbes claimed that newly released documents from Coty Inc. (which bought Kylie Cosmetics in November 2019) reveal that "Kylie’s business is significantly smaller, and less profitable, than the family has spent years leading the cosmetics industry and media outlets, including Forbes, to believe."
The outlet also alleged that Jenner and her team shared "tax returns that were likely forged" with them for their piece, and held interviews in their CPA's offices, which were presented as the Kylie Cosmetics headquarters.
Jenner herself responded to the article in a series of tweets on Friday morning, claiming that Forbes' piece was "inaccurate" and that she's never tried to misrepresent her business.
"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," Jenner wrote. She also refuted Forbes' claims that her tax returns were "likely forged," writing that they had no proof she had faked any documents. "So you just THOUGHT they were forged?" the Kylie Cosmetics founder asked, before exclaiming, "Like actually what am I reading."
Shortly after her posts, Jenner's lawyer, Michael Kump, released a statement to TMZ claiming the article is filled with "outright lies" and defending the reality star against the magazine's accusations. "We have reviewed Forbes’ article accusing Kylie of engaging in deceit and a 'web of lies' to inflate her net worth," Kump's statement reads.
"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." The attorney also added that it was "sad" that Forbes had assigned "3 reporters to investigate the effect of the coronavirus crisis on Kylie’s net worth" in the middle of a global pandemic.
Jenner also seemed to want to shift the focus away from conversations about her fortune on social media, writing that she is "blessed beyond my years, i have a beautiful daughter, and a successful business and i’m doing perfectly fine." She continued, "I can name a list of 100 things more important right now than fixating on how much money i have," even telling a fan on Twitter that the article is "literally the LAST thing i’m worried about right now." Thus far, Forbes has not responded to Jenner's Twitter posts.