Kylie Jenner, Forbes spar over story on billionaire status
by The Associated Press Staff ContactLOS ANGELES -- Forbes magazine, which once declared Kylie Jenner a billionaire on its cover, says she no longer deserves the title, but Jenner is pushing back.
Forbes said in a story posted Friday that an examination of financial filings after the reality star and beauty mogul sold a majority share in her cosmetics company revealed that Jenner's worth was inflated. Jenner sold 51% of her Kylie Cosmetics company to Coty in a deal valued at US$1.2 billion early this year.
"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 magazine said in the story. "Forbes now thinks that Kylie Jenner, even after pocketing an estimated $340 million after taxes from the sale, is not a billionaire."
Jenner responded in a series of tweets, saying "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."
She later tweeted, "but okay, i am blessed beyond my years, i have a beautiful daughter, and a successful business and i'm doing perfectly fine. i can name a list of 100 things more important right now than fixating on how much money i have."
In March 2019, Forbes featured Jenner along with the headline, "At 21, Kylie Jenner Becomes The Youngest Self-Made Billionaire Ever."
On Friday, Forbes offered a starkly different headline: "Inside Kylie Jenner's Web of Lies -- And Why She's No Longer a Billionaire"