Kim Kardashian West is officially a billionaire, says Forbes
American socialite Kim Kardashian West is officially a billionaire now, Forbes has confirmed. The reality TV star parlayed her stardom into a fortune with a mobile game, cosmetics company, and most recently a shapewear business, SKIMS, established in 2019. She is number 2,674 in the Forbes' 35th Annual World's Billionaires List for 2021 with her $1 billion net worth. Here are more details.
She started a beauty and cosmetics brand in 2017
The social media queen launched her makeup brand KKW Beauty in 2017. It was an instant success, courtesy of the power of social media. The multinational beauty company Coty acquired a 20% stake in her cosmetics line. The deal that was completed early this year valued the business at $1 billion, with Kardashian's remaining stake in the business at around $500 million.
She also has a successful shapewear business, launched in 2019
Her other business is a collection of figure-hugging shapewear, loungewear and bodysuits called SKIMS, which also leveraged social media triumphantly. Reportedly, Kardashian has a majority stake in the private business, which hasn't disclosed revenue. As per Forbes, the company is valued at over $500 million, which means her stake is possibly worth $225 million, "enough to lift her fortune to $1 billion."
The socialite's other investment avenues kept cash flow positive
The rest of Kardashian's fortune sits in real estate, blue-chip stocks, cash, and other investments. According to Forbes, she has earned at least $10 million pre-tax consistently every year since 2012. Paychecks from her reality show Keeping Up With the Kardashians and multiple endorsement deals have helped to keep the cash flow positive. Moreover, she has three properties under her name in Calabasas, California.
On her personal front, it's not that good for Kardashian
Kardashian's personal life, however, isn't that smooth. She's facing a rather public divorce from her husband, rapper Kanye West, after almost seven years of marriage. Kardashian has hired well-known celebrity lawyer Laura Wasser, who handed in the papers in February this year. This will be her third divorce and West's first. She currently has 213 million followers on Instagram and 69.7 million Twitter followers.
Jeff Bezos retains top spot, Elon Musk comes next
Back to the Forbes' 35th annual list of the world's wealthiest, the number of billionaires exploded to a staggering 2,755. That's 660 more billionaires than a year ago. Jeff Bezos retains the world's richest tag, for the fourth time in a row, with a net worth of $177bn. Elon Musk rocketed into the next spot with $151bn, as Tesla shares surged this past year.
