Reality TV star and entrepreneur Kylie Jenner has said she has more important things to worry about than fixate on her worth.
This comment comes after Forbes magazine took her out from its list of billionaires and accused her family of inflating the value of her cosmetics business.
According to Forbes, Kylie’s family went to “unusual lengths” to present her as richer than she actually was.
In a series of tweets, she stated that “all I see are a number of inaccurate statements and unproven assumptions”
“I’ve never asked for any title or tried to lie my way there EVER. period,” she added.
In another tweet, she said “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.”
Forbes conferred the billionaire status on Kylie in 2019, declaring her a self-made billionaire.
The success of Jenner’s cosmetic company founded in 2015 Kylie Cosmetics and Kylie Skin contributed to her presence on the Forbes list.
Last year, she announced she was selling a 51% stake in the company to beauty giant Coty for $600m.
Forbes noted that the family’s accountant had provided it with tax returns that suggested the firm had done more than $300m in sales in 2016 and that publicists claimed sales of $330m the following year.
However, the information shared by Coty says Jenner’s firm is “significantly smaller and less profitable than the family has spent years leading the cosmetics industry and media outlets, including Forbes, to believe”, Forbes said.
Coty’s presentation to investors about the business suggested the firm did only $125m in sales in 2018.
“If Kylie Cosmetics did $125 million in sales in 2018, how could it have done $307 million in 2016 (as the company’s supposed tax returns state) or $330 million in 2017?” Forbes asked in the article.
“It’s fair to say that everything the Kardashian-Jenner family does is oversized,” says Stephanie Wissink, an equity analyst covering consumer products at Jefferies. “To stay on-brand, it needs to be bigger than it is.”
Reiterating why she is no longer on the list, Forbes considered the impact of Covid-19 on beauty stocks and consumer spending, adding that Kylie Jenner, ” even after pocketing an estimated $340 million after taxes from the sale, is not a billionaire.”