Forbes Redid the Numbers. It's Bad News for Kylie Jenner

Magazine says it has concluded 22-year-old 'is not a billionaire'
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted May 29, 2020 1:50 PM CDT
Forbes : Kylie Jenner Is Not a Billionaire After All
Kylie Jenner arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party on Feb. 9, 2020, in Beverly Hills, Calif.   (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Remember all the hubbub last year over Kylie Jenner's ascension to the crown of "youngest ever self-made billionaire" at age 21? That title just got yanked by Forbes, which has removed her from its famous ranking of billionaires after looking more closely at what it now calls her "web of lies." The magazine now pegs her worth at just under $900 million. Previously, Jenner sold 51% of her Kylie Cosmetics business to beauty giant Coty in a $1.2 billion deal, a move that appeared to confirm the billionaire status Forbes had already bestowed upon her. But as Coty started to release some of the filings on that deal over the past several months, the magazine took a closer look at the fine print, and it found "one of the family's best-kept secrets: that Kylie's firm was "significantly smaller, and less profitable" than the family has claimed over the years.

Coty's numbers on Jenner's financials didn't sync up with those that Forbes had, and the magazine makes quite an allegation: It says "the business was never that big to begin with, and the Jenners have lied about it every year since 2016—including having their accountant draft tax returns with false numbers—to help juice Forbes' estimates of Kylie's earnings and net worth." The magazine adds that COVID-19 has also taken a toll on Jenner's worth, thanks to its effect on beauty stocks and consumer spending. A Jenner attorney says the Forbes article is "filled with outright lies," per TMZ. Jenner herself wrote: "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." (More Kylie Jenner stories.)

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