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- Forbes claims Kylie Jenner is no longer a billionaire and probably never was.
- Kylie denied this in a series of tweets, calling to question the magazine’s credibility.
- Her lawyers call Forbes’ claims “outright lies”.
Kylie Jenner, the founder of Kylie Cosmetics and the last born daughter of the Kardashian-Jenner clan, was met with a scathing report by Forbes Magazine on Friday rescinding her billionaire status. This was followed by a dramatic weekend that has put into question whether Kylie was ever a billionaire.
In a report, Forbes claims Kylie has been inflating the size and success of her cosmetics business for years. The business magazine says the 51% sale of Kylie Cosmetics to Coty Inc for $600 million (just over R10 billion) revealed “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.”
READ MORE: Was it premature for Kylie Jenner to expand her beauty empire to skincare?
Forbes also says the reality stars showed the publication tax returns that “were likely forged”.
Kyle responded to the report 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 added, “'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”.
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
— Kylie Jenner (@KylieJenner) May 29, 2020
“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.
— Kylie Jenner (@KylieJenner) May 29, 2020
i can name a list of 100 things more important right now than fixating on how much money i have
— Kylie Jenner (@KylieJenner) May 29, 2020
READ MORE: 10 new beauty brands and ranges launched by the Kardashian/Jenner sisters in 2019 alone
Kylie's lawyer, Michael Kump has issued a statement insisting the Forbes article contains "outright lies" and demands the company retract their comments.
Forbes says it was skeptical of Kylie’s business growth at its inception and only ranked her number 59 on the 2017 Celebrity 100 list, estimating her overall earnings to be worth $41 million according to tax returns the publication saw.
But Forbes made a turnaround in 2018, declaring Kylie the youngest ‘self-made billionaire,' which it claims was “based on her rapid success — certified by industry sources, plus those 2016 tax returns”. At 20, Forbes estimated Kylie to be worth $900 million and ranked her number 27 on that list.
READ MORE: Kylie Jenner will work on her cosmetics line 'for the rest of her life'
The magazine says for many, the Coty sale seemed to prove Kylie's billionaire status but for its analysts, it resulted in more questions being raised — leading it to find there was a 62% decline in Kylie’s online sales between 2016 and 2018.
Time Magazine reports that Coty’s shares fell by 13% after Forbes’ report on Friday, extending the beauty conglomerate’s losses to 68% in 2020.
Kris Jenner, Kylie’s mother, manager and fellow reality star, is mentioned in the report as having taken 10% of Kylie’s earnings in the Coty deal.
Factoring the impact of coronavirus and its findings, Forbes now estimates Kylie’s personal wealth to be at just under $900 million.
SOURCES: Forbes Magazine, Time Magazine, Bang Showbiz
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