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She’s done it – Kylie Jenner is officially the richest celeb of 2020!
The 23-year-old has topped Forbes’ annual list of 100 highest paid celebrities, thanks to her $590 million (about R9.8 billion) fortune.
This comes just three months after Forbes revoked her billionaire status, accusing her of lying about the success of her make-up brand, Kylie Cosmetics – an allegation the reality star shot down.
“What am I even waking up to. I thought this was a reputable site…” she tweeted after Forbes published a story titled Inside Kylie Jenner’s Web of Lies — and Why She’s No Longer a Billionaire in May. “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.”
Despite the squabble, which saw Kylie removed from the billionaire list, she was still named this year’s highest-paid celebrity after coming second on the list last year.
According to Forbes, the starlet made the bulk of her earnings after selling 51% of her beauty company to Coty Inc, leaving her with an estimated net worth of $900 million.
“While she had exaggerated over the years about the size
of her business, the money she pulled in from the deal was real – enough to
rank as one of the biggest celebrity cash-outs of all time,” Forbes wrote on
their website.
The rest of Kylie’s staggering fortune comes from TV deals, product endorsements and social media.
Thanks to her huge number of followers she gets paid around $1,2 million (R20 million) for a single post on Instagram, which made her the highest paid Instagram influencer of 2019.
Last year’s winner Taylor Swift (30) didn’t make it into this year’s top 10 or even 20. Instead she dropped to the No 25 spot with $63,5 million (R1 billion), compared to $189 million (R3.14 billion) she made in 2019.
Kylie’s brother-in-law, rapper Kanye West (43), rose from third spot last year to second place with $170 million (R2.8 billion) thanks mainly to his fashion line Yeezy.
The footwear and apparel brand, which is currently in a partnership with Gap,
was valued last year at $3 billion (R50 billion). It also recently launched a kids’ line called Yeezy Gap.
Soccer superstars Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Neymar all made the top 10 thanks to their mega salaries and million-dollar endorsement deals that include Nike and Tag Haeur (Ronaldo), Adidas and MasterCard (Messi) and Nike, Panasonic and Volkswagon (Neymar).
Tennis world champion Roger Federer (38) took
third place while Hollywood movie mogul Tyler Perry (50), who earlier this year
lent his Beverly Hills mansion to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to live in,
clinched sixth spot.
Outspoken US talk-show host Howard Stern (66) took eighth spot, NBA star Lebron James (35) the No 9 spot and rounding out the Top 10 was Jumanji star star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (48).
Despite her reputation in tatters, embattled
talk-show host Ellen Degeneres (62) came in at No 12.
Forbes Top 15
1. Kylie Jenner – $590 million (R9.8 billion)
2. Kanye West – $170 million (R2.8 billion)
3. Roger Federer – $106.3 million (R1.77 billion)
4. Cristiano Ronaldo – $105 million (R1.75 billion)
5. Lionel Messi – $104 million (R1.73 billion)
6. Tyler Perry – $97 million (R1.61 billion)
7. Neymar – $95.5 million (R1.59 billion)
8. Howard Stern – $90 million (R1.5 billion)
9. LeBron James – $88.2 million (R1.42 billion)
10. Dwayne Johnson – $87.5 million (R1.46 billion)
11. Rush Limbaugh – $85 million (R1.41 billion)
12. Ellen DeGeneres – $84 million (R1.4 billion)
13. Bill Simmons – $82.5 million (R1.37 billion)
14. Elton John – $81 million (R1.35 billion)
15. James Patterson – $80 million (R1.33 billion)
Sources: usmagazine.com, forbes.com, businessinsider.com
