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Kylie Jenner.. Now World's Youngest Billionaire


Thu 07 Mar 2019 | 06:58 AM
Yassmine Elsayed

By: Yassmine ElSayed

CAIRO, Mar. 7 (SEE) - Kylie Jenner has become the world's youngest self-made billionaire, according to Forbes billionaires' list.

The youngest Kardashian family member, 21, is making her fortune from her best-selling cosmetics business.

She founded and owns Kylie Cosmetics, the three-year-old beauty business that generated an estimated $360m in sales last year.

She reached the milestone earlier than Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg who became a billionaire aged 23.

"I didn't expect anything. I did not foresee the future," she said. "But [the recognition] feels really good. That's a nice pat on the back," Ms Jenner added to Forbes.

According to Forbes' estimates, Jenner's company is worth at least $900 million and she owns 100% of it. She got to the billion mark, just barely, with the inclusion of $100 million in cash she's made from the company's profits.

According to CNN ,There is a strong American tradition of revering those who've become rich through their own hard work versus those who receive an inheritance. Andrew Carnegie is renowned for giving his wealth away, fearful that large inheritances would decrease the drive of his heirs. Empire builders like John D. Rockefeller and Cornelius Vanderbilt are idealized for bootstrapping their way up from modest beginnings.

Jenner is not a titan of industry. Forbes reports she has fewer than 15 employees and outsources her manufacturing, packaging, sales and fulfillment.

But a titan of social media? You can bet her more than 128 million followers on Instagram she is Determining what part of one's wealth is derived from hard work is more difficult than it used to be given the power and influence of social media and media exposure, says Michael Norton, a professor at Harvard Business School.

Yet intangible boosts are not entirely new. Before social media, he says, even if your parents were wealthy but didn't leave you money, they still could give you a leg up through a good education, their connections and other opportunities.