Kylie Jenner makes Forbes list of America’s richest self-made women
Kylie Jenner, the 20-year-old beauty entrepreneur, made Forbes’ annual list of America’s Richest Self-Made Women. Coming in at number 27, with an estimated net worth of $900 million, Jenner is the founder of Kylie Cosmetics with virtually no employees or capital. Kylie Cosmetics launched two years ago and has since sold more than $630 million worth of makeup.
According to Forbes, Kylie Cosmetics is now worth nearly $800 million and Jenner owns 100 percent of the company. Jenner, who is featured on the magazine’s cover, is the youngest person to ever make the list.
“It’s incredible to be recognized for something I’m so passionate about, and I’m really grateful for that. I’ve always loved makeup and worked really hard to bring the first lip kit to market. Connecting with my fans and creating product that excites them has been an incredible process. I’ve learned so much along the way and I hope to inspire others to follow their dreams,” said Jenner, who turns 21 on Aug. 10.
There are seven newcomers to this year’s list, with more than half earning their wealth from cosmetics, thanks to soaring cosmetic sales among Gen Z. Notable newcomers include Anastasia Soare, founder of Anastasia of Beverly Hills, coming in at number 21 ($1 billion); Huda Kattan, founder of Huda Beauty, number 37 at $550 million, and Anne Wojcicki, cofounder and chief executive officer of 23andMe, number 44 at $440 million.
Jenner wasn’t the only Kardashian-Jenner who made the list. Her half-sister, Kim Kardashian, founder of KKW Beauty, came in at number 54, with a net worth of $350 million.
Topping the list of richest self-made women is Diane Hendricks, cofounder and chairman of ABC Supply, the nation’s largest roofing distributor, who has a net worth of $4.9 billion, followed by Marian Ilitch, cofounder of Little Caesars, with a net worth of $4.3 billion, and Judy Faulkner, founder and ceo of Epic Systems, with a net worth of $3.5 billion. Meg Whitman, former president and ceo of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, took the fourth spot, with a net worth of $3.3 billion, and Johnelle Hunt, cofounder of J.B. Hunt Transport Enterprise, came in fifth place with $3.2 billion.
Among the top 10 were Oprah Winfrey, ceo of OWN Cable Network, in sixth place with a net worth of $3.1 billion; Judy Love, cofounder of Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores ($3 billion); Doris Fisher, cofounder of The Gap ($2.8 billion); Elaine Wynn, cofounder of Wynn Resorts ($2.6 billion), and Lynda Resnick, cofounder of The Wonderful Co. ($2.4 billion).
Others in the worlds of fashion, retail, beauty, tech and entertainment who made the list include Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook (number 12 at $1.6 billion); Jin Sook Chang, cofounder, Forever 21 (number 13 at $1.5 billion); Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx, and Carolyn Rafaelian, founder of Alex and Ani (both tied at number 21 at $1 billion); Tory Burch (number 29 at $800 million); Sheila Johnson, cofounder of BET and ceo of Salamander Hotels & Resorts (number 30 at $760 million); Vera Wang (number 34 at $630 million); Marissa Mayer, former president and ceo of Yahoo, (number 35 at $600 million); Madonna (number 36 at $590 million); Kendra Scott, chairman and ceo of Kendra Scott LLC (number 40 at $500 million); Donna Karan (number 43 at $470 million); Jamie Marie Kern Lima, cofounder and ceo of IT Cosmetics (number 44 at $440 million); Barbra Streisand (number 48 at $400 million); Beyoncé (number 53 at $355 million), and Taylor Swift (number 60 at $320 million).
Other interesting points are that 27 women on the list reside in California, more than double the number of women in any other state. New York is home to six on the list. Fourteen on the list were born outside the U.S.
Asked how they define “self-made,” since there are numerous people on the list, who rose up the ranks of corporations and didn’t create the business themselves, Luisa Kroll, Forbes’ assistant managing editor, wealth, said, “We consider any person who built their own fortunes to be self-made, so essentially anyone who didn’t inherit any part of their money. Rising up through the ranks of a company and/or getting compensated for helping significantly grow companies as Meg Whitman [former ceo of eBay] and Jayshree Ullal [ceo of Arista Networks] both did, for instance, is self-made by our definition.”
Notable drop-offs from the fashion world were Diane von Furstenberg and Patricia Miller, cofounder of Vera Bradley.
“After speaking with numerous industry insiders, we lowered our estimate of DVF due to lower estimated sales, reports of store closings and signs the business is slowing. Patricia Miller simply didn’t gain enough to make the list this year at a time when the minimum net worth rose 23 percent. Her shares in Vera Bradley, the fashion accessories company she cofounded, rose but again not enough to keep her in the ranks,” Kroll said.
Discussing why there weren’t any actresses who made the list — although Streisand, singer, songwriter, actress and filmmaker, and Beyoncé, singer, songwriter, dancer, actress and businesswoman, made it, she said, “They just have not climbed far enough to make the list. We certainly look at them but no one has crossed the threshold at this time.”
The 60 women who made the list had a record combined net worth of $71 billion, up 15 percent from $61.5 billion last year. The minimum net worth needed to make this year’s list is $320 million, up from $260 million last year.
