As with anything the Kardashians do, Forbes’ cover of Kylie Jenner generated a lot of buzz this past week as the publication revealed the 20-year-old is on her way to becoming the youngest self-made billionaire in history.
The “self-made” descriptor generated criticism from people quick to point out that Jenner was not only born into wealth, but is the youngest member of one of the most famous and powerful families around. Dictionary.com decided to throw some shade into the mix, and momager Kris Jenner has previously poked fun at this sort of criticism on her own Instagram.
But big sister Kim Kardashian is pushing back against the backlash. In an interview with Refinery29, the KKW beauty mogul argued that Kylie, and the rest of the Kardashian-Jenner clan, are definitely self-made.
"I really didn’t get it, because she is 'self-made'—we are all 'self-made,'" Kim told Refinery29. "What, because we came from a family that has had success? To me, that doesn’t really make sense...I know so many people like that [who] haven’t turned out to be as successful as Kylie. If anything, I've seen the complete opposite."
In her cover story, Kylie explained how she refused to take money from Kris to start Kylie Cosmetics, and instead invested her own $250,000 in the company's launch. Kim further emphasized that neither her, nor any of her siblings have used their parents' money for business ventures.
"Me, Kylie, not one [of the siblings] has ever depended on our parents for anything besides advice," she said. "That’s how I lived my life with my dad. He never gave me anything. We might have the opportunity, but I’ve seen it go the complete opposite way. Nobody works harder than my sisters and my mom."
Being born into a family that generates wealth by filming itself is certainly a lucky break. Kylie’s likely been racking up Keeping Up With the Kardashian checks since she was a teen, giving her the kind of financial backing needed to start her now $800 million cosmetics company.
Still, being this close to unseating Mark Zuckerberg as the youngest billionaire ever is no small feat, and before the age of 21, she’s worth nearly three times more than any of her sisters. As Kim tells Refinery29, Kylie has taken “an insecurity of hers and [figuring] out how to make a really successful business off of it.”
