(Kylie Jenner made much of her nearly billion dollars from sales of her cosmetics, including SinfulColors nail polish. Photo by Jennifer A. via Flickr/Creative Commons)
Kylie Jenner’s picture landed on the cover of Forbes magazine on Wednesday, and it sparked more controversy than any tabloid in the checkout aisle.
The youngest of the Kardashian-Jenner clan surpassed her sisters and was crowned on Forbes‘ ranking of America’s wealthiest women as the youngest “self-made” (almost) billionaire ever. She’s amassed over $900 million for her famous lip kits and Kylie cosmetic line in just three years, and is on track to soon be a billionaire.
Even if her lips sealed the deal, it’s the family name that helped propel her to fame. So the internet fired back, questioning just how “self-made” Jenner really was.
https://twitter.com/BosNaud/status/1017473526717034497
Forbes’ assistant managing editor, Luisa Krol, defined “self-made” as something a little more flexible.
“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,” She stated in a press release. “Rising up through the ranks of a company and/or getting compensated for helping significantly grow companies … is self-made by our definition.”
The cover story points out Jenner started her cosmetics empire with her own $250,000 earned through modeling, and she is the sole owner of the company and its earnings.
the lesson here is that if your parents have the connections to shop a reality show that launches when you're 10 so you're famous from childhood & have very famous siblings, maybe you too can pull yourself up from your bootstraps & start a company valued at billions #goals
— Franchesca Ramsey (@chescaleigh) July 11, 2018
But because it’s 2018 and Twitter is a free-for-all, even the literal dictionary entered the debate to set the record straight on the true definition of “self-made.”
Self-made means having succeeded in life unaided.
Used in a sentence: Forbes says that Kylie Jenner is a self-made woman. https://t.co/sr8Ncd7s5A https://t.co/ehEL7Cf6KV
— Dictionary.com (@Dictionarycom) July 11, 2018
Young people, activists and social media personalities took to Twitter to call out Forbes for seeming to ignore the fact that Jenner comes from a family of incredible wealth and privilege.
https://twitter.com/msshanitarenee/status/1017063310229897216
https://twitter.com/PedestrianPoet/status/1017059257722732544
https://twitter.com/rgay/status/1017151467097022464
https://twitter.com/rea_t12/status/1017489678491152389
https://twitter.com/lola_adewuya/status/1017083960432779264
And like all things on the internet, it got complicated. Some were quick to tweet that Jenner deserves credit for the genius of her empire that’s become a mainstay in pop culture, especially given that our society doesn’t always like to see women succeed.
At the same time, others said that pointing out the problems with calling Jenner “self-made” weren’t necessarily anti-feminist.
It's nuts to me that the simple act of pointing out that Kylie Jenner is nowhere near "self-made" is being equated with "bashing women." Do y'all stan for poor women with the same ferocity because I doubt it.
— Marina Watanabe (@marinashutup) July 13, 2018
Things took a turn for the bizarre when a cheeky GoFundMe cropped up to help raise the remaining $100 million to turn her into a true billionaire.
Being “self-made” has long been a hallmark of an American culture that hails a “pull yourself up by the bootstraps” mentality as key to achieving the American dream. At the same time, the wealth gap in the U.S. is steadily increasing, and the top fifth of U.S. income bracket hold almost 90 percent of the country’s wealth.
Jenner’s spot on the Forbes cover has opened a debate that touches on a number of hot-button issues, including wealth, race and privilege in America and also the visibility of women in business and entrepreneurship.
She’s yet to comment on the backlash, but a Forbes spokeswoman defended the decision, telling CNN that some are “more self-made than others.” She said Jenner’s title comes from her complete ownership of the company and its earnings.
And some are here for it.
Kylie Jenner is worth 9 times what her dad is and 15 times what her mom is.
Hell, she’s worth double what the Kim-Kanye duo are as a couple.
So, before you hate on her “self-made” comments, please compare what you’ve done to those around you and see if you measure up.
— Nick Sorrell (@NickSorrell1) July 13, 2018
https://twitter.com/D1SUNOMICS/status/1017724838788595712
https://twitter.com/Sandymonajj/status/1017127614832631810