From Kim’s First Top 100 List to Kylie’s Billionaire Drama: A Timeline of the Kardashian-Jenner Family in ‘Forbes’

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From Kim's First Top 100 List to Kylie's Billionaire Drama: A Timeline of the Kardashian-Jenner Family in 'Forbes'

No one can deny that the Kardashian-Jenner family is successful — and rich — but exactly how wealthy are Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner and more members of the famous family? It’s up for debate, according to Forbes. The business magazine has been compiling a list of the richest, most powerful and influential celebrities since 1999. Both Kim and Khloé Kardashian, who was married to Lamar Odom at the time, made their debut on the list in 2012. Following Khloé’s divorce from the Los Angeles Lakers star, she dropped off, but Kim’s star continued to rise. In 2016, Forbes put the Kim Kardashian: Hollywood creator on the cover of the magazine for her successful video game, which generated $160 million in two years. “I became really intrigued with the tech world,” Kim, who pocketed $45 million of the revenue, told the magazine at the time. “I realized this is really going to be then next cycle of my career and this is what I want to focus on.” [jwplayer 9REXGW5e] According to Forbes, Kim’s success inspired mom Kris Jenner and the Jenner PR team to campaign for Kylie to land a feature in the publication. The youngest member of the Kardashian-Jenner family launched her beauty brand, Kylie Cosmetics, in 2016. While Kylie’s team allegedly tried to score her the top spot on the Celebrity 100 list in 2017, it wasn’t until 2018 when she earned a cover story. Less than a year later, Forbes declared Kylie the “youngest self-made billionaire” in the world. “I didn’t expect anything. I did not foresee the future,” Kylie told Forbes in March 2019. “But [the recognition] feels really good. That’s a nice pat on the back.” After selling 51 percent of her cosmetics brand to Coty for $600 million in November 2019, Kylie received the honor again in March 2020. That May, however, Forbes stripped the Life of Kylie alum of the honor, alleging Kylie and members of her team have lied about company figures and forged tax returns to “look even richer.” Kylie denied Forbes' claims. Scroll through for a complete timeline:

Credit: Mediapunch/Shutterstock; Matt Baron/Shutterstock; Michael Wyke/AP/Shutterstock

From Kim's First Top 100 List to Kylie's Billionaire Drama: A Timeline of the Kardashian-Jenner Family in 'Forbes'

No one can deny that the Kardashian-Jenner family is successful — and rich — but exactly how wealthy are Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner and more members of the famous family? It’s up for debate, according to Forbes. The business magazine has been compiling a list of the richest, most powerful and influential celebrities since 1999. Both Kim and Khloé Kardashian, who was married to Lamar Odom at the time, made their debut on the list in 2012. Following Khloé’s divorce from the Los Angeles Lakers star, she dropped off, but Kim’s star continued to rise. In 2016, Forbes put the Kim Kardashian: Hollywood creator on the cover of the magazine for her successful video game, which generated $160 million in two years. “I became really intrigued with the tech world,” Kim, who pocketed $45 million of the revenue, told the magazine at the time. “I realized this is really going to be then next cycle of my career and this is what I want to focus on.” [jwplayer 9REXGW5e] According to Forbes, Kim’s success inspired mom Kris Jenner and the Jenner PR team to campaign for Kylie to land a feature in the publication. The youngest member of the Kardashian-Jenner family launched her beauty brand, Kylie Cosmetics, in 2016. While Kylie’s team allegedly tried to score her the top spot on the Celebrity 100 list in 2017, it wasn’t until 2018 when she earned a cover story. Less than a year later, Forbes declared Kylie the “youngest self-made billionaire” in the world. “I didn’t expect anything. I did not foresee the future,” Kylie told Forbes in March 2019. “But [the recognition] feels really good. That’s a nice pat on the back.” After selling 51 percent of her cosmetics brand to Coty for $600 million in November 2019, Kylie received the honor again in March 2020. That May, however, Forbes stripped the Life of Kylie alum of the honor, alleging Kylie and members of her team have lied about company figures and forged tax returns to “look even richer.” Kylie denied Forbes' claims. Scroll through for a complete timeline:

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2012

Kim and Khloé both scored spots on the Celebrity 100 list in 2012 as KUWTK entered season 7 and Khloé and Lamar scored a season 2.

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2014

Forbes reported in June 2014 that Kim raked in $28 million on her own in just 12 months. She was the only star with reality TV as her main claim to fame on the list that year.

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2016

Kim celebrated her first Forbes cover in July 2016. “Such a tremendous honor to be on the cover of @forbes! I never dreamed this would happen and know my Dad would be so proud. #NotBadForAGirlWithNoTalent 😍😜,” she wrote via Instagram at the time.

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2017

Kim’s cover prompted a campaign for Kylie to land her own feature, per the magazine. Forbes was allegedly invited to Kris’ home to look over Kylie’s tax returns. While the legal docs appeared to prove enough to put Kylie at No. 2 on the Celebrity 100 list — just behind Taylor Swift — the outlet wasn’t so sure.

“But the documents, despite looking authentic and bearing Kylie Jenner’s signature, weren’t exactly convincing since the story they told, of e-commerce brand Kylie Cosmetics growing from nothing to $300 million in sales in a single year, was hard to believe,” Forbes wrote in May 2020. “After speaking with a handful of analysts and industry experts who also found the Jenners’ claims implausible, we settled on a more reasonable estimate for our 2017 Celebrity 100 list: $41 million in overall earnings for Kylie, good for the No. 59 spot.”

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2017

The Kardashian-Jenner family’s team was reportedly unhappy with Kylie’s No. 59 spot, prompting their decision to share the tax documents with WWD, per Forbes.

“Kylie Cosmetics actually has done $420 million in retail sales — in just 18 months — Kris Jenner revealed to WWD last week during an interview in her office at her home in Hidden Hills in Los Angeles,” the August 2017 story in WWD reads. “It was the first time the Jenners have disclosed the scale of Kylie’s business, and they provided WWD with documentation.”

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2018

Forbes estimated in 2018 that Kylie was set to become the “youngest self-made billionaire.” As a result, she was featured on the cover in July 2018.

“Thank you for this article and the recognition,” she wrote via Instagram at the time.

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2019

Forbes officially gave Kylie the billionaire title in March 2019.

“I did not get money from my parents past the age of 15,” Kylie told Interview Germany at the time, defending the use of the word “self-made.”

She continued: “I used 100 percent of my own money to start the company, not a dime in my bank account is inherited … and I am very proud of that.”

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2019

While Kanye West, who married Kim in 2014, had made the Celebrity 100 list over the years, Forbes gave him a cover based on the success of his Yeezy empire in July 2019.

“Kanye on @Forbes !!!” Kim tweeted at the time. “I love this cover and article. Kanye has worked so hard to build Yeezy and always stays true to his vision. He is my inspiration ✨”

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2020

Kylie made headlines in March 2020 for being named the “youngest self-made billionaire” again.

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2020

A month later, Forbes named West a billionaire in April 2020. He wasn’t satisfied, however, tweeting he was actually worth more than the reported $1.3 billion.

“It’s $3.3 billion since no one at Forbes knows how to count,” the “Jesus Walks” rapper allegedly texted Forbes at the time.

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2020

Forbes published a story titled “Inside Kylie Jenner’s Web of Lies — and Why She’s No Longer a Billionaire” in May 2020, revoking her status.

“Kylie’s business is significantly smaller, and less profitable, than the family has spent years leading the cosmetics industry and media outlets, including Forbes, to believe,” the publication alleged at the time, estimating she was worth just under $900 million.

Kylie clapped back at the time.

“What am i even waking up to. i thought this was a reputable site.. 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,” she tweeted. “‘Even creating tax returns that were likely forged’ that’s your proof? so you just THOUGHT they were forged? like actually what am i reading.”

The reality star also denied the story in a statement through her attorney, Michael Kump.

"We have reviewed Forbes’ article accusing Kylie of engaging in deceit and a ‘web of lies’ to inflate her net worth,” Kump said in a statement to Us. “The article is filled with outright lies. Forbes’ accusation that Kylie and her accountants ‘forged tax returns’ is unequivocally false and we are demanding that Forbes immediately and publicly retract that and other statements. It is sad that, of all things, Forbes has devoted 3 reporters to investigate the effect of the coronavirus crisis on Kylie’s net worth. “

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2020

Six days after Forbes' bold exposé, the magazine named Jenner and West the top-earning celebrities of 2020. 

“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 cashouts of all time,” Forbes wrote on June 4, citing the makeup mogul's deal with Coty as the reason for her No. 1 spot on the annual Celeb 100 list.