'Forbes' Clarifies That Kim Kardashian Isn't A Billionaire After Kanye West's Bizarre Still Life Post On Twitter

From ELLE

Updated 03/07/20: Forbes has debunked Kanye West’s claims that Kim Kardashian is a billionaire, weeks after revoking Kylie Jenner's billionaire title.

On Wednesday, the father-of-four tweeted that he was ‘so proud’ of his wife for ‘becoming a billionaire’ after news broke that she had sold a 20 per cent stake in her beauty brand, KKW Beauty, for $200m (£162m) to Coty Inc.

The financial publication had previously stated that the business deal values KKW Beauty at $1bn after just three years in operation. It estimates that the beauty mogul has a 72 per cent stake in the company, while her ‘momager’ Kris Jenner holds an eight per cent stake.

As a result, Kardashian’s net worth is estimated to be around the $900m (£721m) mark, so while she might be rolling in cash, she’s not a billionaire 'just yet'.

'Kim Kardashian West is not a billionaire. Forbes estimates her net worth at $900 million,' a line at the end of the Forbes article announcing the business deal now reads.

The couple have not yet responded to the publication's claims.

The news comes weeks after Forbes explained that Kardashian’s sister, Kylie Jenner, wasn’t a billionaire, despite giving her the title last year.

In an article titled ‘Kylie Jenner’s Web of Lies’, published in May, Forbes referenced documents from Coty, which purchased a majority stake in Jenner’s beauty brand, Kylie Cosmetics in November 2019 for $600m (£481m).

Despite naming Jenner the ‘world’s youngest self-made billionaire’ in March 2019, the documents reportedly indicated that the 22-year-old’s company business is ‘significantly smaller, and less profitable, than the family has spent years leading the cosmetics industry and media outlets, including Forbes, to believe’.

Similar to Kardashian, it estimated her net worth to be just under $900m.

Jenner took to Twitter to address Forbes' articles and described its words as ‘inaccurate statements and unproven assumptions’.

Kanye West has congratulated Kim Kardashian on becoming a billionaire in a rather unusual post on Twitter.

Earlier this week, news came to light that the beauty mogul has agreed to sell a 20 per cent stake in her make-up business, KKW Beauty, for $200m to cosmetics conglomerate Coty. The deal, which was first reported by the Financial Times, values her company at $1bn (£814m).

On Monday, the musician shared a photograph of fresh vegetables and flowers in the sun and penned a note to his 39-year-old wife following her latest business decision.

‘I am so proud of my beautiful wife Kim Kardashian West for officially becoming a billionaire,’ Kanye wrote on Twitter. ‘You’ve weathered the craziest storms and now God is shining on you and our family.’

‘So blessed this is still life,’ he captioned the snap. ‘So I made you this still life. We love you so much.’

In 2017, Kardashian West founded KKW Beauty, selling make-up, body foundation and perfume.

Following the deal, Coty’s chief executive, Peter Harf, stated: 'Kim is a true modern day global icon.'

The reality star added: ‘Partnering with an established organisation like Coty will be instrumental in the advancement of my brands as their global reach allows for faster expansion.'

The mother-of-four’s business decision comes months after her sister Kylie Jenner sold a 51 per cent majority stake of her Kylie Cosmetics company to Coty for a cool $600m (£488m) in November 2019. The deal saw Jenner’s business valued at $1.2bn (£977m).

In March 2019, Forbes, described Jenner as a ‘self-made billionaire’ but last month declared that she was not, explaining that after reviewing their financial findings, her net worth is now estimated to be around $900m (£733m).

Jenner responded, stating that the findings were based on ‘a number of inaccurate statements and unproven assumptions’.

Similar to Jenner, Kardashian West will continue to promote her cosmetics business online and help to create new products.

Kardashian West boasts 177m followers on Instagram while Jenner has 182m. Their respective cosmetics brands together have an additional 30m.

The decision comes days after West announced that he was partnering with GAP to make his Yeezy designs more accessible to his fans.

‘YEEZY AND GAP FORM PARTNERSHIP #WESTDAYEVER,’ the fashion designer confirmed on Twitter last Thursday, sharing a photo of the Gap featuring the letters ‘YZY’.

The Yeezy Gap collection is expected to be released in 2021 and will feature designs for men, women and children.

‘We are excited to welcome Kanye back to the Gap family as a creative visionary, building on the aesthetic and success of his YEEZY brand and together defining a next-level retail partnership,’ stated Mark Breitbard, Global Head of Gap Brand, in a press release following news of the announcement came to light.

Kardashian West congratulated her husband on Gap deal shortly after the announcement, writing on Twitter: ‘If anyone knows Kanye they know how much the Gap and Yeezy means to him so this partnership is his dream come true! I am so proud of him.

'You guys are going to love what they have in store for everyone! #WestDayEver.’

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