Forbes ripped for calling Kylie Jenner 'self-made' billionaire on magazine cover
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Forbes was handed a grammar lesson on Twitter for its choice of words to describe Kylie Jenner, who graced the magazine’s cover on Wednesday.
“At 21, she’s set to be the youngest-ever self-made billionaire. Welcome to the era of extreme fame leverage,” the magazine cover read alongside a photo of Kylie wearing a black blazer.
The term “self-made” didn’t sit well with Twitter users. Jenner is the youngest daughter of the reality TV family in “Keeping up with the Kardashians."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Dictionary.com was quick to point out that, “self-made means having succeeded in life unaided," and then posted this example, apparently in jest: “Used in a sentence: Forbes says that Kylie Jenner is a self-made woman."
Another Twitter user said “calling Kylie Jenner a ‘self-made billionaire’ is like claiming you made soup from scratch because you opened a can and reheated it.” While others called it a “slap in the face” and questioned whether the outlet even knows what the term means.
“Calling Kylie Jenner "self-made" is like calling McDonald’s "homemade" stop this madness,” a user said on Twitter.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}But not all were so quick to discredit the accomplishments of the 20-year-old, who is likely to grab the title of youngest billionaire ever from Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg – he reached the elite status at the age of 23.
“Unpopular opinion: Kylie J has built an empire of quality makeup and while she isn’t “self-made” we should all still be happy for her success,” Twitter user named Andy wrote.
Another user agreed with the debate about whether “Self-Made” was the right word, but noted “she definitely took the foundation that was given to her and ran with it. Can’t even be mad. Not one bit.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Kylie, who was placed on the cover of Forbes’ “America’s Women Billionaires,” launched her own cosmetic brand called Kylie Cosmetics less than three years ago, and has since sold more than $630 million worth of makeup, according to Forbes. In 2017 alone, she sold an estimated $330 million.
Forbes valued the company at nearly $800 million, while Kylie rakes in another $100 million from endorsement deals and appearances on her family’s reality TV show.
Whether the reality TV star and social media authority is “self-made” is open to interpretation, however, it’s important to note Kylie did invest $250,000 of her own money from modeling gigs to produce the first line of lip kits that eventually led to her makeup empire.