Kylie Jenner, Forbes spar over story on billionaire status

Forbes magazine, which once declared Kylie Jenner a billionaire on its cover, says she longer deserves title, but Jenner is pushing back.

"Kylie’s business is significantly smaller, and less profitable, than family has spent years leading cosmetics industry and media outlets, including Forbes, to believe," magazine said in story. “Forbes w thinks that Kylie Jenner, even after pocketing an estimated $340 million after taxes from sale, is t a billionaire.”

She later tweeted, “but okay, i am blessed beyond my years, i have a beautiful daughter, and a successful business and i’m doing perfectly fine. i can name a list of 100 things more important right w than fixating on how much money i have.”

Jenner’s business and social media prominence have made her stand out even in exceedingly famous family behind “Keeping Up With Kardashians.” She is younger daughter of Kris and Caitlyn Jenner, sister to Kendall Jenner and half-sister to Kim, Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian.

In March 2019, Forbes featured Jenner along with headline, “At 21, Kylie Jenner Becomes Youngest Self-Made Billionaire Ever.”

On Friday, Forbes offered a starkly different headline: “Inside Kylie Jenner’s Web of Lies — And Why She’s Longer a Billionaire."

story ackwledges that coronavirus crisis and its effect on cosmetics industry has hurt her net worth.

But it says it is “likely” that “business was never that big to begin with, and Jenners have lied about it every year since 2016 — including having ir accountant draft tax returns with false numbers — to help juice Forbes’ estimates of Kylie’s earnings and net worth.”

magazine said it cant prove documents were forged.

Jenner's attorney says story 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 or statements,” attorney Michael Kump said in an emailed statement. "We would t expect that from a supermarket tabloid, much less from Forbes.”

Forbes spokesman Matw Hutchison said in a statement magazine's "extensively-reported investigation was triggered by newly-filed documents that revealed glaring discrepancies between information privately supplied to journalists and information publicly supplied to shareholders. Our reporters spotted inaccuracies and spent months uncovering facts. We encour her attorney to re-read article.”

spat between Jenner and Forbes spilled over to Wall Street, where shares of New York-based Coty Inc. fell more than 13% on Friday.