Kylie Jenner’s Business Empire: From Lip Kits to Legacy
How Kylie Jenner built a billion-dollar brand and is now shifting into long-game entrepreneurship
The Kylie Jenner of 2024 is far removed from the teenager who once hawked lip kits through a ring light. She’s no longer just a pop culture byproduct. She’s a tested operator. Maybe not a boardroom tactician in the traditional sense but undeniably one of the most potent case studies in modern influence monetization.
The Modern Mogul: Redefining Influence
Here’s the truth: Kylie Jenner was built in public. Every insecurity, relationship, brand launch, misstep, and win aired out to millions. That kind of visibility can bury a person. She made it an asset.
Back in 2015, she bet on her most criticized feature her lips. The result was Kylie Lip Kits. Inventory sold out in minutes. Demand went from 15,000 units to half a million within weeks. That wasn’t a marketing stunt. That was consumer hunger for something they felt part of. Her product didn’t just sell beauty it sold validation.
She rebranded it as Kylie Cosmetics in 2016, pulled in over $300 million in revenue within 18 months, then sold 51 percent to Coty Inc. for $600 million in cash. That deal put her face on business magazines and launched the “youngest self-made billionaire” debate into every media cycle for a year straight.
Was she self-made? Depends on your definition. Privilege was part of the package. But ask any founder what it takes to scale hype into nine figures. Visibility helps. It doesn’t do the work for you.
By mid-2020, Forbes walked back the billion-dollar claim, citing tax documents that didn’t align with the numbers Coty had shared. Jenner’s team pushed back. The story got messy. Her net worth took a hit dropped below $900 million. Today, it’s reportedly hovering near $670 million.
Still, she didn’t flinch.
In late 2023, Jenner launched Khy, a fashion brand pitched as “designer-leaning” with accessible pricing. She teamed up with Emma and Jens Grede, the minds behind Skims and Good American. First drop sold out. Next ones got smarter, more polished, more tactical.
She’s still building in public. Paris Fashion Week 2025? She topped earned media charts with over $20 million in brand value created without giving a single interview. Her presence alone moved the needle. It’s the kind of intangible leverage that marketers spend years trying to engineer artificially.
What’s different now is how she’s playing the long game.
Beyond Visibility: What’s Left When the Buzz Fades?
People are watching closely. The backlash after her 2025 Oscars red carpet appearance with Timothée Chalamet was instructive. While other stars from dynastic wealth strolled by unbothered, Jenner’s every move triggered headlines and opinion pieces dissecting her worthiness.
That’s the trap of female success in the spotlight. Show ambition and people call you manufactured. Downplay it and you’re dismissed.
Even so, Kylie’s never shied away from the tension. She’s acknowledged the cosmetic procedures, talked openly about insecurity, and owned the parts of her brand that others would hide behind PR filters. That’s part of what keeps her relevant. You can’t go viral for a decade without knowing when to lean in and when to pivot.
Sprinter her newest play in the canned cocktail space is already catching attention. Early rollout has been subtle. No aggressive launch, just quiet seeding. It’s clear she’s no longer chasing short-term spikes. She’s optimizing for brand lifetime value.
And here’s the kicker: she’s not even 30.
The Real Questions Ahead
Kylie Jenner’s empire isn’t bulletproof. It’s still deeply tied to the algorithms that made her famous. If Instagram or TikTok changes the rules, her moat thins. If the next generation rejects celebrity-led commerce, her margins tighten. But right now? She’s still in control of the machine.
What comes next will say more about her business instincts than any net worth headline ever did.
Will Khy turn into a staple brand or fade like so many celeb-fronted labels?
Can Sprinter find traction in a saturated market where lifestyle isn’t enough to guarantee repeat purchases?
And if she steps out of the spotlight will the businesses stand without her name in the feed?
Hard to say. But if you’ve spent time around founders, you know the ones who win long-term aren’t the loudest they’re the ones who keep evolving, quietly, while everyone else is busy watching.
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Isabella is a global business journalist and former McKinsey analyst from Brazil. She brings sharp insights on economic shifts, policies, and founder journeys from around the world.
