Whether or not you are interested in Kim Kardashian's life, she has been spinning multiple plates and her fortune has made headlines worldwide – so you might be asking, ‘What is Kim Kardashian’s net worth?’
Although Kim isn’t the richest person in the world or the richest woman in the world, the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star is worth a whopping $1.7 billion, according to Forbes.
Find out how Kim Kardashian went from a reality star to a businesswoman, and how this accelerated her net worth.
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Who is Kim Kardashian?
Kim Kardashian became famous through her reality show Keeping Up With The Kardashians (KUWTK), starting back in 2007 – a show about the lives of her family, including her mum Kris Jenner and her four sisters Kourtney Khloe Kardashian, and Kendall and Kylie Jenner.
The reality show was the catalyst for Kim and her stardom. In 2012, Kim started dating rapper Kanye West, which captured the media’s attention even more.
The couple had their first child, North West, in June 2013, and then married in May 2014. However, after four children together, Kim filed for divorce in 2021, a process that took two years to finalise.
In the same year, it was the end of an era for the Kardashian/Jenner family, as they said goodbye to their reality show on E! after 20 seasons. But, a year after living without the cameras, the family decided to go back to filming their life for a new show, The Kardashians on Disney Plus.
Despite the hardships Kim faced in her relationship with West (plus the very public and messy divorce), she had her business head screwed on.
How did Kim Kardashian become a billionaire?
Kim created a fan base through her reality show and leveraged her fame to start other business ventures.
When KUWTK was airing in its early years, Kim and her Kardashian sisters opened the fashion store Dash in 2006. They expanded and opened stores in New York and Miami, which also created spin-off shows on E! when the sisters moved cities to manage the stores.
Not to mention the spin-off show Dash Dolls that also aired on E! That show was dedicated to showing us the lives of those working in the Dash stores.
However, after 12 years, the sisters decided to close all Dash stores. This wasn’t a bad move as it helped them move on to bigger and better ventures.
In 2016, Kim launched her mobile game Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, which was downloaded 45 million times and put her on the cover of Forbes. Reports say the game made $160 million in revenue, of which $45 million went to her.
The year 2017 was a game-changer for the reality star. She launched her brand KKW Beauty – following the footsteps of her successful younger sister Kylie Jenner who launched Kylie Cosmetics in November 2015, with her famous lip kits.
Kim launched her brand with Creme Contour Kits – rather than lip kits – costing $48 each. On launch day, reports say she sold nearly 300,000 products within two hours – making more than $14 million.
According to Forbes, a few years later, the star sold 20% of her beauty company to Coty for $200 million. In 2021, Kim then took to social media to announce that her KKW Beauty website would shut down to make space for something even better.
That led to the launch of SKKN in June 2022 – a skincare line that is now valued at $1 billion, according to reports. In January 2024, Kim announced the launch of a make-up range as part of the SKKN brand, including lipglosses, highlighters and eyeshadows.
The businesswoman then launched Skims in 2019 – a brand that creates shapewear to fit a variety of skin and body types. Kim was forced to change the name of her brand, which she initially named ‘Kimono’ after the name was criticised for cultural appropriation. This venture made Kim a billionaire in 2021 when she was listed on the Forbes World Billionaires List. The company, which is partly owned by Jens Grede, is valued at $4 billion (as of July 2023), according to The New York Times. On 5 October 2024, Kim celebrated 5 years of Skims.
The last year has been especially pivotal for Skims, as it became the official underwear partner for the US’s National Basketball Association (NBA), Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and USA Basketball (the men’s national team) in October 2023. A month later, the brand launched a Skims and Swarovski collaboration. Fast-forward to this year and Kim cleverly leveraged the 2024 European Championships, making England’s Jude Bellingham the face of Skims’ new campaign.
Kim Kardashian's other business ventures
Kardashian didn’t stop there. In 2022, she announced the launch of her private equity firm SKKY with Jay Sammons (a self-described “disruptive brand investor”) as co-founder, and her mum, Kris Jenner, as a senior adviser. The firm plans to invest in consumer products, hospitality and luxury.
Kim Kardashian also has a flare for property investment. She has property in LA, Malibu and Palm Springs to name just a few.
And not to forget what comes with the kind of fame that Kardashian excels at – as an influencer – brand endorsements. If we were to list all of them, we’d be here for a while, so successful is she at leveraging her personal brand, but Marc Jacob and Dolce & Gabanna are a couple of ‘big wins’ she had in 2023. Her latest successes in 2024 include becoming a brand ambassador for high-end fashion brand Balenciaga and for the headphone brand Beats Studio Pro.
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