Kylie Jenner Named Highest Paid Celebrity Of 2020

Kylie Jenner

Kylie Jenner has been named the highest paid celebrity of 2020 by Forbes, after she raked in just under $600 million this year

The 23-year-old reality star and cosmetics tycoon pocketed $540 million pre-tax, making her not only the highest paid celebrity, but meaning she has earned more than the rest of the top five combined.

She is also the only woman to appear in the top 10 of the celebrity earners list.

The second name on the list was Jenner’s brother-in-law, Kanye West, whose $170 million came mostly from his Yeezy sneaker deal with Adidas. West’s wife, Kim Kardashian West, ranked no. 48 on the list for her $49.5 million in earnings.

Numbers three through five on the list were taken by a trio of professional athletes: tennis player Roger Federer at three with $106.3 million, football star Cristiano Ronaldo at four with $105 million, and fellow football player Lionel Messi at five with $104 million.

The next woman on the list was talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres at no.12 with $84 million. Pop star Ariana Grande ranked no. 17 with $72 million.

Last year, Kylie announced she was selling a 51 percent stake in her company, Kylie Cosmetics, to a global beauty company Coty, selling for $600 million.

Earlier this year, Kylie was added to Forbes’ billionaires list, before being dropped after claims that her wealth had been exaggerated.

The family’s accountant had provided Forbes with tax returns suggesting the company had made more than $300m in sales in 2016, with publicists claiming sales of $330m the following year.

The business news outlet published an article that sought to outline why Jenner is ‘no longer a billionaire’, arguing that there was a ‘web of lies’ behind her fortune.

Forbes said information shared by publicly-traded Coty showed Jenner’s business is ‘significantly smaller and less profitable than the family has spent years leading the cosmetics industry and media outlets, including Forbes, to believe’.

The outlet concluded in its article that Jenner is ‘not a billionaire’, adding that a ‘more realistic accounting of her personal fortune puts it at just under $900 million’.