In 2018, after Forbes released its list of America’s Richest Self-Made Women, one woman in the group stirred controversy, and that’s Kylie Jenner.
People on social media said she isn’t self-made because she came from a wealthy family.
That opinion is being reiterated after Forbes named Kylie in its Billionaires list, describing the beauty entrepreneur as the “youngest self-made billionaire ever”.
In a reaction to social media comments, Forbes said it defines “self-made” as “someone who built a company or established a fortune on her own, rather than inheriting some or all of it.”
“As long as the list member didn’t inherit a business or money, she is labeled self-made. But the term is very broad, and does not adequately reflect how far some people have come and, relatively speaking, how much easier others have had it,” Forbes continued.
Forbes said that in 2014, it came up with a scoring system “that ranked members of the Forbes 400 list of richest Americans on a scale of 1 to 10 in terms of how self-made they were. Based on that scale, someone who inherited everything scores a 1, while someone who not only grew up poor but also experienced substantial hardships – like Oprah Winfrey – scores a 10. Kylie Jenner, who comes from a wealthy family and who has leveraged her fame to her advantage, ranks a 7.”
