Entertainment

Kylie Jenner Just Addressed The Backlash She Got From Being Called A "Self-Made” Billionaire

by Stephanie Downs
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Kylie Jenner has a little something to say to all of the haters who took issue with her "self-made" title. As E! News noted, Kylie Jenner addressed the "self-made" billionaire backlash and explained exactly why the term is so appropriate.

The Life of Kylie star recently appeared on the cover of Interview Germany, published on March 21, in which she opened up about everything from baby Stormi to her true feelings about social media. But, it was her comments about her Kylie Cosmetics fortune that specifically addressed all of those who doubted her "self-made billionaire" accolade.

"I never thought that this could happen," she said, in regards to the success of her Kylie Cosmetics brand, which she announced the start of in November 2015, "I believed in Kylie Cosmetics but I didn't even know what I was getting myself into. It feels amazing, it's wild, and being the youngest ever to do it is a blessing. I now want to focus on giving back to people and doing things that I'm passionate about."

Jenner continued to say that she truly is "self-made," and even offered up some details about the start of her company to prove it. She said:

"There's really no other word to use other than self-made because that is the truth. That is the category that I fall under. Although, I am a special case because before I started Kylie Cosmetics, I had a huge platform and lots of fans. I did not get money from my parents past the age of 15. I used 100% of my own money to start the company, not a dime in my bank account is inherited… and I am very proud of that."
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Hopefully, this clears up anything for those who didn't really believe that the reality star was "self-made." In her own words, even though she had a leg-up due to her popular social media presence and her famous family, Kylie Cosmetics was truly her own business endeavor. And furthermore, she's totally right to be proud of that.

Between those on social media and even sites like Dictionary.com, there were many who took issue with Forbes' declaration about the reality star's fortune. As you'll likely recall, in early March, Forbes officially declared Jenner to be the youngest self-made billionaire in history at the age of 21 (beating Mark Zuckerberg, who was 23 when he became a billionaire), only eight months after the publication reported that she was on track to reach the milestone.

In her interview with Forbes about the news, she told the publication that she didn't expect to receive such a major accolade, but that she is so grateful to be recognized for her hard work. She said, "I didn’t expect anything. I did not foresee the future. But [the recognition] feels really good. That’s a nice pat on the back."

For what it's worth, Forbes classifies "self-made" as someone who "built or established a fortune on her own, rather than inheriting some or all of it." Given that definition, and Jenner's own recent clarification, it's easy to see that she is indeed well-deserving of the title.