Just how exactly has Kim Kardashian become so rich?
Kim Kardashian: We all know her name thanks to that sex tape which led to an E! reality show, a million-dollar business franchise, and the rise of the selfie.
However recent pap pictures of Kim at the exclusive five-star private estate of Casa Aramara in Punta Mita have forced many to ask whether Kim has been making money thanks to staged photos.
So how much is Kim Kardashian actually worth, how did she get that rich – and have her fortunes changed in recent months since the terrifying ordeal she faced after being bound and gagged by attacker in her Paris flat in November 2016?
Right, how much is Kim Kardashian actually worth?
Kim Kardashian may have found fame originally for a leaked sex tape but the smart businesswoman has cashed in on that fame and found a fortune through becoming a a tech entrepreneur and knowing what her audience want and when.
In 2016 she was ranked #42 on Forbes 2016 Celebrity 100 with an annual income of $51 million (£39.5 million)
How?
A lot of Kim’s wealth is mostly down to her sway over reality TV and the mobile gaming industry; the Kim Kardashian: Hollywood app has had over 45 million downloads in less than three years, and has reportedly generated an income over the same period of £125 million.
Kim also released her own line of emojis in December 2015, although her vast business portfolio doesn’t just include tech.
In 2006, Kim and her two sisters, Kourtney and Khloe, opened their own boutique clothing shop D-A-S-H; the following year Kim, along with several investors, opened ShoeDazzle, an online shoe and accessories website which reportedly now boasts more than 3 million customers who pay a monthly fee for access.
The Kardashian Kollection, a range designed the sisters for Sears, raked in an alleged $600 million in 2013, and has now expanded to the UK, while Kim also receives a check from wholesale sales of the Kardashian Beauty cosmetics line, sold nationally across the US.
n recent months Kim has also collaborated with her youngest sibling, Kylie Jenner, whose make up brand has taken off in the past year.
The KKW X KYLIE collaboration was released this week and sold out within minutes – and considering the fact that Kylie is the second-richest Kardashian behind Kim, this little collab is sure to net Kim some more dollars.
And, just to add to that, she has also set a new venture with celebrity Makeup Artist Mario Dedivanovic, where she takes a cut of takings for each masterclass; tickets begin at $500.
Sponsored social media posts also make up ‘about 25% of their income’ according to Michael Heller, the CEO of digital-marketing firm Talent Resources – the company that arranges many of the reality-TV family’s deals.
Some companies are willing to pay nearly half a million dollars to get access to Kim’s 98.7 million Instagram followers, said Heller: ‘They only endorse what aligns with their lifestyle. They turn a lot down.’
The E! reality show first paid Kim a reported $15,000 per episode but in 2015, when Kris Jenner renewed their contract with the network for another four years, it was claimed Kim would be pocketing $15 million – and an extra $5 million if she managed to get her husband, award-winning rapper Kanye West, on the show.
Kim is also a producer on the show, and she collects a cheque for her supporting role on Kourtney and Khloe Take The Hamptons, due to what Forbes deemed ‘the perceived importance of her involvement by E! executives’.
Does she make money from staged photos?
It’s a well-known secret in Hollywood that many celebrities will tip off paparazzi to their whereabouts because they’ve made a deal for ‘candid’ pictures to be snapped – especially on the beach – in exchange for a cut of the profits.
The recent pics of Kim on a beach in Mexico were shocking to celebrity watchers because the private estate she is staying at with her sister Kourtney and friends would more than likely have private beach, or at least security standing by waiting to stop hopeful paps from taking pictures.
The pictures have also been considered unflattering by some commentators – although Kim tweeted ‘I’m just sitting here on the beach with my flawless body’ in response, suggesting that she may be in the middle of another image change.
Kim has successfully changed her image various times throughout her career and most recently revealed that she planned to tone down her social media flaunting of holidays, locations, and bling, all of which reportedly led to the terrifying attack she faced in Paris in November 2016.
However although the re-emergence of Kim sharing her every day life on Twitter and Instagram is at odds with her behaviour over the last six months, it could be a sign that a new Kim is here, one who doesn’t give a damn about how her body is perceived, is ready to let her hair down and is less focused on the beautiful things in life.
