Kylie Jenner’s lawyer has demanded Forbes “immediately and publicly retract” their statements on her billionaire status.
The 22-year-old television personality was given the title of the youngest self-made billionaire by Forbes last year, but this week the company published a scathing article in which they claimed Kylie is not a billionaire and accused her of spinning a “web of lies” about her business including her Kylie Cosmetics brand.
And now, her lawyer Michael Kump has issued a statement insisting Forbes’ article contains “outright lies”, and demanding the company retract their comments.
Michael said in his statement: “We have reviewed Forbes’ article accusing Kylie of engaging in deceit and a ‘web of lies’ to inflate her net worth. The article is filled with outright lies. Forbes’ accusation that Kylie and her accountants ‘forged tax returns’ is unequivocally false and we are demanding that Forbes immediately and publicly retract that and other statements. It is said that, of all things, Forbes has devoted three reporters to investigate the effect of the coronavirus crisis on Kylie’s net worth. We would not expect that from a supermarket tabloid, much less from Forbes.”
Earlier this week, the ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’ star took to social media to slam the publication for making “unproven assumptions”.
She fumed on Twitter: “what am i even waking up to. i thought this was a reputable site.. all i see are a number of inaccurate statements and unproven assumptions lol. i’ve never asked for any title or tried to lie my way there EVER. period … ‘even creating tax returns that were likely forged’ that’s your proof?
“so you just THOUGHT they were forged? like actually what am i reading .. but okay … i am blessed beyond my years, i have a beautiful daughter, and a successful business and i’m doing perfectly fine.”
Forbes magazine has accused Kylie of inflating the size and success of her business. It claimed her family went to unusual lengths to present the mother of two as being richer than she was.
According to the report, the information shared by Coty showed Jenner’s firm is “significantly smaller and less profitable than the family has spent years leading the cosmetics industry and media outlets, including Forbes, to believe”.
The magazine said it thinks that Jenner, even after the sale, is not a billionaire and estimated her net worth at “just under $900m”.
READ: Kylie Jenner Retains Forbes’ Youngest Self-Made Billionaire Title For 2020
Jenner has been struck off the magazine’s coveted list of billionaires after becoming its youngest-ever “self-made” member in March 2019.
Jenner is not the first person to have been accused by Forbes of inflating their wealth to become known as a billionaire. Other notable examples include the US commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross, and the US president, Donald Trump.
