Kylie Jenner Is On Forbes' List of Richest Self-Made Women

Among the revelations found in Forbes' ranking of America's wealthiest self-made women are the fact that Kylie Jenner is by far the richest Kardashian, people are still buying a lot of Alex + Ani bracelets, and that women entrepreneurs always success in fashion and beauty.

Kylie Jenner, the cover star of the issue, came out with an estimated net worth of $ 900 million. That fortune comes from Kylie Cosmetics empire, which started with a $ 29 lip kit back in February 2016 (just two years ago!) And $ 630 million worth of eyeshadow palettes, highlighters, and more. She still maintains 100 percent ownership over the company, which means it's likely to grow into a self-made billionaire – man or woman – ever.

"Basically, all Jenner does not have that social media following," Forbes writes. Here's how the rest of the business operates:

Her near-billion-dollar empire consists of just seven full-time and five part-time employees. Manufacturing and packaging? Outsourced to Seed Beauty, private label producer in nearby Oxnard, California. Sales and fulfillment? Outsourced to Shopify. Finance and PR? Her shrewd mother, Kris, handles the actual business stuff, in exchange for the 10% management cut she takes from all her children. As ultralight go startups, Jenner's operation is essentially air. And because of those tiny overhead and marketing costs, the profits are outsize and go right to Jenner's pocket.

Kylie's just one of the 17 women on the list (there are 60 total) space, with seven of those in cosmetics and skin care. There are also two major beauty newcomers: Anastasia Soare, the founder of Anastasia Beverly Hills's eyebrow empire (No. 21, worth $ 1 billion), and Huda Kattan, the beauty blogger and founder of Huda Beauty (No. 37, worth $ 550 million) , which WWD attributes to "Soaring Cosmetic Sales Among Gen Z."

Forbes

Many Gap Co-Founders Doris Fisher (No. 8), Inventor of Spanx Sara Blakely (No. 21), Forever 21 co-founder Jin Sook Chang (No. 27), Tory Burch (No. 29), Vera Wang (No. 34), Kendra Scott (No. 40), Donna Karan (No. 43) ) – but the beauty innovators tend to be slightly newer names.

Besides Soare and Kattan, there's also Kathy Fields and Katie Rodan, who came in at No. 13. They're the founders of both Proactiv Solutions and the controversial multi-level marketing company Rodan + Fields, which sells items like the popular Lash Boost and its multi-step skin care regimens.

There's also Jamie Kern Lima, a TV reporter who founded L'Oréal for $ 1.2 billion, as well as Jessica Iclisoy, who launched California Baby to create nontoxic and organic lotion, sunscreen, and soap for babies with sensitive skin. Kim Kardashian West made the list at No. 54, thanks to her barely-year-old KKW Beauty's $ 100 million in sales.

Forbes' claim that Kylie Jenner, the youngest member of one of America's most famous families, is a "self-made" entrepreneur, the women on the list follow a long tradition of American businesswomen finding success in the beauty and wellness industry.

Photo: Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images

Beginning in the late 19th century, there was Lydia Pinkham, who is a woman who has been diagnosed with menopausal symptoms ( "Female complaints") and one of the best-known patent medicines of the decade.

By the early 20th century, Madam C.J. Walker became the first (actual) self-made woman millionaire in the US; she was born to formly enslaved her parents just four years after the Emancipation Proclamation. She made a name for herself in Denver in the early 1900s, and within the next decade had built a factory, hair salon, and beauty school in Indianapolis.

Around the same time as Walker, Elizabeth Arden started her living room empire in New York City, while moguls like Estée Lauder and the predecessor to MLMs like Rodan + Fields, Mary Kay Ash, would follow in later decades, all companies that today are worth more than a billion dollars.

And yet with the rise of a new class of women-led beauty startups, from Glossary to Ouai to KNC Beauty, many major beauty companies or among their senior management teams. But it is not easy to see if anything.