Top-earning reality star of
2016, Kim Kardashian West earned an estimated $51 million in Forbes
June 2015-June 2016 scoring period, before taxes and fees, and boasts
some 165.6 million social followers.
Kardashian's take-home is less than the $63 million Trump banked in
2014, the last time FORBES tallied his earnings, but it's nothing to
sniff at (for what it's worth, she endorsed Hillary Clinton). Some 40% of Kardashian's payday comes from her high flying mobile game, Kim Kardashian: Hollywood.
As a true digital entrepreneur, earnings from her Instagram
endorsements, subscription app and Kimoji mean Kim makes more money from
mobile endeavors than anything else.
"When you get upfront money, that's great," the Keeping Up with the Kardashians
star told FORBES in June. "But if you believe in yourself, you should
definitely make sure that you get as high a percentage of the revenue as
possible."
She should know--a formidable sales cut is to thank for her huge game
earnings; she also splits revenue with app developer Whalerock on both
her $2.99 content platform and Kim-themed emoji, Kimoji.
The Kardashian clan fill six of seven spots on forbes' all-female,
first-ever ranking of America's Top-Earning Reality Stars, who
cumulatively earned $131 million. The Kardashian-Jenners alone accounted
for a startling $122.5 million combined. That’s not including the
paychecks of Caitlyn Jenner, Rob Kardashian or Blac Chyna, who earned
too little to make the $8.5 million cut off.
The list examines pretax earnings from TV shows, plus endorsements,
social media advertisements, books, appearances, apps, games, and any
other ventures that earn them cash. To be eligible, celebrities must
star in an unscripted show that aired during our scoring period. The
show must follow their life, rather than a competition or game. Judges
and hosts for programs such as The Voice or Top Chef were not included, nor were celebrities who launched shows based on their professional reputation (Gordon Ramsay, for example).
These reality stars all make relatively little from their shows,
which instead function as advertising and branding opportunities.
On-screen salaries hover in the low seven figures, but the bulk of the
stars' cash tends to come from endorsements, be it beauty products or
liquors.
Second-ranked Kylie Jenner ($18 million), age 19, has conquered the
lucrative side gig, despite being the youngest member of the list. She
banks big thanks to the family's E! show, plus product lines with the
likes of Pacsun, Topshop, Puma and Sinful Colors and a cut of profits
from her Kylie Cosmetics. Started in 2016, the purveyor of $29 lip kits
is already generating seven figure revenue, FORBES estimates. Additional
cash comes from the teenager’s popular Kylie Jenner app and the Kendall
& Kylie game.
Like her older half-sister, Kim, Kylie demands top dollar for social
media endorsements: She shilled for at least eight different brands
through her Instagram alone in our time frame. These sponsored posts
have become a new moneymaker for stars since FORBES last estimated the
Kardashian sisters' earnings in 2013 (Khloe, Kourtney and Kim made $10
million). Celebrities of the Kardashian-Jenner ilk can now earn upwards
of $200,000 for each sponsored post, FORBES learned.
"We’ve seen research that shows teens and young adults are very
influenced by these celebrities when it comes to making a purchase,"
said Debra Aho Williamson, principal analyst at market research firm
eMarketer.
"Contracts and deals have evolved as social media's come so much into
play," Kim Kardashian West agreed. "There's a lot of value on social
media, and people really get that."
Though Kim is currently on a social media hiatus following an October
robbery, the break came outside our scoring period so did not impact
her social media endorsement earnings this time around.
Kylie just out-earns her sister Kendall Jenner (No. 3; $17 million). Already a member of Forbes’ highest-paid models list, 21-year-old Kendall makes this ranking with a higher estimate thanks to extra non-modeling money earned from Keeping Up with the Kardashians, the Kendall & Kylie game, and her app.
Rounding out the top four is Khloe Kardashian. Her Kocktails with Khloe show
may have been cancelled, but Khloe’s earnings are on the rise thanks to
new ventures such as Good American jeans, a book, and lots of social
media endorsements (she posted over a dozen sponsored pictures on
Instagram in our scoring period).
The only person not named Kardashian or Jenner on the list? Bethenny Frankel. Bravo's The Real Housewives of New York City star is also the only Real Housewife to make the cut,
thanks largely to payouts from her Skinnygirl alcohol brand, which was
sold to Beam in 2011 for an estimated $100 million. As part of the
acquisition, Frankel told FORBES she’d continue to get on going payments based on how well Skinnygirl beverages performed.
Now in its 12th season, Keeping Up with the Kardashians continues to propel its stars to sky-high earnings. Kim Kardashian West easily out-earns her husband: Kanye West cashed in $17.5 million in the same scoring period.
"It's funny when people are like, 'What does she really do?'" said
Kardashian. "I know reality TV isn't respected the way that I believe it
should be, but it's changing. People get that it is a job."
Forbes
