Forbes may have stripped one member of the Kardashian clan of billionaire status, but it’s now added another to the elite club.

Yes, make up mogul Kylie Jenner is ‘only’ worth US$700 million but big sis Kim Kardashian West is now worth a cool US$1 billion according to the magazine.

Believe it or not, it’s Kardashian West’s first time on the World’s Billionaires list after being first mentioned in the pages of Forbes in 2011.

Back then, Forbes focused simply on a tally of her Twitter followers: 6.6 million, just below Barack Obama and just above Ashton Kutcher. Five years later, she graced the cover of Forbes thanks to her booming mobile game, which helped her earn $51 million that year.

Forbes said its US$1-billion estimate of Kardashian West’s wealth is up from US$780 million in October thanks to two lucrative businesses – KKW Beauty and Skims – as well as cash from reality television and endorsement deals, and a number of smaller investments.

“Kardashian West founded KKW Beauty in 2017, following the success of her half-sister Kylie Jenner’s Kylie Cosmetics,” Forbes said.

“She borrowed from Kylie’s playbook, using a similar direct-to-consumer model that relies heavily on social media marketing. Her first launch, 300,000 contour kits, sold out within two hours. By 2018, the business had expanded into eyeshadows, concealers, lipsticks and fragrances, and was bringing in about US$100 million in revenue.”

In 2017, when she announced her cosmetics line, Kardashian West told Forbes: “It’s the first time I’ve moved away from having licensing deals and transitioned into being an owner.”

She cashed in on that ownership last year when she sold 20 per cent of KKW Beauty to cosmetics conglomerate Coty for US$200 million, a deal that valued the company at US$1 billion.

Forbes said, while it estimates that figure might have been a little bloated (Coty, which also bought 51 per cent of Kylie Cosmetics in 2020, is known for overpaying) – it estimates her remaining 72 per cent stake is still worth about US$500 million.

Now let’s see if her net worth goes up anymore from a divorce settlement with her husband, Kanye West, who Forbes says is worth US$1.8 billion while other reports have saddled him with US$6.6 billion.