Kylie Jenner recently received a lot of backlash from the internet after reposting a makeup artist’s GoFundMe asking for donations. Samuel Rauda was in a tragic car accident, leaving him with severe brain injuries. Jenner, who has worked with Rauda before, shared the post on her Instagram stories asking her followers to send up a prayer and contribute to the family’s GoFundMe. Jenner donated $5,000, and many people thought that amount was extremely low, considering she was once named a self-made billionaire.
Is she a billionaire?
Jenner ventured into the beauty industry and started Kylie Cosmetics in 2015. In the first 18 months, she claimed the brand made $400 million in revenue. Then, in 2018, she was awarded a Forbes cover, dubbing her a self-made billionaire.
In 2019, Jenner sold 51% of Kylie Cosmetics to Coty Inc. The company is worth over $1.2 billion, and Forbes claims she pocked $540 million. With that deal, Jenner is no longer the CEO of Kylie Skin and Kylie Cosmetics. However, it said that she leads all creative efforts for the brands.
After this deal was finalized, Forbes has backpedaled on Jenner’s billionaire status. They claimed documents show the family fabricated their earnings which led them to remove her billionaire title in May 2020. As of October 2020, they currently have her net worth at $700 million.
Kylie’s reasoning
The GoFundMe campaign for Rauda has raised over $100,000 out of its $120,000 budget, with more than 300 donations. Other beauty entrepreneurs have donated thousands of dollars. Amongst those donations, you can see Lilly Gallichi donated $5,000; Huda Kattan, the owner of Huda Beauty, has donated $10,000.
Jenner responded to the backlash in a lengthy Instagram story post. She claimed when she originally reposted the GoFundMe, its goal was $10,000. At the time, they had raised $6,000, so Jenner donated $5,000 to help reach their original goal. She further explained that despite working together in the past, Rauda is not her main makeup artist, and she reposted his story in case anyone felt like sharing or donating.
Let us know what you think about this whole ordeal. Is it possible that she was sharing the post to notify her colleagues in the industry? Do you accept her explanation? How should we expect celebrities to respond?
