Kris Jenner may have found success, but she also faced struggles as she carved out her path to fame. Before becoming one of the most fruitful Momagers in Hollywood, the reality star went through a tough period in her life where she was ‘struggling’. She has now built an empire worth billions of dollars, through the combination of her own business deals and children’s companies.
This is Kris Jenner’s success story.
Arguably, the world’s most famous and successful momager got to the very top of the industry through hard work and sheer grit. Following her divorce from the late Robert Kardashian Sr, Kris found herself ‘struggling’ to feed her four children and learning how to deal with her expenses.
Securing her reality show, Keeping Up With The Kardashians became a huge success with a total of 20 seasons spanning almost fourteen years. The Kardashian-Jenner squad is now carrying on the legacy with another reality series, The Kardashians.
In the hands of Kris Jenner, the family as a whole is worth more than $2 billion. However, the 66-year-old faced all kinds of troubles to bring money to the table at one point.
Keep reading to find out how Kris Jenner found success, like the world has never seen.
Kris Jenner’s success story – Zero to $170 million
She didn’t get a penny from her divorce
Kris may know how to maximize her own finances and those of her six children, but long before she became a reality TV superstar, her ex-husband, Robert, used to be in complete control of all expenses.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Kris confessed to never having paid a bill during the time they were together. She admitted she only began to take care of her finances after the couple divorced in 1991.
In her first memoir titled ‘Kris Jenner… And All Things Kardashian’, she revealed the cause of her divorce was following an affair she had with a man in 1989. This was two years before she and Robert called it quits.
After Kris and Robert settled their divorce, Kris was left struggling financially and saw the bills piling up. After all, she hadn’t dealt with balancing the books while married.
“I felt such an enormous sense of accomplishment to be able to figure it all out and pay my own bills and make my own money and do my own taxes.,” Kris said.
“And there were times when I didn’t have a lot of money, but I was very organized.”
The star also said how at one point, she didn’t even have enough money to buy food.
“I went to the market one day and my credit card didn’t work,” she wrote. “I had a market credit card, and I’m like, ‘I can’t even buy a tomato. ‘”
Drama with Robert’s third wife Ellen
Kris and the late Robert Kardashian Sr got married in 1978, but the couple divorced way before Kris became the infamous momager of the clan. He later remarried his third wife, Ellen Pearson, and they were together up until his death.
Ten years following his passing, Kris found herself in a back-and-forth drama with Ellen in April 2013. Ellen was accused of selling off parts of Robert’s diary and other personal belongings, E! News reported.
Inside the diary, there was explicit information about Kris’ affair with soccer player Todd Waterman and other allegations Khloé was not his biological daughter. Waterman himself spoke publicly about their affair, writes The Mirror.
Kris filed to sue Ellen for $500,000 in damages as well as for copyright infringement. On the other hand, Pearson counter-sued, claiming Kris and the family were trying to defame her reputation during KUWTK.
In the end, both parties settled out of court and all of Robert’s belongings were returned to Kris. The settlement figures remain private.
Asking for a loan from Kathie Lee Gifford
Kris’ friendship with Kathie Lee Gifford goes way back to before the mogul found fame in the reality show business. The two celebrities met in California in the 1970s and became instantly good friends.
In an interview with PEOPLE, the 69-year-old explained how she went the extra length for her good friend who was having financial problems.
“Kris was having financial problems,” Kathie said. “I loaned Kris money years ago because they really needed it. They were really struggling.”
The television presenter even joked about still looking for reimbursement. She also revealed to have encouraged Kris to start her own reality TV show because of her entertaining family.
Now, it’s a huge success.
Building an empire and the success of her children
Thanks to the creation of Keeping Up With The Kardashian, the Kardashian-Jenner clan’s success skyrocketed making millions of dollars.
A mother of six successful children, each one of them has gone on to carve their own career path, and subsequently, earn millions of dollars. Her daughters Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner were reported to have become billionaires following the creation of their own skincare, beauty and clothing ranges. Whereas Kendall Jenner is said to be the highest-paid supermodel in the fashion industry.
Kourtney, Khloé, and Robert are also successful with their own businesses, and as per Forbes Magazine, Kris gets a 10% cut of every dollar her children earn from their solo endeavors.
After years of hard work, as of December 2022, Kris has a whopping net worth of an estimated $170 million. Last year, the mom-of-six moved into her new $20 million mansion in Hidden Hills, Los Angeles. It’s just a two-minute walk from Khloé’s renovated home.
Taking all the fame, money and drama aside – they’re still a close family.
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