Back in the 1990s, teen-age Kim Kardashian declared she was going to be rich and famous. The moment was caught in a grainy home movie. Her dad, lawyer Robert Kardashian famously helped defend O.J. Simpson against charges he had murdered his wife Nicole and her friend Ron Goldman. The televised hearings made him a "celebrity". Kim liked what she saw and vowed to be rich and famous herself one day. Her father warned her against it, knowing the price you pay. She obviously wasn't listening.
She had a good role model in her mom, momager Kris Jenner. At the time, Kris was doing her best to build a marketable brand with then-husband Olympic athlete Bruce Jenner. Anything for a buck was her motto.
Kim looked around Beverly Hills and latched onto rich and famous people like Paris Hilton. When Paris was snapped by the paparazzi, Kim was right there in the thick of it. But still, she chugged along on the periphery of fame and fortune.
In the background, Kris Jenner wheeled and dealed and by 2006/2007 was talking to Ryan Seacrest about producing a reality show featuring her family. She had 5 stunning daughters, a handsome husband (Bruce), and (bringing up the rear) son Rob.
Then, all of a sudden, a "tape" Kim Kardashian made with boyfriend Ray-J in 2003 just happened to leak. And Kim (and her family) were made famous by scandal. Lucky break? Hardly.
And Keeping Up With the Kardashians became a reality. Since then, Kim has pushed just about any product that would pay her, posted nudies to social media, aired her dirty laundry in public, even married in front of the cameras.
And now she's a billionaire. Hopefully, unlike Kylie's status, it's real. Let's look at the not so sweet story of how Kim K. became a billionaire and why the bad old days are now well and truly behind her.
I'm Going To Be Rich And Famous
The image from the 1994 video is blurry, but there is no mistaking the determination and the seriousness on the face of Kim Kardashian when she declared she was going to be rich and famous one day. She loved the special treatment and attention her father Robert got following his TV appearances at the O.J. Simpson trial. And, face to camera, she promised she would make it big too. Must have made Mommie Kris so proud. Dad Robert warned her of the dangers.
While Kris Jenner struggled to build a marketable brand with her ex-Olympian husband Bruce Jenner, Kim attached herself to anyone she considered part of the exclusive rich and famous club. That included Paris Hilton. It helped raise Kim's profile, but the big bucks weren't there until a kind of perfect storm catapulted Kim into the soon-to-be-rich and infamous world of reality TV.
In 2003, she and then-boyfriend Ray-J made a raunchy tape. All well and good. But somehow just as momager Kris Jenner was sealing a deal for Keeping Up With the Kardashians, the tape was leaked. Kim and Kris cried foul. But most assume that Kris was behind the leak. Did Kim object? Don't be silly. It was her ticket to the big time. The last word was that she was making $4.5 million a season on KUWTK.
Life In The Fast Lane
Since 2007, Kim has made a career out of laundering her dirty laundry on TV, posting nudies on Instagram, marrying Kris Humphries (probably) for the television footage, and endorsing just about any product that would pay her. Her price for Instagram posts has steadily increased, so that she now gets hundreds of thousands of dollars for posting pictures of her sucking a weight loss lollipop, popping a vitamin, or downing a weight loss miracle product. And her top whack price for a post? A cool $1 million. Nice work if you can get it. She has also established her own KKW Beauty brand.
She and her sisters sometimes end up in hot water because of what might be called their indiscriminate approach to endorsements. A while back they were sued for $5 million by disgruntled customers who had purchased weight-loss aid Quick-Trim because of the Kardashian swore by it on social media. Seems it didn't work.
Hello Billionaire
Kim's billionaire status was certified when Coty recently announced it will buy 20 percent of her KKW Beauty brand for $200 million. Kim's come a long way from hanging onto Paris Hilton's coattails, making "tapes", posting nudies, airing her dirty laundry in public, and pushing any product that will plonk down enough money.
These days, her Instagram features nice (not quite wholesome) shots of Kim, together with more and more family pictures. Cute? Well, yes. But then kids North, Chicago, Saint, and Psalm are the future of the Kardashian brand. They won't have to do the things Kim and Kris Jenner did to make it to the big time. To a certain extent, Kim and Kris did the dirty work. Her sisters and children have and will continue to reap the rewards.