The parent company of Kylie Jenner’s cosmetics company have seen share prices tumble after allegations the reality star has lied about her wealth.
On Friday, Forbes magazine sensationally claimed that 22-year-old Kylie had shared false information with them about her wealth in order to exaggerate the success of her business.
Kylie – who launched Kylie Cosmetics in 2015 – sold a 51 per cent majority stake of her company to beauty giant Coty Inc in November 2019.
The deal cost a reported $600 million (£487 million) – which would have valued Kylie Cosmetics at $1.2 billion (£970 million) – but Forbes have suggested papers filed by Kylie were falsified and unceremoniously ejected her from their billionaires list.
Bloomberg reports that the scandal has wiped 13 per cent of value from Coty’s share price – causing more troubles for the beauty company which had already seen a decline in shares in 2020.
Bloomberg reports: “Shares of Coty, which acquired a majority stake in Kylie Cosmetics last year, dropped 13% to close at $3.63, extending its 2020 decline to 68%.”
They warn: “The news report raises questions about one of Coty’s most visible brands as it seeks to overcome stagnating sales, changing consumer tastes and retail challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
“The company, which took billions of dollars in writedowns last year, agreed this month to sell the Wella and Clairol brands to buyout firm KKR & Co. as part of a $4.3 billion deal, allowing it to focus on mass beauty and the Jenner brand.
“Last week, it launched the Kylie Skin beauty line in Europe.”
They add: "Any suggestion Coty overpaid for brand will ‘shake investors’."
On Friday, Forbes made the bold accusation that Kylie and her family had lied about their success to boost the appeal of the business.
Their suspicions arose due to Coty’s presentation allegedly revealing Kylie’s earnings in 2019 as being $177 million (£144 million) – up 40 per cent of her 2018 wealth of $125 million (£101 million).
The magazine states the values were: "nowhere near the $360 million the Jenners had led Forbes to believe."
They then suggested either Kylie’s wealth had dropped in the space of a year, or had been dishonest from the off.
They explosively claimed: "More likely: the business was never that big to begin with, and the Jenners have lied about it every year since 2016 - including having their accountant draft tax returns with false numbers - to help juice Forbes' estimates of Kylie's earnings and net worth.
"While we can't prove that those documents were fake (though it's likely), it's clear Kylie's camp has been lying."
Kylie herself took to social media on Friday to slam Forbes’ report and protest her innocence.
She tweeted: “What am i even waking up to. i thought this was a reputable site. all i see are a number of inaccurate statements and unproven assumptions lol. i've never asked for any title or tried to lie my way there EVER. period.
“Even creating tax returns that were likely forged that's your proof? so you just THOUGHT they were forged? like actually what am i reading.”
Mirror Online have contacted representatives for Kylie for comment.
