The Trumps, the Rockefellers, the Van der Bilts, the Kennedys … the Kardashians?
In a revealing interview with the Hollywood Reporter, the clan’s matriarch, Kris Jenner, explains how the family earned $65 million in the past year.
It all started with Kim, the second eldest, whose secret sex tape became very public when it was leaked in 2004 and sold to thousands. Kim Kardashian was the fourth most Googled person in 2010 (behind Justin Bieber, Katy Perry and Selena Gomez), and her five siblings, mother and stepfather are now all firmly in the spotlight as the most-watched family on TV with their show, Keeping Up with the Kardashians.
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How then, to turn a raunchy daughter and her loud moth siblings in to an income of $65 million? That’s where Kris comes in. She’s the mother, and now manager of the Kardashian empire, which stretches from their infamous reality TV shows and books to Kim’s eponymous fragrance, and now a new “celebrity destination” store at the Mirage in Las Vegas. Due to be opened this year, Kardashian Khaos, will contain every Kardashian product you could hope for, like bikinis, towels (“So you would be laying on a Kardashian at the pool”) and Kardashian-branded water. Each of the 4,338 rooms in the hotel will be fixed up Kardashian-style, with complimentary bottles of Kim’s fragrance for each guest and, most likely, the recently launched ‘Unbreakable by Khloe and Lamar’ the all new family fragrance.
Also new for 2011 is the Kardashian lifestyle collection, which goes on sale at Sears in the summer. This deal was one of the most lucrative for the family, right up there with their QuickTrim diet supplements and Kim’s perfume. This new line is added to their skin care and clothing lines, liquor, lipstick and their three ‘Dash’ clothing stores.
The self-proclaimed “momager”, Kris, is a former airline stewardess and the mastermind behind the family fortune. She spearheaded the ever-popular reality TV show deal with E! which provides a loud, brash platform for the family merchandise machine. The season 4 finale of Keeping up With The Kardashians pulled in 4.8 million viewers, the biggest audience a single E! show has ever attracted. But she makes her six kids work for their wealth, allbeit if work is going shopping and being pampered: “My job was trying to take my kids’ 15 minutes and turn it into 30.” That 30 minutes of fame now amounts to a $65 million haul – not bad for such an “average” family. (Via Hollywood Reporter)
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