I was watching ‘A Star is Born’ and multi-tasking by looking up Lady Gaga on my iPad. It was a general browse about the stars of the movie. I wasn’t checking on anything in particular but her net worth popped up, which was pretty impressive, but what really threw me was how much Kylie Jenner was worth. A whopping US$900 million.

I recognised her last name and mistakenly thought she was the model sister, whose face I have seen on many advertisements. Kylie is the youngest member of the Kardashian-Jenner clan, and the richest. She wholly owns the very successful, Kylie Cosmetics, and generates millions from her family’s reality show, “Keeping up with the Kardashians,” her own show “Life of Kylie,” endorsement deals with brands like Puma and PacSun, and Instagram advertisements[1].

Kylie also graced the cover of Forbes magazine’s August 2018 issue and its fourth annual list of “America’s Richest Self-Made Women.” Forbes said Jenner is “conservatively” worth $900 million, and this may soon make her the youngest self-made billionaire ever. 

Wow, wow, wow. And, all at the ripe old age of 21. I still can’t get my head around how young she is and how much money she has and the amazing power and influence of having a huge social media following.  She has done exceptionally well for herself, and she is not the only very young and very rich person. Equally impressive is the growing legion of under 30 millionaires and billionaires in the tech, music, sports and fashion industries such as Evan Spiegel (co-founder of Snapchat; net worth US$1.5 billion[2]), Taylor Swift (singer; net worth US$400 million[3]) and Eden Hazard (footballer; net worth US$100 million[4]). With companies willing to pay mega bucks for celebrity endorsements, and celebrities themselves leveraging on their fame and following to produce their own make-up, health-food and clothes line, it’s pretty much ka-ching! ka-ching! ka-ching! 

I understand and accept that it’s about demand and supply. Kylie and these entrepreneurs are creating and selling products and services that people, and I mean, millions of people, the world over, like and want to buy. Kudos to them for having the smarts to identify markets of individuals, who are willing to part with their money just so they can buy, use and wear labels of their favourite actor, singer, sportsperson or company. 

For instance, a large amount of money is spent on luxury cars and motorbikes, expensive art, exclusive diamonds or designer water, depending on what takes people’s fancy and the size of their bank accounts. The faithful queue for long hours and in frightful weather to buy and own the latest mobile phone or tech-gadget because of its purported brand value, which to me, is propped up by the very same fans. Concert tickets of popular singers get sold off almost immediately after the announcement of the tour dates. People are willing to pay over the odds and travel far to watch a concert, a football or tennis match or the Grand Prix. 

I thought I was not one of those people.  I have always maintained that I would not spend my hard-earned money on celebrity-endorsed or designer products, and contribute towards their even more burgeoning wealth. That said, I have a Balenciaga handbag, why I don’t know, which I bought in a Metrojaya sale slightly over a decade ago. I remember mulling and then mulling some more because it cost RM700 (US$167), which to me, was a lot of money to spend on a bag. Ironically, I now have a Calvin Klein bag that costs twice as much, a birthday present from my husband.  I still think it’s a lot of money for a bag, albeit a rather nice, red leather bag. I have justified the price in my head by attributing it to inflation and using it almost every day to get my money’s worth. My other birthday and anniversary presents include jewellery from Pandora and Swarovski, which I like for their delicate, dainty designs. Owning these brands means I have contributed to their coffers, just like the many other people who buy whatever products or services that interest them for whatever reason and for however much money. Tsk. Tsk. 

These days, I buy if I like the look and if I believe I am getting value for my money. A little older and a lot more discerning (cautious with my spend); names, labels and brands don’t mean very much to me. At the end of the day, it is all a matter of choice.  We can choose to spend less on a generic or lesser known brand or pay big bucks to own and display other people’s names and labels. 

So, kudos again to these clever people and clever companies that continue to make loads and loads of money.