How Much Is Kris Jenner Really Worth?
Kris Jenner is the legendary matriarch, and momager, of the Kardashian family, with an estimated net worth of approximately $190 million. But following her 1991 divorce from the late Robert Kardashian, she didn't even know what her monthly expenses were.
"One day, my friend Shelli Azoff said to me when I was going through my divorce [from Robert], 'How much is your gardener?' And I said, 'I don't know.' And she said, 'You don't know?'" Jenner told WSJ. Magazine in March 2021. She admitted, "I was embarrassed that I didn't know. I woke up one day to responsibilities that I hadn't had the day before. And I needed to figure it out."
With a personal fortune nearing $200 million, Kris has very successfully figured out her financials — and helped her family become global powerhouses along the way. You know the saying: "The devil works hard, but Kris Jenner works harder." Here's what we know about how she amassed all those many millions.
Before Kris Jenner was a Kardashian
Before she became a reality TV icon and business mogul, Kris Jenner may have directed you to your seat on an airplane. Born Kristen Mary Houghton in San Diego in 1955, Jenner was reportedly an American Airlines junior flight attendant (per Cosmopolitan) before marrying lawyer Robert Kardashian in 1978. Kris had multiple jobs growing up, detailing in her memoir, "I worked in a doughnut shop. I would report to work at five a.m., where I would literally scrape the glaze off the floor and sell coffee to customers. ... After school, I would work in the candle shop [her family owned]."
Kris and Robert were married for 13 years and had children Kourtney, Kim, Khloé, and Rob. Shortly after her divorce from Kardashian in 1991, she married former gold-medal-winning Olympian Caitlyn Jenner. In addition to becoming a stepmother of four and mom again to daughters Kendall and Kylie, she took on another new role in her second marriage: business manager.
Kris told Lenny Letter in 2017 that Caitlyn had only $200 when they got together and that she saw the potential for bigger business opportunities. "I think I spent my last dime, I'm not even kidding, making these beautiful, glossy press-kit folders and took every great article [about Caitlyn] that had ever been in Sports Illustrated and any really beautiful magazine," Kris said. After assembling and mailing "7,000 press kits," they "waited for the phone to ring." Kris' hard work led Caitlyn to speaking gigs, endorsement deals, and even fitness videos (co-starring Kris!).
Keeping Up With the Kardashians became a reality TV hit
"[I've been] CEO of my family for a very, very long time," Kris Jenner told WSJ. Magazine in March 2021. "[All] the experience I've had over 30 years of being a full-time businesswoman has led me to this very spot."
That spot is at the head of one of the most successful showbiz families in the world. Their big break came in 2007, at a backyard barbecue of all places. According to Ryan Seacrest, though Kim Kardashian West had a growing profile, he got "linked up" with the family, who'd expressed interest in a reality show, through a casting director and sent a cameraman over to check them out. He was looking to produce a new show in the style of "The Osbournes." "[The cameraman] called me from their house Sunday afternoon and said, 'It's absolutely golden. You're going to die when you see this tape,'" Seacrest told Haute Living in 2015. "They're so funny. They're so fun. There is so much love in this family, and they're so chaotic."
"Keeping Up With the Kardashians" aired its first episode on E! on October 14, 2007, and went on to become one of the longest-running and most successful reality shows of all time. Forbes reported in 2020 that in the later years of the show, Kris was earning $100,000 per episode.
Kris Jenner's 10% manager's cut is legendary
Paying your manager is standard practice in the entertainment world. For the Kardashian-Jenner kids, it's been part of life with Mom as well. Kris Jenner has famously managed the careers of her six children and led her family to the heights of fame and fortune. And, as any good manager does, she makes sure she gets her cut of the profits.
Jenner, who filed for a trademark of the term "momager" in 2015, gets 10% of the earnings from her kids' deals. But she has balked at claims that she's a "devilish mastermind." "I think a manager is definitely somebody who organizes all the chaos and tries to come up with some great ideas and work together and collab with the kids," she told Andy Cohen during E!'s "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" reunion in June 2021.
As the family's fame and business deals have increased over the years, Kris Jenner's momager status has been celebrated in its own right, as with the Kris Kollection for Kylie Cosmetics in 2018. The line featured packaging and shades named after some of Kris' most iconic phrases, like "I have one word for tonight ... vodka," "Money doesn't grow on trees," and "You're doing amazing, sweetie!"
When asked about the specifics of her family business model with the makeup, Kris played it coy on CNBC's "Squawk Box," saying in part, "I just want to continue to help the girls do whatever it is to just focus on what it is their dreams are, and that makes me really happy. ... I'm just super proud."
E! paid big to keep the Kardashians on air
After 10 seasons that included everything from a first-episode stripper-pole drama to diamonds lost in the South Pacific, the E! network knew they had a cultural juggernaut with "Keeping Up With the Kardashians." In 2015, they were ready to pay handsomely to keep the Kardashian-Jenners keeping on. The Hollywood Reporter revealed then that the family, led by Kris Jenner, had reportedly negotiated an $80 million-dollar deal to stay at E! up through Season 14.
By this time, the "Keeping Up" empire had begun expanding into spin-off shows also on E! Kris appeared in many of them, including "Kourtney & Kim Take New York" and "Khloé & Lamar." Reports of another astronomical deal surfaced in 2017, when Variety reported that the family had extended their E! deal yet again, to 2020. E! didn't share specifics, but a source told the outlet that the family would be getting somewhere "below $100 million."
Khloé Kardashian has talked about her mom's pivotal role in her and her siblings' massive success. "Our mom works so hard and no one, especially at the beginning, did believe in us the way that our mom did," Khloé said to Andy Cohen on E!'s "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" reunion in June 2021. "She really just knew that we can do all these things, and my mom is giving us our careers, or helping us navigate through that, and it's only fair that she gets paid for that."
Kris Jenner's real estate holdings
As the KarJenners' fame grew following their reality show debut in 2007, so did their homes. Fans of "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" got frequent glimpses inside their gorgeous condos, mansions, and travel villas. Most frequently, the family convened at matriarch Kris Jenner's Calabasas, California, home, which she sold in December 2020 as the family wrapped up their show on the E! network. In a clip from the final season (via People), Kris said about leaving the house, "I love it here. This is where my heart is."
Her new digs weren't far, though. After buying a home in nearby Hidden Hills in 2017 and appearing in Architectural Digest, she sold it for $15 million in 2020. In 2021, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Kris purchased a $20 million-dollar property, also in Hidden Hills. Her new neighbor? Daughter Khloé Kardashian, who purchased her new pad for the bargain of $17 million. The mom's Hidden Hills property comes three years after Kris bought a $12 million Palm Springs home for the family to enjoy (and film in).
If Kris is ever feeling nostalgic for her old Calabasas haven, she can still pop over anytime. As reported by Hello!, Kris' son Rob appears to be the classic home's current owner (as of late 2020).
Kris Jenner and Caitlyn Jenner did not have a prenup when they divorced
After more than 20 years of marriage and two children together, Kris Jenner and Caitlyn Jenner announced their separation in October 2013. Upon the finalizing of their divorce in December 2014, the Los Angeles Times reported that they had not arranged a prenuptial agreement, while TMZ's sources told the outlet that approximately $60 million in assets was split between the two. According to the Los Angeles Times, Kris and Caitlyn agreed to joint custody of Kylie Jenner, who was 17 at the time.
While Kris and Caitlyn's relationship post-divorce has been up and down, Caitlyn did seek out Kris' business advice after their split. In a Season 20 episode of "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" that aired in April 2021, Kris debates whether or not it's a road she wants to go down with her ex but ultimately ends up advising Caitlyn on starting a YouTube channel.
"Even though I can't make things magically better with us, I'm just here to be supportive," Kris said on the episode (via E!). "And I just want her to be happy. So, I was really happy to offer some advice and encouragement over something that she's trying to do."
Sponsored social media posts are a big revenue generator
It pays to have millions upon millions of followers on social media — literally.
"My daughters are constantly getting offers to post something for a company, or a brand, on social media," Kris Jenner said on "CBS Sunday Morning" in 2019. "They have a fee for a post, or a fee for a story, a fee for Facebook. ... They have a fee schedule." When asked to be more specific, Kris would only say, "I mean, it's definitely six figures." Kris also said that if it's "a pharmaceutical product, if it's something that you're going to drink, or ingest, or put on your body," the fee increases.
While Kris' kids are the more frequent paid posters in the family, Kris does the occasional #ad herself, like this October 2021 holiday-themed Instagram video post, featuring her mom, MJ, along with Khloé Kardashian and her daughter, True, for their partnership with retailer The Children's Place.
Paid club appearances are an entertaining quick buck
How would you like to show up at a hip nightclub, stay for an hour, and earn somewhere between $70,000–80,000? According to GQ in 2016, Kourtney Kardashian's ex Scott Disick was doing just that on the regular at the height of his club appearance days. While paid club appearances have been popular among the Kardashian kids, especially Kim, in their earlier days of fame, those visits can still be a relatively easy, and fast, way for them to pocket some serious change.
The family's matriarch, Kris Jenner, took a dive into the club world in 2014, when she signed up for an appearance for her 59th birthday. On a Season 10 episode of "Keeping Up With the Kardashians," Kris debated doing the gig. "Scott got me an appearance deal, and I said, 'I think it's a little age inappropriate to have a birthday party in Vegas,'" she said (via Us Weekly).
The lure of Vegas won out, though, and Kris opted to go, celebrating the event with a special hashtag on Instagram: "#HappyBirthdayKris."
Kris Jenner is a doting, and giving, grandmother
Growing up Kardashian comes with quite a few perks. For Kris Jenner's ten grandkids (and one on the way), one of those is the presents. Lots of presents. We're talking life-size playhouse-level presents. Like the one Kris, whose grandkids call her "Lovey," gifted to Kylie Jenner's daughter Stormi for Christmas 2019. In a YouTube video, Kylie shared a peek inside the playhouse, which features a working doorbell and some of Kylie's furniture from her own playhouse when she was a kid. A teary Kris told Kylie, "I want you to have the same memories with your daughter."
For granddaughter Chicago's first birthday in 2019, Kris gifted Kim Kardashian West's third child with a smaller but no less luxe item, a Louis Vuitton music box (retail price: $3,350). She also shared her love on Instagram, posting, "Happy Birthday precious Chi Chi!!! You have brought so much joy and love into our family and I love you to the moon and back!!! You are our little angel doll and I love watching you grow.. what a blessing you are! 💕💕💕#love #happybirthdaychi #chicago."
With Grandchild #11 due in 2022, surely Lovey is already dreaming up the best baby gifts for the newest member of the family.
The Kardashian-Jenner vacays are next level
Few things are as FOMO-inducing as a Kardashian-Jenner family vacation. Whether it's staying in overwater bungalows (and epically losing diamonds) in Bora Bora, visiting with elephants in Thailand, or skiing in Aspen, the Kardashian-Jenner family has a penchant for exotic locales, private jets, and luxe digs. As the trips became a fixture on "Keeping Up With the Kardashians," there have been reports that E! paid their vacation bills. Radar, for one, spoke to a source in 2014 who estimated that the family's trip to Thailand cost Ryan Seacrest Productions and the network around $100,000.
In 2021, Kris Jenner left the family behind for a series of trips with her long-term boyfriend, Corey Gamble. According to Hollywood Life, the couple visited Mexico and Italy during the summer. Dating since 2014, Kris told WSJ. Magazine in 2021 that Gamble is "the greatest guy, and he's just an amazing support system for me, and he really gives me a lot of strength and insight." She added, "He's a great sounding board. And he loves my kids and my mom, and they love him."
Kris Jenner expanded her brand into the home and beauty markets
From Skims and Good American to Kylie Cosmetics and 818 Tequila, the Kardashian-Jenners have certainly added brand mogul to their resumes. As many of their celeb business brands have generated actual billions of dollars, family matriarch and momager Kris Jenner has worked on expanding her own personal brand, as well. In March 2021, she launched Safely, a home cleaning line of plant-based products, including laundry detergent, dish soap, and glass cleaner.
Following in many of her daughters' footsteps, in February 2021, she filed for trademarks for "Kris Jenner Skin," "Kris Jenner Skincare," and "Kris Jenner Beauty," according to WSJ. Magazine. Kris told "CBS Sunday Morning" in 2019 that trademarking is an important tool in her business arsenal: "I do that from time to time because I feel like something's important. And I want to protect it."
As for her beauty and/or skincare line, she also told WSJ. Magazine that she's laser-focused on her target customer: "I'm obsessed with my skin and have always taken really good care of it. ... I'm pretty traditional. I just think it's really important for older women to realize that if they just take care of their skin, it's not complicated. So, I just did something that emulates exactly what my daily routine is..."
Moving from E! to Hulu for 'new global content'
After 20 seasons on E!, "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" ended its run in June 2021. The ending of the show brought onscreen tears from Kris Jenner, and Khloé Kardashian told James Corden in 2021 that the family began to miss the cameras after they stopped rolling. "Even though we live next to each other and we're all like weirdly obsessed with one another, there's nothing like being paid to be with one another," Khloé joked on "Late Late Show" in September 2021. "Shoutout to Kris Jenner."
The Kardashian-Jenner family's six-month break from filming, while their longest, didn't extend much further. In December 2020, their new deal (for an undisclosed price tag) with Hulu was announced. As reported by IndieWire, the family would be delivering "new global content" for Hulu subscribers in the United States and globally on Disney's Star service.
Kim Kardashian West told The Wall Street Journal in October 2021 that the Hulu series will show more of the family's business dealings. But at the Disney Upfronts presentation in May 2021 (via People), Kris hinted at more of the classic "Keeping Up" elements being included: "...fans want us to be who we are, and since moment one, they've been emotionally invested in our show just like we are. The fans will love seeing us continue the journey. I can't say much about what's coming, but spoiler, we're going to look fabulous and everyone's going to watch."
Kris Jenner is planning ahead for future Kardashian-Jenner momagers
Kris Jenner has no plans to slow down.
"That retirement ship sailed a long time ago," she said in April 2021 on WSJ. Magazine's "The One" video series. "What they say is true ... The longer you work, the healthier you'll be, the longer you live. I'm banking on that."
While Kris said in the interview that she's often approached to take on non-Kardashians as clients, she also said she just doesn't have the capacity and that working with her family is what works for her. And she's planning for everyone to be keeping up with her family for a long time. Kim Kardashian West shared with The Wall Street Journal in 2021 that her mom has already been making plans for the next momager in the family. "We've talked about it. I would assemble a team of people to take over," Kim said. "I hope it doesn't happen for a really long time, because I'm really busy."
For the time being, Kris has her sights set on their second act in reality TV. "We'll be on Hulu and hopefully thriving," Kris also said on "The One" about where she sees her family in 10 years, "doing what we love to do and being exactly where we're supposed to be."