Kylie Jenner is not self-made 

The definition of “self-made,” according to Merriam-Webster, is “having achieved success or prominence by one’s own efforts.” That being said, in July, when Forbes declared Kylie Jenner a “self-made billionaire,” I was quickly in disagreement. By no means is Jenner’s net worth in question, but to say she is self-made is far-fetched.

As an Indian American, I grew up hearing the stories of family and friends who, having immigrated to the United States with very little outside support, built successful lives for themselves. From living in their cars to working overtime to make ends meet, their paths to their current lives were in no way easy.

My loved ones did not have the help of constant publicity, connections, or even assistance from family as they began new lives in a foreign country. Meanwhile, Jenner has always been overflowing with the latter.

It is unlikely that Jenner’s brand would have been as successful if her name and her family’s name wasn’t known by people throughout the world. Sure, Kylie Jenner’s business was successful; however, the work she put into her brand was bolstered by prior popularity, making the building and marketing of the brand much easier than it might have been for an unknown hopeful trying to start her or his own business.

In the end, I am not saying that Jenner shouldn’t be commended for her achievements; I am sure she worked hard to earn her success. All I am saying is Jenner never had to make herself; she was just adding on to her already tall tower of fame.

— Suchaeta Hegde

Kylie Jenner is self-made 

It is absolutely no secret that Kylie Jenner was born into a family with an extreme amount of privilege and wealth. She was handed an opportunity to create a brand using her already well-known Jenner name — that she did nothing to earn. But here’s the thing: Just because Jenner was given a leg up doesn’t strip her from the title of being a “self-made woman.”

Let’s face it, our society is full of people who are given handouts and preferential treatment based on what family they come from, how wealthy they are, or even how they look. But to say that just because people’s families are prominent means that they cannot create their own success is absolutely absurd.

Sure, it may be easier for people with wealth to start their careers or even attain higher education, but that doesn’t mean that the work wasn’t their own. It’s probably also easier for 6-6 people to be better basketball players than their shorter counterparts or people with 160 IQs to surpass people who have IQs of 90. If we can say that people are not self-made because of family wealth, the circumstances they were born into, where do we draw the line? It doesn’t exactly seem that we can.

In Jenner’s case, she used her name recognition along with her family’s connections to jump-start her success. But let’s not forget that she didn’t actually have to do any of this. She could have lived off of her family’s riches for the rest of her life and thrived — instead, she fought to become the makeup mogul she is today.

Yes, I think it was substantially easier for Jenner to get to the place she is now than it would be for a random person off of the street. But to say that Jenner isn’t self-made just because she was born into a family of wealth is an extremely slippery slope.

— Lucee Laursen