E! IllustrationFor almost 10 years, Keeping Up With the Kardashians has reigned over the reality world. And, for a large part of that decade, the show has been the main source of fame for the Kourtney, Kim, Khloe, Kendall and Kylie. It's what brought them into the spotlight, and kept them in it consistently—with a little help from social media, of course.
The show was their raison d'etre, if you will, their reason for being, as far as their public personas are concerned. It was, originally, also their main source of income.
The Kardashian family came into the spotlight with a few successful gigs, from owning a group of boutiques in Calabasas to personal styling, but the reality show, and its earnings, began to provide a good portion of their newly upgraded lifestyle. The Kardashians' salaries have long been a closely-guarded secret, but the rumor mill values their current contract at as much as $80 million for three seasons. Back in 2012, the same contract was estimated to be half that, and in 2007 one can assume it was far less. In other words, they're movin' on up.
But even more impressive is the fact that as their contracts have been expanding, so too has their side hustle. You see, as a person gets used to the finer (and finer, and finer, and finer still) things in life, they need to adapt their money-making skills to fit those new tastes. That's where the side hustle comes in.
Ever appropriately, Kim Kardashian was the O.G. of the Kardashian side hustle game. It all started with appearance fees and endorsement deals: Once her name recognition went from zero to hero, she began showing up at any club and party that would have her (and by have her, we mean pay her). No matter if it was a fancy lounge in Vegas or Millions of Milkshakes in West Hollywood, she was raking in anywhere from tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars per gig, eventually peaking at a cool $1 million. Just. For. Showing. Up.
The girl is good.
Kim has since backed off of those club appearances, partly because she's living a less party-heavy lifestyle (and being a mom), but also because no club can afford to pay her the going rate. Instead, she had to start her own companies to keep up with the cash flow that her name can bring in. Enter: The digital space.
First came the video game. For those who haven't spent hours whiling away an afternoon playing Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, all you need to know is that it's basically The Sims, but in Kim Kardashian's world. According to Forbes, it's been downloaded 45 million times and made over $160 million. The best part is that the game itself doesn't even make any money: It's free to download. But, it hooks in users and charges for all those little extras that enhance the experience.
Recall your long-lost Farmville addiction: Sure, you can play the bare minimum for no cost, but if you want someone to water your seeds while you're at work, it's gonna cost you. In Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, if you want your fake character to vacation in Mexico just like the real Kim, expect to pony up. (And clearly, everyone does pony up.)
Next up came her personal app, on which she dispenses any and all of her random life advice, as well as personal moments and keepsakes. Users pay a monthly subscription fee of $2.99 to be privy to all of the juicy details, and in turn the company brings in hundreds of millions, according to GQ.
Then, of course, there's Kimojis, the newest addition to her ever-expanding digital profile. It seems simple. Kim Kardashian-themed emojis, borderline NSFW GIFs. Great. Yet, soon after the app debuted, it was topping the iTunes charts, and there were reports of it bringing in $1 million per minute. If that's not some impressive side hustle, we don't know what is.
While Kim was conducting all of this business, her sister Kylie Jenner was keeping a close watch, and it's clear now that she was taking very good notes. Jenner followed in Kim's footsteps but decided to skip past the beginner's gigs and go straight to the money-maker: Launching her own products.
Jenner planted the seed for her would-be cosmetics line early. She lived her entire life onscreen, between the reality show and her social media accounts, and every plot point of her life is played out to an almost overwhelming degree. The young star has a penchant for many of the finer things as seen on her Snapchat (cars, purses, designer dogs), but chief among them was always makeup.
Before she ever made a name for herself as the CEO of Kylie Cosmetics, she made a name for herself as a beauty and product junkie. She shared every step of her makeup routine, positioning herself as a clear expert, or, at the very least, obsessive. By the time the makeup's launch came around, her fans were clamoring to know how they could do it exactly like her. Then: voila, here, buy it.
Once the stage was set, it gave her an instantaneous (and free) platform for future product promotions. She shares early-stage research, sneaks peeks of final products and announces all of her launches.
Ever more impressive than the business model is the success model. To kick off the company, Jenner actually financed the whole thing herself, as she told Violet Grey. The star was panicked that no one was going to buy her very first lip kits, and then when she refreshed the website the very first time, it was sold out. This not only bolstered her confidence, it set the stage for the company's guiding principle: Scarcity.
Any customer (or curious potential customer) knows that the line is almost always entirely sold out—to obtain a Kylie Lip Kit is to set an alarm, sit at a computer with your finger on the trigger and reflexes as quick as lightning.
That formula has led to, well, loads of money. The exact earnings of the Kylie Cosmetics corporation are unknown, but rumored to be in the realm of $10 million. Jenner's personal earnings, from 2016 alone (combining her apps and endorsements as well) were $18 million. Loads.
Not to be outdone by her impressively entrepreneurial sisters, Khloe Kardashian has carved out a body positive business niche that is both empowering and incredibly lucrative. It all started with her book, Strong Looks Better Naked, which spoke candidly about both her struggles with weight and her newfound appreciation for both her figure and the idea of healthy living.
Then came Good American, a denim line geared towards, well, everyone. (And she really means everyone: Sizes range from 00 to 24.) And, finally, this year she debuted her show Revenge Body, which followed the youngest Kardashian sister as she dispensed her own wisdom onto others. All of that helped her bring in $15 million in 2016.
With the 13th season of Keeping Up With the Kardashians premiering this Sunday, the world's appetite for the reality show, and the family's drama, seems to be never-ending. But one has to wonder if any of the family members have ever been tempted to turn away the camera crew and make their side hustle their full time job.
The answer is, probably, yes, but this is the Kardashians we're talking about. If they hustle and there is no camera there to film them, are they even hustling at all?