Kim Kardashian Announces Private Equity Firm As Latest Business Venture

Billionaire American socialite, Kim Kardashian, has announced the launch of her newest business venture, a private equity firm called ‘SKKY Partners’.

She made the announcement in an Instagram post where she added that her mother, Kris Jenner, would be a partner at the firm and that it would be co-founded and co-managed by private equity veteran, Jay Sammons.

“I’m pleased to announce the launch of SKKY Partners with private equity veteran Jay Sammons as co-founder and co-managing partner, along with Kris Jenner who will serve as partner at our firm.

“Together we hope to leverage our complementary expertise to build the next generation Consumer & Media private equity firm,” she said in the post’s caption.

SKKY Partners intend to invest in companies that deal in consumer, digital, media, hospitality and luxury goods and services.

Kardashian’s partner in the firm, Jay Sammons, is the ex head of consumer, media and retail at The Carlyle Group. The Carlyle Group is an American multinational private equity, alternative asset management and financial services corporation with $376 billion assets under its management.

Kardashian is the latest in a growing list of celebrities to launch a private equity or venture capital firm. Some other celebrities who have done so are, rapper Jay-Z, tennis star, Serena Williams and actor Ashton Kutcher.

The reality TV star has channeled her influence and fame as one of the most followed people on social media into several successful business ventures.

Some of them are; a skincare brand, SKKN by Kim launched in 2022; a shapewear brand, Skims launched in 2019; and a cosmetics brand, KKW Beauty launched in 2017.

She announced the closure of KKW Beauty in July last year saying that the company planned to rebrand and come back. Presumably to drop the “W” in the brand name, among other things, following her divorce from rapper Kanye West. Prior to its closure however, French-American multinational beauty company, Coty, acquired a 20% stake in the company, at $200 million.

As at January, the shapewear brand Skims, was valued at $3.2 billion which means Kardashian’s 32% stake is worth about $1 billion.