Kim Kardashian is richer than ever. On Wednesday, her apparel company Skims announced it has raised $225 million in new funding, pushing its valuation to $5 billion—and adding $200 million to Kardashian’s fortune.
Kim K is now worth $1.9 billion, according to Forbes’ estimates. That’s up from $1.7 billion before the new round, which was led by Goldman Sachs Alternatives with participation from billionaire Byron Trott’s BDT & MSD Partners. The business—which has expanded from shapewear into everything from t-shirts and pajamas to jackets and men’s hoodies—was last valued at $4 billion in a 2023 fundraising round.
“This milestone reflects continued confidence in our long-term vision and coupled with disciplined execution, positions Skims to unlock its next phase of growth,” said Jens Grede, the company’s cofounder and CEO, in a press release.
Launched in 2019 by Kardashian, Grede and Emma Grede as an online, direct-to-consumer brand, Skims has grown into a brick-and-mortar retail success, with 20 stores across the U.S. and Mexico. The brand says it hopes to become a “predominantly physical business” in the next few years, and plans to use the new investor money to build new stores and launch new products. In February, it launched NikeSkims, an activewear-for-woman collaboration with the apparel giant. The partners are dropping a new NikeSkims line—including socks, waist packs and training gloves—on Thursday.
“We can’t wait to take Skims to the next level as we continue to innovate and set the standard for our industry,” Kardashian, who serves as chief creative officer, said in Wednesday’s press release.
Skims is also gambling on the beauty sector. In March, the company bought French beauty giant Coty’s 20% stake in SKKN by Kim, Kardashian’s skincare line, for an undisclosed sum. Coty had paid $200 million for the stake in 2021, but the partners shuttered the business—itself a 2022 reinvention of an earlier beauty line, KKW Beauty—in June. Earlier this month, Skims hired Diarrha N’Diaye, founder of beauty company Ami Colé, to lead its new beauty and fragrance efforts.
Despite her famous family—and plenty of TV money from E!’s Keeping Up With The Kardashians and Hulu’s follow-on The Kardashians—Kim has made the vast majority of her fortune from Skims. She’s estimated to own just under one-third of the company following Wednesday’s funding round. The Gredes, meanwhile, who together are estimated to own just under 14% of Skims, are $150 million richer. The business expects to hit $1 billion in net sales this year, up from $750 million when it last raised capital.
“I do everything from all the design to pick out all the campaigns,” Kardashian, who is also working to pass the bar exam, said on The Graham Norton Show earlier this month. “That’s my daily job.”