Corporate Success From The Eyes of Billionaires

 

    The image above is a collection of brand marketing images from the Kardashians and Jenners. The top left image shows Kim Kardashian posing in front of a Skims sign signaling its release in Nordstrom. She is posed in front of the sign, doing a seemingly “instagrammable” pose, wearing what one would assume to be her brand that she is promoting. The beige color palette, full glam, and fashion forward outfit all align with the image of her brand she is marketing. To the right of Kim is Kendall Jenner with her tequila brand, 818. In this image she is posed in a natural landscape, in casual clothing, pouring herself a glass of 818. She’s posed in a candid manner, portraying herself as a “chill” girl, simply pouring herself a drink. On the bottom left is Kourtney Kardashian in a plush bed and a luxurious, feathered robe, holding her “Lemme Chill” gummies from her brand Lemme. This lavish imagery promotes her item as a luxury, part of the perfect routine. Finally, on the bottom right is Kylie Jenner, posed with her “Glossy Lip Kit” from Kylie Cosmetics. She is posed in front of a plain background, with a full face of glamorous makeup as she markets her cosmetics brand. The image almost seems to say “If you purchase Kylie Cosmetics, you can look like Kylie too.”

These images shown in tandem with one another provide a clear image of how this billionaire family chooses to market their ever growing corporations. The Kardashian/Jenner family is one of the richest families in America with a combined net worth that most Americans can’t even picture. In addition to their extreme wealth, the Kardashians also have access to cultural capital and influence. Their celebrity standing developed with their show Keeping Up With The Kardashians and it hasn’t wavered over the years. Each one of the sisters shown above has millions of followers on their social media platforms, positioning themselves as a source of influence. They display their extravagant lifestyles, making their fans and haters view their lives as the dream. In addition to their celebrity success, as shown above they have also found success in the world of consumerism. Each sister’s brand (or brands, some of them having multiple) has been extremely successful, specifically the four that are showcased in the images above. However, I would argue that this success isn’t as the media, and their managerial teams, would like us to believe- based solely on hard work and knowledge of the industries they are contributing to. While they may be talented business women, their success has been determined by their celebrity status and position within the modern, powerful elite in America. 

In his book The Power Elite, Charles W. Mills describes the higher circles, or powerful elite, in society. Mills describes modern society as having three main domains- economic, military, and governmental. The powerful elite occupy a special position in the interlock of these domains, giving them access to each one. The elite are not simply better than others because of the capital they have access to, they have access to these domains because of the institutions they occupy. As Mills writes, “To be celebrated, to be wealthy, to have power, requires access to major institutions, for the institutional positions men [and women] occupy determine in large part their chances to have and to hold these valued experiences.” (Mills, 11). Mills also explains that the powerful elite have been in this position for so long that they are able to reproduce the group. Not only through familial practices, but through shared spaces, opinions, and common knowledge of one another. The position that the members of this higher group are able to occupy gives them access to experiences, objects, and capital that others cannot access. This can lead to broader society seeing them as more valuable than themselves, and while Mills contests this idea, even more morally and psychologically superior. Mills explains that this public view is not necessarily the case but we, as in “common” society, elevate them to this superior status. The elite are raised and developed knowing their institutional position as greater and more powerful than others, thus public opinion and the perspective of the inner circle themselves produce an idealized version of their moral and psychological standing. In other words, while we idolize the powerful elite, their success would be meaningless without their position institutionally. 

    The Kardashians, Jenners, and their corporations are a perfect example of the modern day powerful elite. They were raised with wealthy parents and quickly grew to fame. In modern day where influencers dominate the consumerist sphere, I would argue that celebrities with such influence as the Kardashians can only be observed as part of the elite that Mills describes. By attempting to analyze the image above from a Millsian (and therefore also Weberian) perspective, I believe that we can see major connections between the Kardashians and the powerful elite. Firstly, Mills writes that “..those with status find it easier than those without it to control opportunities for wealth” (Mills, 10). In other words, it’s much simpler to gain capital, in all its forms, when you already have so much of it. For the Kardashians, they already had access to influence due to their celebrity parents and later their reality TV show, thus it is almost effortless for them to also gain their status on social media platforms. Secondly, their economic success is much more accessible because they were already millionaires before they became billionaires. These companies they created were only possible due to the money they could put into them and the fact that they wouldn’t depend economically on the success of them. For example, Khloe Kardashian has a less successful or “viral” brand than her other siblings, and yet her economic and social status remain extremely high. Her position within the powerful elite is not determined by her success in one domain, her elite status allows her to remain successful. As mentioned above, Mills specifies that the reproduction of the elite doesn’t come from commercial success, but success comes from institutional positioning. Their presence in the powerful elite has given the women of the Jenner and Kardashian family access to success that isn’t accessible to others. Mills also explains this in his work, stating that “every one of the very rich families has been and is closely connected- always legally and frequently managerially as well- with one of the multi-millions dollar corporations.” (Mills, 10). The families within the powerful elite are institutionally positioned to be successful in this way, thus providing us with an explanation for the multi-million dollar companies that the sisters pictured above have created. 

Works Cited

Coupang, Inc. "Kourtney Kardashian Barker's 'Lemme' Is the Latest American Company to Grow International Sales with Coupang." About Coupang, September 24, 2025. https://www.aboutcoupang.com/English/news/news-details/2025/kourtney-kardashian-barkers-lemme-is-the-latest-american-company-to-grow-international-sales-with-coupang/.

Kylie Cosmetics. "Glossy Lip Kit." Accessed April 17, 2026. https://kyliecosmetics.com/products/glossy-lip-kit.

Mills, C. Wright. 2000. The Power Elite. New York: Oxford University Press.

Passion Spirits. "818 Tequila Añejo by Kendall Jenner." Accessed April 17, 2026. https://www.passionspirits.com/818-anejo-tequila.

Samaha, Barry "Kim Kardashian West On SKIMS, Scheduling and the Key to Her Success." Harper's Bazaar, February, 2020. https://www.harpersbazaar.com/celebrity/latest/a30783328/kim-kardashian-west-skims-interview/.