Are the Kardashians in Crisis? Inside Their Business Woes Amid Claims They’re in Their ‘Flop Era’

Their cups runneth over. With an empire worth nearly $3 billion combined, almost two dozen lifestyle brands between them and a stable of reality shows that has kept them on TV for more than 17 years, the Kardashian-Jenner family has enjoyed more than its fair share of success.

But in recent months, cracks have begun to show. Some of their once robust business ventures have experienced challenges — and amid shifts in public perception, speculation has grown that the once-ubiquitous family is facing an identity crisis: The Kardashians could now be, as one recent headline put it, “in their flop era.”

Their popularity has certainly suffered. Last summer, reports revealed sisters Kourtney, 45, Kim, 44, and Khloé Kardashian, 40, and Kendall, 29, and Kylie Jenner, 27, lost millions of Instagram followers as Season 5 of their Hulu reality show, The Kardashians, aired. The show, one online commenter griped, summing up the feelings of many, has become “boring AF.” Another complained the series is now “clearly made to plug their brands and ‘businesses.’”

Kim Kardashian’s Private Equity Firm ‘Underperformed’

But how much is it helping? Reports indicate Kylie’s core brand, Kylie Cosmetics, is making half of what it used to — and the woman Forbes once declared the world’s youngest self-made billionaire is currently worth an estimated $710 million. In early 2024, Kim — who leads her family in net worth at $1.7 billion — saw a subdued launch for her SKKN by Kim Makeup line three years after shutting down her KKW Beauty and KKW Fragrance lines. But by December, she was celebrating the opening of her Skims flagship in NYC a year after the shapewear and lingerie brand was valued at $4 billion.

The same month, however, she was dealt a quiet blow: It emerged that she’d stepped down as comanaging partner of the private equity firm SKKY Partners, which she cofounded in 2022, and taken a less senior role. The news came months after federal securities filings revealed SKKY was struggling to meet a $1 billion fundraising goal to purchase consumer businesses. In January, a source told The U.S. Sun that Kim had either “underperform[ed]” or “her value was overestimated,” calling it “a tough wake-up call” for the star.

Fans Watch the Kardashian-Jenners to ‘Get Back to the Basics’

Apparently, times are changing. “There was a time when each episode [of a Kardashian reality show] would make headlines around the world. Those days are gone,” brand and culture expert Nick Ede told The U.S. Sun. Momager Kris Jenner, 69, has promised “chaos” when Season 6 of The Kardashians debuts on February 6. But Ede says it won’t be enough to help them connect with a new generation unless the family “gets back to basics” and starts focusing on what fans really want: “The juicy drama with [Kim’s ex-husband] Kanye West and his wife, Bianca [Censori], and Kylie’s relationship with Timothée Chalamet. Fans want to see if they can go back to being the family we fell in love with.”