Caitlyn cash will add to Jenner gold
She could become the wealthiest of them all.
– Rob Shuter, ‘The Gossip Table’
NOW IT’S the Kardashians who will have to keep up with Caitlyn.
The former Bruce Jenner’s debut on the Vanity Fair cover on Monday put the Olympic champ turned reality star turned transgender icon in a position to outearn her fellow clan members, experts said.
“She could become the wealthiest of them all,” said Rob Shuter, host of VH1’s “The Gossip Table” and former head of Dan Klores Communications. “If Bruce Jenner made $100 million in 65 years, if all the stars align, she could be worth over $500 million in the next five to 10 years.
“Caitlyn is going to be a pioneer,” he added.
Jenner doesn’t need the dough. Her estimated net worth is $100 million, according to reports on Celebrity Net Worth and The Richest, and she was already pulling in $40,000 for motivational speaking tours when she was known as Bruce.
But now people can’t get enough of Caitlyn. Jenner’s “Dateline” interview with Diane Sawyer in April drew 17 million viewers on a Friday night. Her Twitter launch on Monday smashed the record by hitting 1 million followers in just over four hours.
“A book deal could hit seven figures. Speeches could garner six figures each,” said Brian Balthazar, editor of Pop Goes the Week, a culture website.
On the fashion and beauty front, the 22-page Vanity Fair spread proved Jenner can model couture by Zac Posen, Halston and Donna Karan, but some brands may take a wait-and-see approach before courting her.
“The reality of it is, this is still very controversial for a lot of traditional Fortune 100 companies,” said Ryan Schinman, founder of the Platinum Rye Entertainment, a media branding company. “Certainly, companies might want to attach themselves to her social media and do some branding to reach the millions of followers she has, but these are mid-five to low six-figure deals.”
It’s unclear if Jenner can sell makeup or fashion, but trans is hot, so all presumptions are off.
“Jazz Jennings landed a Clean & Clear campaign, and Lea T is now the face of Redken,” said James Fox, CEO of Red Peak Branding. “Last year, Barneys released a campaign featuring 17 transgender models.”
Will it play in Peoria? The best yardstick is what General Mills will do with its Wheaties cover.
Bruce Jenner was an iconic pitchman - appearing on a cereal box in 1977, a year after his Olympic decathlon victory, and again in 2012 — but the company is still playing it coy.
“Bruce Jenner has been a respected member of Team Wheaties, and Caitlyn Jenner will continue to be,” said General Mills spokesman Mike Siemienas. “But of course we do not discuss our future marketing plans.”